Louis XV by Olivier Bernier

Louis XV Reviews

• 
  Richard Thomas

  A surprising biography.
  
  I had never read very deeply about Louis XV as I had been content to use both general histories of Europe and indirect accounts of his life from other sources. As a consequence, I had always considered him to be the supreme hedonist, more concerned with his own pleasure than ruling France. This book is a useful corrective which sheds much new light on his effectiveness as the king and his energy and capability in steering France through the bulk of the 18th century. It’s an easy read and can be recommended for the general reader as well as for those with an interest in 18th century history.
• 
  Nefertari

  An interesting biography - it’s actually pretty difficult to find one on Louis XV, who took a backseat to so many others in his world, including his mistresses. But it’s pretty obvious that this was written by a man - the author chides Maria Leszczynka for getting tired of sex and not looking her best (after at least ten pregnancies!), speaks of the boring nature of his daughters (whom he never gave anything to do!), and concludes that Louis XV was a faithful lover (!), a strong king (...no), and left his kingdom in a strong financial position (he didn’t, this was literally a huge problem that plagued his successor and led to the Revolution.) Read it, but with more than a few grains of salt.
• 
  Mercedes Rochelle

  Louis XV is one of those shadow kings who resides somewhere between the Sun King and the French Revolution. I was absolutely amazed to learn that he reigned for 59 years! How can such a long-lived sovereign be a mystery to most of us? When I discovered this book I was just as amazed by the title, “Louis the Beloved”. If he was so beloved, why didn’t he leave much of a mark on history? Well, apparently, it was because not a lot happened in his reign (if you discount the 7 years’ war, which was not fought on French soil). It seems the thing Louis was most known for was the huge number of women he bedded: hundreds, the author tells us. Maybe even more. And who hasn’t heard of his famous mistresses, the Duchesse de Pompadour and the Duchesse de Berry? Apparently Louis was beloved by more than just his mistresses; he was a man of the people in a way Louis XIV would never have even considered. Because of his upbringing, Louis was shy and unable to assert himself. When he could, he ruled wisely, if timidly; it seems his biggest stumbling blocks was his choice of administrators, whose self-serving and short-sighted concerns often put France at a disadvantage and who remained in office way too long. The author gives us a sympathetic—almost apologist—view of his life, which reads very well until he tries to explain the military angle. At that point things really become muddled. As a biography, this is an interesting book; as military history, I would give it a pass.
• 
  Steve Larter

  Very good and brief bio of the penultimate king of France. I know, I know, there were a couple of pretenders after the revolution, but they don't really count. I had my impressions, as I think most people do, that it was under Louis XV that France started to go downhill culminating in the revolution. While there are frustrating elements to Louis XV's personality and rule it's obvious my original impressions were wrong.
  
  The John Law fiasco wasn't Louis's fault, as it actually happened during the regency and Louis was too young to be assigned any blame and the country had plenty of time rebound after John Law, so it had no direct effect. The parlement were causing problems throughout his reign (as it did under Louis XIV), but like his predecessor Louis XV put them in check, but it took him long enough to get his head out of his ass. He even reformed the tax code making everyone, even the nobles, pay their share (Louis XVI then immediately screwed it up upon his ascension).
  
  All this is just further evidence for what a worthless twat Louis XVI really was. I think I'm comfortable enough in that knowledge to avoid reading a bio on that guy.
  
  P.S. Biographies are such a great resource, but damn they are starting to piss me off. They spend way too much time on the minutiae and some of the more important details are glossed over...I'm just sayin.
• 
  JW

  The story tends to sag half way through, but otherwise a good life and times. He never said, "After me the deluge." A much more effective monarch than usually portrayed.
• 
  Nina Clare

  This was an interesting read, charting Louis XV's long reign from the tender age of five. Although I did enjoy it, I thought it a little too subjective in presenting Louis as a wonderful, kind man who overcame a lack of self confidence to become one of France's most successful kings. I don't disagree that Louis XV achieved some excellent things in his reign - he was peaceable, never willingly going into war, and late in his reign he finally got around to reforming the dreadful legal and tax systems where the poor bore the burden of taxation. He was undoubtedly a hard working monarch, who took his responsibilities seriously, but he also spent as least as much time enjoying himself as he did in working, and there was still a good deal of extravagance and debauchery going on among the court, while religious persecution and political corruption continued in the kingdom.
  I also disagree with Bernier's conclusion that the king's promiscuity was to be discounted, claiming that it was an era of sexual freedom, so why couldn't he enjoy himself ? If the king's last mistress, Mme du Barry, was villified for her previous career as a high class prostitute, while the high ranking courtiers and officials who used her services were not, then clearly there was no sexual 'freedom', just the usual double standards we see in history. There's no other word I can use except womaniser in relation to the king's personal brothel in the palace garden, as well as his numerous one night stands.
  However, one of the things that interested me most was the king's relationship with Madame de Pompadour, the bourgouise socialite who rose to be the king's maitresse en titre, and remained his closest friend and advisor even after their sexual relationship ended. She endured much hostility, both within the court and from the general public, but poured herself into supporting and encouraging the king until her premature death. I'm glad the king had at least one enduring relationship with a woman that was not exploitative, I think it will be one of her bios I will be reading next.
• 
  Sally Christie

  Bernier is the master of that elusive sweet spot: non-fiction that reads as well and as easily as fiction. He's also not afraid to inject his personal opinions into the drier details of what actually happened, helping to bring alive the man, and the circumstances he was born and raised in, for the reader. It's a sympathetic look at a King that is often very maligned, perhaps unfairly so.