Philippe, duc d'Orleans : regent of France / Christine Pevitt.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Pevitt, Christine.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Orléans, Philippe, duc d', 1674-1723.

Orléans, Philippe.

France--History--Regency, 1715-1723.

France.

History.

Princes--France--Biography.

Princes.

Regents--France--Biography.

Regents.

Genre:

Biographies.

Physical Description:

xv, 366 pages : color illustrations, plates ; 24 cm

Edition:

First American edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : Atlantic Monthly Press, [1997]

Summary:

In this biography, Christine Pevitt brings to life the man whose scandalous reputation has almost overwhelmed his many extraordinary qualities. A talented artist and musician, a brave soldier, he was by far the most gifted member of the royal family. From his earliest years he was a rebel at the Court of Versailles, flouting convention and flaunting his vices, engendering the distrust of Louis XIV and his priggish mistress, Madame de Maintenon. He acquired a reputation as a philanderer and a rake; he was rumored to have slept with his own daughter and even to have attempted to betray his country. Beset by conspiracies and intrigues against his reign by lesser nobles, Philippe worked diligently to restore peace and prosperity to France after the defeat of the War of the Spanish Succession. He engaged in dialogue with Great Britain, the traditional enemy of France; he encouraged colonial expansion in America, where the city of New Orleans was named for him; and he took the court away from Versailles, making Paris the soul and center of France for the first time in decades. The eight years of his regency were intoxicated by new fashions, theater, and seduction on a grand scale. Standing at the center of intellectual and artistic ferment, Philippe was a patron of both Watteau and Voltaire, promoting freedom of expression at the dawn of the Enlightenment.

Contents:

Family Tree xvi

Part 1 Grandson of France

1 The Son of Monsieur and Madame 9

2 The Little Prince 22

3 Royal Wedding 34

4 War and Peace 45

5 War Again 59

6 Italy 66

7 Spain 78

8 Danger in Spain 89

9 The End of the World 97

10 Disgrace 108

11 Deaths 117

12 Ends and Beginnings 130

13 The End of a Reign 139

14 Taking Power 151

Part 2 Regent

15 Philippe D'Orleans 163

16 Power 173

17 Une Annee Folle 186

18 The Czar in Paris 200

19 Coup D'Etat 214

20 Conspiracy 231

21 Death of a Princess 240

22 The Mississippi 250

23 The Root of All Evil 257

24 Disillusion 277

25 Coronation 292

26 Master and Man 307

27 Capax Imperii 315.

Notes:

"First published in Great Britain in 1997 by Weidenfeld & Nicolson"--T.p. verso.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 328-356) and index.

ISBN:

0871136953

OCLC:

37245955