A few weeks back I blogged about reading a very good historical novel based on the real Lady MacBeth. I picked another historical novel winner while at the library earlier in the week. This time the heroine is Louise de la Valliere,mistress to Louis XIV, the Sun King.
"Mistress of the Sun" by Sandra Gulland swept me away to the Sun King's court but not until I had totally fallen in love with Louise. The story begins when Louise is just a small child enamored with horses. Gulland uses Louise's relationship with a true white horse, Diablo, to develop key elements in her character that thread through the entire story. Louise comes to life as an extraordinary horsewoman, a scholar and a deeply loving woman.
The story concludes with an wonderfully done epilogue told by Louise and Louis' only surviving child, a daughter. Gulland then includes a nice author's note at the end outlining the fictional aspects of the story.
Well done, from start to finish.
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