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Audiobook edition · 11 h 58 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What can a rich, stubborn princess keep for herself when her cousin the king demands obedience?
In Louis XIV and La Grande Mademoiselle, 1652–1693, Arvède Barine follows a family bond strained by power. Anne Marie Louise d'Orléans takes up arms against the crown during the Fronde. Her cousin Louis XIV learns to rule by bringing proud nobles like her to heel.
For Mademoiselle, resistance leads to years away from court at Saint-Fargeau. Yet the struggle between personal wishes and royal authority reaches beyond rebellion. Her attachment to the Duke of Lauzun, a witty courtier in the king's circle, brings love into a world where even a princess cannot simply choose her own path.
What you’ll discover
- A princess who resists Meet a rich, proud woman whose stubborn choices place her against the crown.
- Cousins divided by revolt Follow the Fronde through a family conflict with consequences far beyond the household.
- Life away from court See what resistance costs Mademoiselle as she spends years in banishment at Saint-Fargeau.
- Love under royal authority Explore her wish to marry Lauzun, where private longing meets the king's power.
- A court drawn inward Watch a great house become a court that depends increasingly on one man.
Who will love it
Readers who love court life, royal intrigue and true love stories will enjoy this book. It suits anyone curious about Louis XIV before Versailles, and about Molière and Racine at court.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Exile changes habits but not pride
- Her fortune makes her a target
- Louis makes work the foundation of power
- Charity answers suffering the State ignores
- Court pleasure serves the King's power
- Private desires weaken public standards
- Love runs against the rules of rank
- His imprisonment puts her devotion at stake
- Failed rebellion shapes an absolute monarchy
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Louis XIV and La Grande Mademoiselle, 1652–1693
by Arvède Barine · 1905
A proud princess fights to marry the man she loves, but his attacks on Montespan help send him to Pignerol.
Challenging5–10 hours to read2 languages
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In short
What happens to a princess who joins a rebellion hoping to marry a king, and then loses? In 1652 the Grande Mademoiselle, first cousin of Louis XIV, rides into exile at a half-ruined castle, her dreams of glory gone.
Louis XIV and La Grande Mademoiselle, 1652–1693 at a glance
- Reading time
- About 6 h 25 min5 h 5 min fast, 7 h 35 min slow
- Length
- 91,200 words
- Library level
- Challenging long sentences, a rich vocabulary
- First published
- 1905by Arvède Barine
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Exile turns a rebel princess into a reader
The Fronde was a failed revolution, and Barine treats it as a dividing line in French history. After it, a weary nation accepted absolute rule. The Grande Mademoiselle, who had fired the Bastille cannon at the King's troops, pays with exile at Saint-Fargeau in 1652.
The castle is close to a ruin, with missing doors and windows, and it is full of rats. On the night she arrives she weeps in front of her whole household. By the fourth day she is back, camps in a cellar, recovers her good humour and begins to fix the place up.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 13 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1905
- Language
- English
- Level
- Challenging
Cite this edition
Barine, Arvède. Louis XIV and La Grande Mademoiselle, 1652–1693. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/louis-xiv-and-la-grande-mademoiselle-1652-1693.
Barine, A. (2026). Louis XIV and La Grande Mademoiselle, 1652–1693. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/louis-xiv-and-la-grande-mademoiselle-1652-1693 (Original work published 1905)
Barine, Arvède. Louis XIV and La Grande Mademoiselle, 1652–1693. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/louis-xiv-and-la-grande-mademoiselle-1652-1693.
@book{barine2026louis,
author = {Barine, Arvède},
title = {Louis XIV and La Grande Mademoiselle, 1652–1693},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/louis-xiv-and-la-grande-mademoiselle-1652-1693},
note = {First published 1905}
}
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What is Louis XIV and La Grande Mademoiselle about?
It follows the cousin of Louis XIV, Anne Marie Louise d'Orléans, from her exile after the Fronde in 1652 to her death in 1693. Alongside her life, it shows how the young King built absolute power.
Who was La Grande Mademoiselle?
She was the Duchess of Montpensier, a granddaughter of Henri IV and cousin of Louis XIV. She was one of the richest women in France and took an active part in the Fronde rebellion.
Who was Lauzun and what happened between him and Mademoiselle?
Lauzun was a small, witty Gascon nobleman and favourite of the King. Mademoiselle fell deeply in love with him, and the book follows their near marriage, his imprisonment and their quarrels.
The author
Arvède Barine
1840–1908 · French writer and historian
Arvède Barine was the pen name of a French writer born in Paris in 1840. She lived in France and died in Paris in 1908. She wrote biographies and historical studies in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Her works include Louis XIV and La Grande Mademoiselle, 1652–1693.
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