Louis de Bourbon wasn't a real prince-even though his father was King Louis XIV. The illegitimate son of the King and his mistress, Louise de La Vallière, young Louis has been kept far from the court's eyes until summoned to bid adieu to his mother. To atone for her adultery, she joins a convent, abandoning Louis to an uncertain future. When Louis is humiliated by his father for his role in a secret gay society, he struggles to redeem himself through heroism and self-sacrifice in the king's army on the battlefield.
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The fictional account of the very short life of Louis, Count of Vermandois, son of King Louis XIV of France and his mistress, Louise de Valliere.
The synopsis covers it all really - Louis' short life from his birth to his ultimate sexual corruption by the Chevalier de Lorraine in revenge of some slight done unto him by the King, to his exile and death (1683).
During the reign of Louis XIV homosexuality was punishable with death. However, it was, in reality - at least at the French Court - difficult to pursue such deviates when the King’s own brother was a noted invert, beneath contempt but above the law. As most marriages in the aristocracy were arrangements of property, French society condoned concubinage; nearly every man who could afford it had a mistress; men plumed themselves on their liaisons almost as much as on their battles; a woman felt desolate if no man but her husband pursued her; and some faithless husbands winked at their wives’ infidelities.
This is the world into which the pretty, young and naive young Louis was thrust once Louis XIV decided his offspring would be better educated and monitored at Versailles.
At times, the narrative feels overly long and rambling, however, this is a fair reconstruction of Louis' young life. Those with an interest in French history and the court of the Sun King will find this enjoyable.
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