Letters from Spain: A Seventeenth-Century French Noblewoman at the Spanish Royal Court (Volume 80) (The Other Voice in Early Modern Europe: The Toronto Series) - Softcover

De Bellefonds, Marie Gigault

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1649590105 ISBN 13: 9781649590107

Publisher: Iter Press, 2021

Synopsis

Marie Gigault de Bellefonds, Marquise de Villars was a well-regarded figure in Parisian salons and esteemed by King Louis XIV, and she traveled internationally to accompany her ambassador husband, playing significant diplomatic roles at the court of Savoy in Turin and at the court of Spain in Madrid. She became the confidante of the queen of Spain, Marie-Louise d’Orléans, the niece of Louis XIV, and, as instructed by the king of France, endeavored to pursue French political interests in Madrid with female members of royalty.

This volume includes her surviving letters from Madrid to her friend Madame de Coulanges and an appendix of her letters sent from Paris and Turin. The letters from Spain, written between 1679 and 1681, paint a vivid and engaging picture of the royal court and its new queen.
 

About this title

About the Authors

Marie Gigault de Bellefonds, marquise de Villars (1624–1706) was a French ambassadress.

Nathalie Hester is associate professor of French and Italian and director of European studies at the University of Oregon. She is the author of Literature and Identity in Italian Baroque Travel Writing.
 

Edition details

• Publisher: Iter Press
• Publication date: 2021
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1649590105
• ISBN 13: 9781649590107
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 100
• Editor: Hester Nathalie