The Man Who Would Be King

by Christine Pevitt

Book Overview

Many consider Philippe to be France's equivalent to Richard III: a royal regent who would be accused of debauchery, treason, incest, and murder. Philippe threw Voltaire in prison and coveted the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 029781317X
• ISBN13: 9780297813170
• Release Date: January 1997
• Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson
• Length: 366 Pages
• Weight: 1.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.5" x 1.4" x 6.4"

Customer Reviews

A Worthy Effort

In "The Man Who Would Be King," Christine Pevitt attacks the weightly subject of the French royal family during the latter part of Louis XIV's reign and during the flagratly wild Regency period before the accession of the lackluster Louis XV. The center of this tale of Versaille intrigue and power-politics is Philippe D'Orleans, the Sun King's talented but often directionless nephew who eventually came to preside over the French court as Regent of France. Pevitt uses her source material competently and well, painting solid and unromanticized portraits of the major Versailles players of the Duke's day with just enough Royal scandal here and there to keep the reader interested. And, the picture of the Duke himself is a fascinating study of a royal person "on the cusp" of both the reactionary monarchist movement and the Enlightenment, fascinated by both but too often vacillating between the lure of power and the lure of new ideas and thinking which, by implication, challenged the very foundations of the absolutist monarchist principle itself. The Duke was a competent field commander, avid amateur "chemist," passionate lover, a dabbler in occult spiritualism, patron of the arts, and sometime-patron sometime-foe of figures like Voltaire and the lesser philosophes making such an impact on the intellectual life of France. Pevitt presents him almost sympathetically, as he was in some ways, even as she paints a picture of a man who could be a microcosm in one body of the conflict between the France that was and the France yet to be. My only quibbles are a too free use of French phraseology without citation or translation, and a propensity to make a muddle of the various personages of the convoluted French court, many of whom had names or titles which were similar and sometimes interchanged. At points, this made the the narrative very hard to follow, and the chapter on the War of the Spanish Succession, in particular, highlighted these deficiencies at their worst. And sometimes, the narrative will drag, but that is not a critique. It is a rare biography that does not from time to time, and it's a "flaw" easily forgiven. Still, I was very happy to have picked up this book. It does the high-flying Regency period much justice, and the author's obvious desire to be balanced and straightforward about her many subjects shows the work of a disciplined mind caring about its subject but determined not to fall into the gushy, Harlequin romance traps that too often mar biogprahies of royal persons with useless, speculative sentimentality. I recommend "The Man Who Would Be King" to any European history enthusiast or student of the French monarchy. A very fine first effort.

Philip II, Duke of Orleans

The duke of Orleans won success for himself as a young man in various military campaigns, and became a favorite of King Louis XIV. Only when he expressed a desire to replace Philip V on the throne of Spain did he suddenly fall from favor with Louis XIV. But the king appointed him regent of the young King Louis XV anyway; Louis XV was only five years old when his father died. The duke at first accomplished some good things while acting as regent: he decreased taxation, reduced the size of the army, and restored liberty to the Jansenists. But he was also self-indulgent and a slave to pleasure. The duke often is described only in these negative terms, and Pevitt tries to rectify this by pointing out some of his better qualities. A good history, though lacking in literary distinction.

Hedonistic Prince of The French Regency

This, the biography of Prince Philippe, Duke of Orleans and Regent of France following the Sun-King's death, was Christine Pevitt Algrant's first book. To which I say that if every author had a first book like this, the world would be a better place. She draws us intimately into the court of Louis XIV and the strange shadow-court of his brother, the transvestite Philippe ("Monsieur") Duke of Orleans and his long-suffering duchess, Liselotte, a Princess Palatine. Their child - and our protagonist - Philippe, had to cope not with his father's wild and outrageously gay lifestyle, but also from having to kowtow to Louis XIV's various progeny, including his illegitimate children (one of whom he was forced to marry). Not a man to stay in the shadows, Philippe became a renowned warrior, accomplished intellectual and subtle diplomat. In 1714, having outlived most of Louis's direct lineal descendants, he was made Regent during the infancy of King Louis XV. And that's just the first half of the book - Pevitt takes us through the wild swings and hedonistic excesses of the French Regency, to a Paris of Jacobite exiles, wild speculators and a young Voltaire. A treat.

The Regent - Brilliant but Debauched Workhorse

Knowing nothing about this historical personage or his period, I was pleasantly surprised with the intriguing, contradictory character of Philippe, the nephew of Louis XIV, and Regent for King Louis XV. The author relied heavily on primary sources to describe the Regent and his times, particularly on the letters of his mother (the second duchesse d'Orleans, Elizabeth Charlotte) and Saint Simon's writings. Since both famous writers were close to the Regent, there are lively sketches of Philippe. It is a balanced biography; the Regent's controversial personal life is addressed, too. The author establishes the background carefully, describing Louis XIV's overly long reign at its end; the old, rigid court at Versailles, the King's control of the nobility, the "liberal" movement towards Paris, the problems encountered by Louis XIV's grandson as the first Bourbon king of Spain, military and economic problems. Then, the Regency: politics and coup, social issues, and fiscal reforms. The author also presents cultural affairs (the arts) with great sensitivity. There is an excellent genealogy table and "cast of characters" preceding the text; also, a few pages of illustrations. This is an engrossing biography with useful"extras."