Anne of Austria

by Evelyn Anthony

Book Overview

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0340575557
• ISBN13: 9780340575550
• Release Date: April 1994
• Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton General Division
• Length: 244 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Beyond a simple romance, an excellent historical fiction.

This book extrapolates that a popular rumour of 1630s France was true, Queen Anne of Austria was the lover of Cardinal Richelieu. Richelieu, typically portrayed as a selfish or evil figure is shown in this book as a master statesman, a brilliant politician and a reluctant, if successful, member of the Catholic church. His rise to power is more of a by-product of his goal, to united the disparate factions and provinces of France into a single, powerful authority under the king. Unfortunately, Louis XIII is a weak-willed child figure dominated my his mother Marie de Medici, who resists Richelieu's efforts to reform the state. In the end, Richelieu defeats all of his enemies except for himself. In Anne of Austria he finds the one weakness that he shouldn't allow himself, but one he must satisfy. For her part, Anne is a spoiled, selfish and politically ignorant girl. Having been raised and pampered in the Spanish court, she expects much of the world. She, however, is disappointed by her new husband, Louis, who enjoys the company of his favorite, Cinq-Mars, more than his queen. Richelieu is smitten with her, despite his better sense, and confesses his feeling for her early on. She is greatly offended, as he is a man of the cloth, and she is a queen. She has seen Richelieu exile Marie de Medici and have her lover executed, so Anne merely smoulders. Rejected by her, Richelieu redoubles his efforts, putting down a near civil war championed by Phillippe, Louis' younger brother, who desperatly tried to enlist Anne in the effort to depose her brother. Finally, through careful statesmanship and personal maneuvering, Richelieu protects Anne from being found a part of the revolt, sparing her life for becoming her lover. It is the final break of her will that she succumbs to his mastery of her world. Initially, his visits are polite meetings, but ventually she sees him for the great man that he is, and returns his love equally. Anne, through her association with Richelieu, grows in wisdom and maturity, becoming worthy of the title of the Queen of France. When she finds herself pregnant, Richelieu even manages this well, prompting the king to make the attempt to sire an heir, assuring him of the queen's love. The visit goes well enough, for to everyone's satisfaction, Anne gives birth to Louis XIV. This novel will forever change your perceptions of characters that you remember from popular films; although the 1972 version of the Three and Four Musketeers captures much of this book's Richelieu and Louis XIII.