A01=University of Wisconsin Press
Author_University of Wisconsin Press
Category=FV
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eq_fiction
eq_historical-fiction
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Product details
- ISBN 9780299205102
- Weight: 620g
- Dimensions: 160 x 232mm
- Publication Date: 30 Sep 2004
- Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Hardback
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Set in the over-scaled, decadent Versailles of Louis XIV, ""Memoirs"" is the story of Hugues, an impoverished dwarf who maneuvers his way up into the very highest of court circles by clandestinely serving the needs of a mob of unscrupulous gamblers, of a priest notorious for saying black Masses at midnight, and, from under the gaming tables, of a number of sex-starved society women, including Louis's mistress. Two-thirds of the way through, Hugues finally discovers the truth of his own identity, a revelation that is a political bombshell and which subjects him to a grisly turn. The story combines historical events and characters - Louis, his mistresses, his outrageous brother Philippe, and many other baroque personalities - with fictitious ones, and it reaches its climax during the famous affaire des poisons, the sexual and political scandal that thundered through the royal court and threatened wholesale destruction.
Paul Weidner, formerly director for the Hartford Stage Company and of graduate programs for acting, design, and stage directing at the New York University School of the Arts, has directed more than forty productions. He divides his time between New York and Brittany, France. This is his first novel.
