The Rivals of Versailles by Sally Christie

Clever and kind, she nevertheless gains the edge required to thrive in the conniving court at Versailles. Jeanne is a delightful narrator to spend time with. From 1745, she was his principle mistress for about six years, and afterward remained his close friend and confidant, even advising him on political matters, until her death in 1764. Born Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson, she rises far above her humble origins and rather unfortunate last name, reaching a position of considerable power and gaining the title of the Marquise de Pompadour after Louis XV bestowed it upon her. Marquise de Pompadour is the central character of The Rivals of Versailles. The first one (which I also read and would recommend) follows the scandalous lives of the Mailly Nesle sisters, all four of whom became mistresses of Louis XV. The Rivals of Versailles is the second in Sally Christie’s wonderful ‘The Mistresses of Versailles’ trilogy. The Marquise only gets one brief mention in my book, as one of the characters is a watchmaker who was commissioned by the king to design a ring with a watch mounted on it for her, and likes to reminisce about it, but she’s a woman deserving of her own story and well worth reading more about. I didn’t know a lot about the Marquise de Pompadour before reading The Rivals of Versailles (she’s a few decades before the time period I focus on in The Wardrobe Mistress) but with my love of French history, I was immediately drawn to this book and enjoyed it immensely.

The Rivals of Versailles by Sally Christie