The Enemies of Versailles
by Sally Christie
Publication Date: March 21, 2017Atria Books
eBook & Paperback; 416 Pages
Genre: Historical Fiction
Series: The Mistresses of Versailles, Book Three
In the final installment of Sally Christie’s “tantalizing” (New York Daily News) Mistresses of Versailles trilogy, Jeanne Becu, a woman of astounding beauty but humble birth, works her way from the grimy back streets of Paris to the palace of Versailles, where the aging King Louis XV has become a jaded and bitter old philanderer. Jeanne bursts into his life and, as the Comtesse du Barry, quickly becomes his official mistress.
“That beastly bourgeois Pompadour was one thing; a common prostitute is quite another kettle of fish.”
After decades of suffering the King's endless stream of Royal Favorites, the princesses of the Court have reached a breaking point. Horrified that he would bring the lowborn Comtesse du Barry into the hallowed halls of Versailles, Louis XV’s daughters, led by the indomitable Madame Adelaide, vow eternal enmity and enlist the young dauphiness Marie Antoinette in their fight against the new mistress. But as tensions rise and the French Revolution draws closer, a prostitute in the palace soon becomes the least of the nobility’s concerns.
Told in Christie’s witty and engaging style, the final book in The Mistresses of Versailles trilogy will delight and entrance fans as it once again brings to life the sumptuous and cruel world of eighteenth century Versailles, and France as it approaches irrevocable change.
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Praise for The Sisters of Versailles
“Such an extraordinary tale makes for compelling reading and, as the lead book in a planned trilogy, will draw in readers who are interested in royal lives before the French Revolution….historical fiction fans, unfamiliar with the history of the Nesle sisters, will be intrigued.” (Library Journal)"Sally Christie's The Sisters of Versailles is an intriguing romp through Louis XV's France. Filled with lush backdrops, rich detail, and colorful characters, fans of historical fiction will enjoy this glimpse into the lost golden era of the French monarchy." (Allison Pataki, author of THE ACCIDENTAL EMPRESS )
“A stunning breadth of period detail, offered in a fresh, contemporary voice.” (Juliet Grey, author of the acclaimed Marie Antoinette trilogy )
“Tantalizing descriptions and cliff-hangers will leave the reader rapidly turning the pages in anticipation… A wickedly delightful read.” (New York Daily News)
About the Author
Sally Christie is the author of The Sisters of Versailles and The Rivals of Versailles. She was born in England and grew up around the world, attending eight schools in three different languages. She spent most of her career working in international development and currently lives in Toronto.Visit SallyChristieAuthor.com to find out more about Sally and the Mistresses of Versailles trilogy.
You can also find her on Facebook, Goodreads, and Amazon.
Interview with Sallie Christie
Where do you get inspiration for your stories?
The characters are definitely my inspiration! I was initially drawn to the world of Louis XV’s mistresses by the outrageous story of the 5 Nesle sisters, 4 of whom became his first mistresses, as told in The Sisters of Versailles. When I discovered that his more famous mistresses (the Marquise de Pompadour and the Comtesse du Barry) hadn’t been the subject of any English-language fiction either, I jumped all over them!
Their personal stories are all so different and so interesting, but so is the context in which they lived: 18th century Paris; Versailles, of course; all the nuances and etiquette and social customs which make their world so fascinating.
How did you do research for your book?
Thanks to Google Books, pretty much everything I needed could be found online, and for free! They have a project to digitalize every book ever published that is out of copyright. All the obscure 18th century memoires and contemporary accounts which inspired and informed the books were right there on the computer screen, just a click away. Amazing.
I’m fluent in French – that was definitely helpful from a research perspective, especially for the first book, The Sisters of Versailles, as there isn’t a whole lot of translated information about the Nesle sisters. Pompadour and du Barry have much more written about them, and so much more had been translated as well.
I also made several trips to France: Paris and Versailles are chock full of memories of Louis XV and all his mistresses. Getting to see childhood homes, places where they lived, going backstage at the palace of Versailles (you can see some cool images here: http://www.sallychristieauthor.com/versailles.html), walking the old town of Versailles and getting lost in the gardens that would have been quite similar 3 centuries ago – priceless!
Do you have another profession besides writing?
I started writing when I was 8, and I always considered myself a “writer” – because I was constantly writing as a hobby and that was how I experienced the world around me – but I never gave myself the time or space to finish any of my endless projects.
After graduating university I did a whole whack of other things – including getting an MBA and working overseas in development consulting – and it was only a few years ago, when my circumstances changed, that I thought: “Right, time to give this writing thing a shot, full-time!”
If you could go back in time, where would you go?
Definitely to Versailles, 18th century, to meet my characters! I’d be really curious to find out what I got right, and where I completely missed the mark. There is so much historical evidence about how people lived and thought back then, but still, I think there would be a ton of things that would surprise me.
I’m not a scientist but with all the amazing things that technology can do – including capturing images and sounds, even smells – why can’t we capture time? And preserve it, and relive it?
What is your next project?
I was working on another book partially set at Versailles during the same time period as The Enemies of Versailles, but I woke up one day and decided I couldn’t do it anymore. I’ve spent three wonderful years submerged in the world of Versailles, but there are so many other interesting places and time periods to explore. So the book I’m working on now – completely fictional, though based on plantation records of a real family – is also set at the end of the 18th century, but a world away across the ocean from France in the colony of Saint Domingue (today’s Haiti).
Blog Tour Schedule
Wednesday, March 15Review at Historical Fiction Obsession
Interview at T's Stuff
Thursday, March 16
Review at Leeanna.me
Review at The Lit Bitch
Friday, March 17
Review at To Read, Or Not to Read
Review at History From a Woman's Perspective
Spotlight at What Is That Book About
Saturday, March 18
Review at Jorie Loves a Story
Spotlight at Books, Dreams, Life
Sunday, March 19
Spotlight at Passages to the Past
Monday, March 20
Review at A Chick Who Reads
Tuesday, March 21
Review at Book Lovers Paradise
Wednesday, March 22
Review at First Impressions Reviews
Review at Oh, for the Hook of a Book!
Thursday, March 23
Review at Broken Teepee
Friday, March 24
Review at Ageless Pages Reviews
Sunday, March 26
Review at The Gadoury Dreamer
Review & Interview at Clarissa Reads It All
Monday, March 27
Review at The Reading Queen
Tuesday, March 28
Review at Book Nerd
Review at Luxury Reading
Review at Svetlana's Reads and Views
Wednesday, March 29
Review at Impressions in Ink
Review at A Bookaholic Swede
Thursday, March 30
Review at Curling up by the Fire
Friday, March 31
Review at Bookramblings
Review at CelticLady's Reviews
Giveaway
Five copies of The Enemies of Versailles are up for grabs during the blog tour! To enter, please see the Gleam form below.Rules
– Giveaway ends at 11:59pm EST on March 31st. You must be 18 or older to enter.
– Giveaway is open to residents in the US only.
– Only one entry per household.
– All giveaway entrants agree to be honest and not cheat the systems; any suspect of fraud is decided upon by blog/site owner and the sponsor, and entrants may be disqualified at our discretion.
– Winner has 48 hours to claim prize or new winner is chosen.
Enemies of Versailles
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