Madame de Pompadour (New York Review Books Classics)

I have mixed feelings about this book. I think the subject is interesting but I personally felt that the writer, who was apart of aristocracy herself, perhaps underplayed the role that the French nobility played in the Revolution and the degradation of French society at the time which ultimately led to the demise of the ruling class. At times, she completely glazed over the terrible conditions most were living in and made a big brouhaha about the decadence of the court as though it was like us going for a quick shop at Costco, even though people were literally starving to death while laying in their own filth while others were enjoying a life of blissful, extravagant ignorance behind golden gates. At other times, her attitude towards the poor was...lacking, to put it nicely. I don't know how else to describe it other than being incredibly condescending. From a 21st century perspective, in 2022, this sort of classism can be pretty jarring no matter how much you tell yourself that's just how things were back then. My French is not perfect but I understood enough of what was written to not need a translation except for some archaic forms of verbs that are no longer in use; however, trying to keep up with all the different names and titles of the same people drove me bonkers! She would frequently swap titles in the middle of paragraphs and I would realize with frustration and much grumbling after reading about half a chapter or so, that M. de Such and Such had suddenly become le Vicomte of This and That and I hadn't even noticed because of the overall fast pace of Mitford's writing. This is why footnotes and editors are important, and highlighters. Also I found the punctation quite odd and it seems it's a little quirk of her's that has been kept in. I realized what I was getting into when I bought this book, though - no serious academic would touch this with a 10 foot pole and I've heard much grumbling about "that Mitford book!" in certain circles over the years. However, I am not that snobby. It's fun, frothy, and gossipy, and I can see how this has inspired a myriad of tv shows glamorizing this period of the empire. And I believe that its flaws could offer some serious reflection to the deeper thinkers amongst us, since there are so many parallels to our days. Basically, history repeats itself!

This biography reads well on the whole but with some deficiencies. It often does not translate French phrases into English; and the various personages, with their titles, are sometimes hard to keep clear in one's mind. A few words of clarification, even if now and then repeated, would be helpful, especially since a person's titles were sometimes changed and augmented as his career advanced. The French royal family, moreover, used various designations for its members so one must remember those as well as the specific personal names.Still, this book is interesting in setting forth Madame de Pompadour's true nature, so different from the malign version created by jealous adversaries and by the King's enemies, both while she lived and years later during the Revolution.She loved her relatives but did not enrich them unduly at the expense of the French people. She sincerely loved King Louis the Fifteenth, even after their relationship settled down into enduring trust and friendship. It was genuinely touching to read how the king stood on a balcony at Versailles in the bitter wind of a winter day to watch her cortège pass on its way to Paris for her interment. In her final hours she had sent him away as was required for her to be able to confess and receive the last rites from a priest.Her major blunder was her fatal direction of French foreign affairs leading to the outbreak and loss of the war against Frederick the Great and England. It was moreover this abrupt turning of French foreign policy toward an alliance with Austria, an old enemy of France, that alienated her irrevocably from the people. That same enmity later destroyed any chance for Marie Antoinette, a scion of Austria, to be welcomed and loved by the French public.This book is a useful clarification of this famous woman's role in history. I also recommend it because it gives a fascinating insight into the customs and rivalries of the inhabitants of the palace of Versailles, a world of its own though only a few miles from Paris.

A most able treatment of the life of Madame De Pompadour by a well known author. She has done her research thoroughly and produced a highly readable book. I was mainly interested to read what she had to write about the mysterious Comte De St. Germain. She takes the view that he was a charlatan. She may be at fault here for not considering the other point of view that he was genuine. William H. Milne

Received two time the same book in French when I received the first one I ask to send a second one in English and received a second one in French unfortunately my wife don’t speak French

Nancy Mitford's biography of Madame de Pompadour, Louis XV's brilliant mistress, is a Mitford tour de force. Although Nancy Mitford sometimes intrudes her own personality into the narrative - her admiration and sympathy for Pompadour are plain - this is no bad thing, given her formidable knowledge of France and French history. She gives some fascinating insights: for example into Pompadour's role in setting up the royal Sevres porcelain factory, which is still going strong, an account of her various residences, which include the Elysee, and her influence on French taste, which is still discernible today. Nancy Mirford does not however disguise Pompadour's many failings: her disastrous interference in matters of State; her ventures into war and politics; her lack of comprehension of religion, which was an important force at that time.

Poiché l'autrice è considerata uno dei biografi di Madame de Pompadour, mi aspettavo di più. Anche perché, come studioso, sono abituato alle note in margine che indichino le fonti da cui si attingono frasi, circostanze, date ecc., magari per poterle recuperare con più facilità, rispetto alla bibliografia in fondo al volume, per eventuali approfondimenti personali.

Roman biographique intéressant, même si bien trop nourri par des détails insignifiants qui n'apporte rien de particulier à la lecture ni en matière de connaissance sur Mme de Pompadour.Bien, mais pas indispensable