The Fabrication of Louis XIV

i majored in history and wrote my thesis on louis xiv, have a wall of books on him and his era, so i have trouble finding anything new worth shelling out for; but this gorgeously illustrated, well-researched and novel approach to its subject is a welcome addition to my library. the focus is on how the king's court, ministers, etc. worked hard to create a public image for louis--amazingly modern for the 17th century! fascinating, enlightening, and easy and fun to read. recommended for anyone at all interested in this endlessly fascinating figure, from the casual lay reader to the professional scholar.

Burke offers an accessible overview of the work that went into the representation of the 'Sun King'. The book is filled with images of the architecture, portraits, and other aides throughout its entirety.

GOOD BOOK

I read this book in grad school, and it was one of the most enjoyable and accessible books I read. It is not a biography of Louis XIV but an extensive study on the image-making of the king. The use of the negative-sounding word "Fabrication" in the title makes the cover look very intriguing as it may imply to some that Burke has uncovered much deceit surrounding Louis' image. Actually, Burke uses this term to mean the process and constant renewal of the representation of Louis XIV (10-11). Burke includes chapters on the following subjects: the types of persuasion used (medals, festivals, allegories, etc.), a brief background on Louis' "sunrise", the organization of Louis' image-making system (academies, etc.), the royal image from the time of "personal rule," image-making through victories, reconstruction through peacetime, Louis' "sunset," differences between the ideal and the real, antagonistic images (loyal subjects making gentle fun or giving hopeful advise and actual enemies of the king), the ways in which Louis' image was perceived including the "targets" of Louis' image-makers, and a comparison with rulers before, during, and after his reign. Strangely enough, the Third Reich is not mentioned in the latter chapter which would be a glaring omission to me had it not left the door open for me to write a term paper making such a comparison.Burke presents a very thorough study examining such things as the changes in medal inscriptions through the years of Louis' rule to a look at what was meant by "public" during this time (pp. 131 and 152). The many photographs makes for a very interesting and enjoyable book. There is also appendixes on the numbers of medals and portraits created during the different decades of Louis' reign. It is a case study of image-making which, if taken as that, is an excellent, complete study. Do not expect a complicated thesis from this work. Burke, for example, does not pursue very strongly the idea of "charisma" (introduced on page 11)and how much "charisma" is tied to personality and "fabrication." One petty complaint is Burke's tendency to throw in French words and phrases. Most often it does not detract from an understanding of the study but, in certain cases, it can be very frustrating. Two of the worst examples are when Burke is describing how the king was surrounded by the gentlemen of his chamber "even when he was..." [the rest being in French] (91) and when Burke mentions a man who found himself in court for remarking "in brutal simplicity, that..." [the rest being in French] (167). But I won't knock off a star because I do not know Francaise.

I must say I enjoyed this book. I bought it for some background reading on Louis XIV for my OU Degree course but would recommend it to anyone interested in the period. It really details the "propaganda" employed in all its guises (medals, poems, statues, paintings, literature, public notices etc) to ensure Louis' standing amongst his people and on the world stage was as high as possible. Lavishly illustrated. Thoroughly recommended!

very good

Came in good condition, loved the book. Shares interesting information. Also, Peter Burke is a genius