Athenais: The Life of Louis XIV's Mistress, the Real Queen Of France



An inside look into Athenais de Montespan's life with Louis XIV and her declined into obscurity in her later years.
Athenais was the "It" girl of the 17th century.  She had beauty, wit, charm and a great fashion sense. With her infinite ambition, she reached the highest position a female courtier was able to obtain - mistress to the king.  She became Louis's right hand and confidant for many years until her friend, Madame the Maintenon's influenced over the king, brushed her aside, forced her to retire and abandon Versailles for good.

This book is captivating and engaging.  If we do a search on books about Athenais, we will find that there aren't many biographies that depict her life. I would probably say this is one of the best and perhaps the only biography out there that describes in full detail Athenais's rise to power.