Louise de La Vallière
Encyclopedia
Louise de La Vallière was a mistress of Louis XIV of France
from 1661 to 1667. She later became the Duchess of La Vallière
and Duchess of Vaujours in her own right. Unlike her rival, Madame de Montespan, she has no surviving descendants.
http://www.digischool.nl/ckv2/pws/valliere.jpg http://hoche.versailles.free.fr/productions/lv_portr.jpg
, the daughter of an officer, Laurent de La Baume Le Blanc (who took the name of La Vallière from a small estate near Amboise
) and Françoise Le Provost. Laurent de La Vallière died in 1651; his widow remarried in 1655, to Jacques de Courtarvel, marquis de Saint-Rémy, and joined the court of Gaston, Duke of Orléans
, at Blois
.
Louise was brought up with the younger princesses (the future Grand Duchess of Tuscany
, Duchess of Alençon, and Duchess of Savoy
), the stepsisters of La Grande Mademoiselle. After the death of Gaston, Duke of Orléans, his widow moved with her daughters to the Luxembourg Palace
in Paris and took the sixteen-year-old Louise with them.
, who was about her own age and had just married Philippe I, Duke of Orléans
), the King's brother. Henrietta (known as Madame) was extremely attractive and joined the court at Fontainebleau
in 1661. Her friendly relationship with King Louis XIV, her brother-in-law, caused some scandal and fed rumors of a romantic affair.
To counter these rumors, the King and Madame decided that Louis should pay court elsewhere as a front, and Madame selected three young ladies to "set in his path", Louise among them. The Abbé de Choise reported that the seventeen-year-old girl "had an exquisite complexion, blond hair, blue eyes, a sweet smile . . . [and] an expression [at] once tender and modest." One of her legs was shorter than the other, so Louise wore specially made heels.
Nicolas Fouquet
's curiosity in the matter was one of the causes of his disgrace, for, when he bribed Louise, the King mistakenly thought that Fouquet was attempting to take her as a lover.
In February 1662, the couple fell into conflict. Despite being directly questioned by the King, Louise refused to tell her lover about the affair between Henrietta and the comte de Guiche. Coinciding with this, Jacques-Benigne Bossuet
delivered a series of Lenten sermons in which he condemned the immoral activities of the King through the example of King David's adultery—and the pious girl's conscience was troubled. She fled to the convent at Chaillot. Louis followed her there and convinced her to return to court. Her enemies—chief among them, Olympe Mancini, comtesse de Soissons, niece of Cardinal Mazarin -- sought to orchestrate her downfall by bringing her liaison to the ears of Louis's queen, Maria Theresa of Spain
.
During her first pregnancy, Louise was removed from the Princess's service and established in a lodging in the Palais Royal
, where, on 19 December 1663, she gave birth to a son, Charles, who was taken immediately to Saint-Leu
and given to two faithful servants of Jean-Baptiste Colbert
. Despite the secrecy of the transfer, organised by a doctor Boucher who was present at the birth, the story quickly spread to Paris. The public scorn at a midnight mass on 24 December resulted in a distraught Louise escaping home from the church.
's death on 20 January 1666, La Vallière appeared at Mass
beside Maria Theresa. Ashamed of her conduct, she treated the queen with humility and respect. In return, the queen was reportedly venomous towards her during the five-year affair, continuing even after the affair really ended -- unaware that the king had taken another mistress.
After five years, Louise's favour was waning. She had given birth to a second son, Philippe, on 7 January 1665; but both children soon died, Charles on 15 July 1665, and Philippe before the autumn of 1666. A daughter was born at Vincennes
on 2 October 1666. In May 1667, by letters patent confirmed by the Parlement de Paris, Louis XIV legitimised his daughter, who was named Marie Anne de Bourbon
and was given the title of Mademoiselle de Blois. Louis XIV also made Louise a duchess
and gave her the estate of Vaujours. As a duchess, Louise had the right to sit on a tabouret in the presence of the queen, which was a highly-prized privilege. However, Louise was not impressed. She said her title seemed a kind of retirement present given to a servant. Indeed she was correct, for Louis commented that legitimising their daughter and giving Louise an establishment "matched the affection he had had for her for six years": in other words, an extravagant farewell present.
On 2 October of that year, she gave birth to their fourth child, a son named Louis, but by this time her place in the King's affections had been usurped by Françoise-Athénaïs, marquise de Montespan
, whom both she and the queen (both pregnant when the affair began) had thought of as a trusted friend. Under the pretense of her pregnancy, Louise was sent away to Versailles while the King and the court were at the scene of the war; however, she disobeyed the King's orders and returned, throwing herself at his feet sobbing uncontrollably. In a strange twist of fate, she ended her relationship with the King in the same way in which she started: used initially as a decoy for Louis and "Madame", Louise now became a decoy for her own successor, as Louis made her share the Marquise de Montespan's apartments at the Tuileries to prevent the legal manœuvres of the Marquis de Montespan (who wanted to get his wife back) and to keep the court from gossiping.
Mme de Montespan demanded that Louise assist her with her toilette, and Louise did so without complaint. Whenever the king wished to travel with his real mistress, Athénaïs, he made both Louise and Athénaïs sit in the same carriage with the queen. Since Athénaïs was married, it meant that both the king and she were committing adultery, a mortal sin. Louise had refused a smokescreen marriage for this very reason. (In cases where one partner is unmarried, canon law
of the Roman Catholic Church
considered a carnal affair to be simply fornication.)
Mlle de La Vallière was the godmother of Athénaïs's and Louis XIV's first daughter, who was given the first name Louise. Louise hated being the decoy for Athénaïs and begged and wept often to be allowed to join a convent. She took to wearing a hair shirt, and the strain of being forced to live with her former lover and his current mistress caused her to lose weight and become increasingly haggard.
She attempted to leave in 1671, fleeing to the convent of Ste Marie de Chaillot, only to be compelled (once more by order of the King) to return. In 1674, she was finally permitted to enter the Carmelite convent in the Faubourg Saint-Jacques in Paris under the name of Sister Louise of Mercy.
When Louise left the Court, the new Duchess of Orléans (born Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate
) took care of the education of her only surviving son, Louis. He later was involved in a scandal with his uncle Philippe de France
and Philippe's favourite, the Chevalier de Lorraine
, and died in 1683 while an exile in Flandres. His loving sister and aunt were greatly affected by his death, while his father did not shed a tear. His mother, still obsessed with the sin of her relationship with the king, said upon hearing of her son's death:
Madame de Maintenon asked Louise if she had fully considered the discomforts that awaited her at the Carmelite convent. "When I shall be suffering at the convent", Louise replied, "I shall only have to remember what they made me suffer here, and all the pain shall seem light to me." The day she left, she threw herself at the feet of the Queen, begging forgiveness: "My crimes were public, my repentance must be public, too."
She took the final vows a year later, accepting the black veil from the queen herself, who kissed and blessed her. The queen already had a habit of spending brief sojourns at the convent for spiritual consolation and repose. Interestingly, later in life, Mme de Montespan went to Louise for advice on living a pious life. Louise forgave her, and counselled her on the mysteries of divine grace. She died in 1710. The Duchy of La Vallière went to her daughter Marie Anne as did the fortune she had acquired during her life as Louis's mistress.
La Vallière's Réflexions sur la miséricorde de Dieu, written after her retreat, were printed by Lequeux in 1767, and in 1860 Réflexions, lettres et sermons, by M. P. Clement (2 vols.). Some apocryphal Mémoires appeared in 1829, and the Lettres de Mme la Duchesse de la Vallière (1767) are a corrupt version of her correspondence with the Maréchal de Bellefonds.
Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...
from 1661 to 1667. She later became the Duchess of La Vallière
Duchy of La Vallière
The Duchy of La Vallière was a French peerage created on 13 May 1667 by Louis XIV for his one time mistress Louise Françoise de La Baume Le Blanc...
and Duchess of Vaujours in her own right. Unlike her rival, Madame de Montespan, she has no surviving descendants.
http://www.digischool.nl/ckv2/pws/valliere.jpg http://hoche.versailles.free.fr/productions/lv_portr.jpg
Early life
Louise de La Vallière was born in ToursTours
Tours is a city in central France, the capital of the Indre-et-Loire department.It is located on the lower reaches of the river Loire, between Orléans and the Atlantic coast. Touraine, the region around Tours, is known for its wines, the alleged perfection of its local spoken French, and for the...
, the daughter of an officer, Laurent de La Baume Le Blanc (who took the name of La Vallière from a small estate near Amboise
Amboise
Amboise is a commune in the Indre-et-Loire department in central France. It lies on the banks of the Loire River, east of Tours. Today a small market town, it was once home of the French royal court...
) and Françoise Le Provost. Laurent de La Vallière died in 1651; his widow remarried in 1655, to Jacques de Courtarvel, marquis de Saint-Rémy, and joined the court of Gaston, Duke of Orléans
Gaston, Duke of Orléans
Gaston of France, , also known as Gaston d'Orléans, was the third son of King Henry IV of France and his wife Marie de Medici. As a son of the king, he was born a Fils de France. He later acquired the title Duke of Orléans, by which he was generally known during his adulthood...
, at Blois
Blois
Blois is the capital of Loir-et-Cher department in central France, situated on the banks of the lower river Loire between Orléans and Tours.-History:...
.
Louise was brought up with the younger princesses (the future Grand Duchess of Tuscany
Marguerite Louise d'Orléans
Marguerite Louise d'Orléans was Grand Duchess of Tuscany, as the wife of Grand Duke Cosimo III de' Medici. Deprived of her lover, Charles V of Lorraine, and yearning for France, Marguerite Louise despised her husband and his family, whom she often quarrelled with and falsely suspected of...
, Duchess of Alençon, and Duchess of Savoy
Françoise Madeleine d'Orléans
Françoise Madeleine d'Orléans was born a Princess of France and was the Duchess of Savoy as the first wife of Charles Emmanuel II. She was a first cousin of Louis XIV as well of her husband...
), the stepsisters of La Grande Mademoiselle. After the death of Gaston, Duke of Orléans, his widow moved with her daughters to the Luxembourg Palace
Luxembourg Palace
The Luxembourg Palace in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, north of the Luxembourg Garden , is the seat of the French Senate.The formal Luxembourg Garden presents a 25-hectare green parterre of gravel and lawn populated with statues and provided with large basins of water where children sail model...
in Paris and took the sixteen-year-old Louise with them.
Louis XIV
Through the influence of a distant kinswoman, Mme de Choisy, Louise was named Maid of honour to Princess Henrietta Anne of England, sister of King Charles II of EnglandCharles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
, who was about her own age and had just married Philippe I, Duke of Orléans
Philippe I, Duke of Orléans
Philippe of France was the youngest son of Louis XIII of France and his queen consort Anne of Austria. His older brother was the famous Louis XIV, le roi soleil. Styled Duke of Anjou from birth, Philippe became Duke of Orléans upon the death of his uncle Gaston, Duke of Orléans...
), the King's brother. Henrietta (known as Madame) was extremely attractive and joined the court at Fontainebleau
Fontainebleau
Fontainebleau is a commune in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southeast of the centre of Paris. Fontainebleau is a sub-prefecture of the Seine-et-Marne department, and it is the seat of the arrondissement of Fontainebleau...
in 1661. Her friendly relationship with King Louis XIV, her brother-in-law, caused some scandal and fed rumors of a romantic affair.
To counter these rumors, the King and Madame decided that Louis should pay court elsewhere as a front, and Madame selected three young ladies to "set in his path", Louise among them. The Abbé de Choise reported that the seventeen-year-old girl "had an exquisite complexion, blond hair, blue eyes, a sweet smile . . . [and] an expression [at] once tender and modest." One of her legs was shorter than the other, so Louise wore specially made heels.
Mistress
Louise had been at Fontainebleau only two months before becoming the king's mistress. Although she was intended to divert attention from the dangerous flirtation between Louis and his sister-in-law, Louise and Louis soon fell in love. It was Louise's first serious attachment and she was reportedly an innocent, religious-minded girl who initially brought neither coquetry nor self-interest to their secret relationship. She was not extravagant and was not interested in money or titles that could come from her situation; she wanted only the King's love. Antonia Fraser writes that she was a "secret lover not a Maîtresse-en-titre like Barbara Villiers."Nicolas Fouquet
Nicolas Fouquet
Nicolas Fouquet, marquis de Belle-Île, vicomte de Melun et Vaux was the Superintendent of Finances in France from 1653 until 1661 under King Louis XIV...
's curiosity in the matter was one of the causes of his disgrace, for, when he bribed Louise, the King mistakenly thought that Fouquet was attempting to take her as a lover.
In February 1662, the couple fell into conflict. Despite being directly questioned by the King, Louise refused to tell her lover about the affair between Henrietta and the comte de Guiche. Coinciding with this, Jacques-Benigne Bossuet
Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet
Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet was a French bishop and theologian, renowned for his sermons and other addresses. He has been considered by many to be one of the most brilliant orators of all time and a masterly French stylist....
delivered a series of Lenten sermons in which he condemned the immoral activities of the King through the example of King David's adultery—and the pious girl's conscience was troubled. She fled to the convent at Chaillot. Louis followed her there and convinced her to return to court. Her enemies—chief among them, Olympe Mancini, comtesse de Soissons, niece of Cardinal Mazarin -- sought to orchestrate her downfall by bringing her liaison to the ears of Louis's queen, Maria Theresa of Spain
Maria Theresa of Spain
Maria Theresa of Austria was the daughter of Philip IV, King of Spain and Elizabeth of France. Maria Theresa was Queen of France as wife of King Louis XIV and mother of the Grand Dauphin, an ancestor of the last four Bourbon kings of France.-Early life:Born as Infanta María Teresa of Spain at the...
.
During her first pregnancy, Louise was removed from the Princess's service and established in a lodging in the Palais Royal
Palais Royal
The Palais-Royal, originally called the Palais-Cardinal, is a palace and an associated garden located in the 1st arrondissement of Paris...
, where, on 19 December 1663, she gave birth to a son, Charles, who was taken immediately to Saint-Leu
Saint-Leu
Saint-Leu is the name or part of the name of five communes of France:*Saint-Leu in the Réunion département*Saint-Leu-d'Esserent in the Oise département*Saint-Leu-la-Forêt in the Val-d'Oise département...
and given to two faithful servants of Jean-Baptiste Colbert
Jean-Baptiste Colbert
Jean-Baptiste Colbert was a French politician who served as the Minister of Finances of France from 1665 to 1683 under the rule of King Louis XIV. His relentless hard work and thrift made him an esteemed minister. He achieved a reputation for his work of improving the state of French manufacturing...
. Despite the secrecy of the transfer, organised by a doctor Boucher who was present at the birth, the story quickly spread to Paris. The public scorn at a midnight mass on 24 December resulted in a distraught Louise escaping home from the church.
Children
Louise had four children by Louis XIV, only the last two survived infancy:- Charles de Bourbon (1663–1665);
- Philippe de Bourbon (1665–1666);
- Marie Anne de BourbonMarie Anne de BourbonMarie Anne de Bourbon, Légitimée de France was the eldest legitimised daughter of King Louis XIV of France and Louise de La Vallière. At the age of thirteen, she was married to Louis Armand de Bourbon, Prince of Conti and as such was the Princess of Conti by marriage...
(1666–1739); after her father Louis XIV legitimised her, she was known as Mademoiselle de Blois. She later married Louis Armand I, Prince of ContiLouis Armand I, Prince of ContiLouis Armand I de Bourbon was Prince of Conti from 1666 to his death, succeeding his father, Armand de Bourbon. As a member of the reigning House of Bourbon, he was a Prince du Sang....
, and, through this marriage, became officially recognised as a Princess of the Blood; - Louis de Bourbon, Count of Vermandois (1667–1683); died at the age of sixteen during his first military campaign.
Downfall
Concealment was practically abandoned after her return to court, and within a week of Anne of AustriaAnne of Austria
Anne of Austria was Queen consort of France and Navarre, regent for her son, Louis XIV of France, and a Spanish Infanta by birth...
's death on 20 January 1666, La Vallière appeared at Mass
Mass (liturgy)
"Mass" is one of the names by which the sacrament of the Eucharist is called in the Roman Catholic Church: others are "Eucharist", the "Lord's Supper", the "Breaking of Bread", the "Eucharistic assembly ", the "memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection", the "Holy Sacrifice", the "Holy and...
beside Maria Theresa. Ashamed of her conduct, she treated the queen with humility and respect. In return, the queen was reportedly venomous towards her during the five-year affair, continuing even after the affair really ended -- unaware that the king had taken another mistress.
After five years, Louise's favour was waning. She had given birth to a second son, Philippe, on 7 January 1665; but both children soon died, Charles on 15 July 1665, and Philippe before the autumn of 1666. A daughter was born at Vincennes
Vincennes
Vincennes is a commune in the Val-de-Marne department in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. It is one of the most densely populated municipalities in Europe.-History:...
on 2 October 1666. In May 1667, by letters patent confirmed by the Parlement de Paris, Louis XIV legitimised his daughter, who was named Marie Anne de Bourbon
Marie Anne de Bourbon
Marie Anne de Bourbon, Légitimée de France was the eldest legitimised daughter of King Louis XIV of France and Louise de La Vallière. At the age of thirteen, she was married to Louis Armand de Bourbon, Prince of Conti and as such was the Princess of Conti by marriage...
and was given the title of Mademoiselle de Blois. Louis XIV also made Louise a duchess
Duchy
A duchy is a territory, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess.Some duchies were sovereign in areas that would become unified realms only during the Modern era . In contrast, others were subordinate districts of those kingdoms that unified either partially or completely during the Medieval era...
and gave her the estate of Vaujours. As a duchess, Louise had the right to sit on a tabouret in the presence of the queen, which was a highly-prized privilege. However, Louise was not impressed. She said her title seemed a kind of retirement present given to a servant. Indeed she was correct, for Louis commented that legitimising their daughter and giving Louise an establishment "matched the affection he had had for her for six years": in other words, an extravagant farewell present.
On 2 October of that year, she gave birth to their fourth child, a son named Louis, but by this time her place in the King's affections had been usurped by Françoise-Athénaïs, marquise de Montespan
Françoise-Athénaïs, marquise de Montespan
Françoise Athénaïs de Rochechouart de Mortemart, marquise of Montespan , better known as Madame de Montespan, was the most celebrated maîtresse en titre of King Louis XIV of France, by whom she had seven children....
, whom both she and the queen (both pregnant when the affair began) had thought of as a trusted friend. Under the pretense of her pregnancy, Louise was sent away to Versailles while the King and the court were at the scene of the war; however, she disobeyed the King's orders and returned, throwing herself at his feet sobbing uncontrollably. In a strange twist of fate, she ended her relationship with the King in the same way in which she started: used initially as a decoy for Louis and "Madame", Louise now became a decoy for her own successor, as Louis made her share the Marquise de Montespan's apartments at the Tuileries to prevent the legal manœuvres of the Marquis de Montespan (who wanted to get his wife back) and to keep the court from gossiping.
Mme de Montespan demanded that Louise assist her with her toilette, and Louise did so without complaint. Whenever the king wished to travel with his real mistress, Athénaïs, he made both Louise and Athénaïs sit in the same carriage with the queen. Since Athénaïs was married, it meant that both the king and she were committing adultery, a mortal sin. Louise had refused a smokescreen marriage for this very reason. (In cases where one partner is unmarried, canon law
Canon law
Canon law is the body of laws & regulations made or adopted by ecclesiastical authority, for the government of the Christian organization and its members. It is the internal ecclesiastical law governing the Catholic Church , the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox churches, and the Anglican Communion of...
of the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
considered a carnal affair to be simply fornication.)
Mlle de La Vallière was the godmother of Athénaïs's and Louis XIV's first daughter, who was given the first name Louise. Louise hated being the decoy for Athénaïs and begged and wept often to be allowed to join a convent. She took to wearing a hair shirt, and the strain of being forced to live with her former lover and his current mistress caused her to lose weight and become increasingly haggard.
She attempted to leave in 1671, fleeing to the convent of Ste Marie de Chaillot, only to be compelled (once more by order of the King) to return. In 1674, she was finally permitted to enter the Carmelite convent in the Faubourg Saint-Jacques in Paris under the name of Sister Louise of Mercy.
When Louise left the Court, the new Duchess of Orléans (born Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate
Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate
Elizabeth Charlotte, Princess Palatine was a German princess and the wife of Philippe I, Duke of Orléans, younger brother of Louis XIV of France. Her vast correspondence provides a detailed account of the personalities and activities at the court of her brother-in-law, Louis XIV...
) took care of the education of her only surviving son, Louis. He later was involved in a scandal with his uncle Philippe de France
Philippe I, Duke of Orléans
Philippe of France was the youngest son of Louis XIII of France and his queen consort Anne of Austria. His older brother was the famous Louis XIV, le roi soleil. Styled Duke of Anjou from birth, Philippe became Duke of Orléans upon the death of his uncle Gaston, Duke of Orléans...
and Philippe's favourite, the Chevalier de Lorraine
Chevalier de Lorraine
Philippe of Lorraine, called the Chevalier de Lorraine was a French noble man and member of the House of Guise, cadet of the Ducal house of Lorraine. He was the renowned lover of Philippe de France, Monsieur, brother of Louis XIV.-Biography:Philippe de Lorraine was the second son of the Count and...
, and died in 1683 while an exile in Flandres. His loving sister and aunt were greatly affected by his death, while his father did not shed a tear. His mother, still obsessed with the sin of her relationship with the king, said upon hearing of her son's death:
I ought to weep for his birth far more than [for] his death.
Madame de Maintenon asked Louise if she had fully considered the discomforts that awaited her at the Carmelite convent. "When I shall be suffering at the convent", Louise replied, "I shall only have to remember what they made me suffer here, and all the pain shall seem light to me." The day she left, she threw herself at the feet of the Queen, begging forgiveness: "My crimes were public, my repentance must be public, too."
She took the final vows a year later, accepting the black veil from the queen herself, who kissed and blessed her. The queen already had a habit of spending brief sojourns at the convent for spiritual consolation and repose. Interestingly, later in life, Mme de Montespan went to Louise for advice on living a pious life. Louise forgave her, and counselled her on the mysteries of divine grace. She died in 1710. The Duchy of La Vallière went to her daughter Marie Anne as did the fortune she had acquired during her life as Louis's mistress.
La Vallière's Réflexions sur la miséricorde de Dieu, written after her retreat, were printed by Lequeux in 1767, and in 1860 Réflexions, lettres et sermons, by M. P. Clement (2 vols.). Some apocryphal Mémoires appeared in 1829, and the Lettres de Mme la Duchesse de la Vallière (1767) are a corrupt version of her correspondence with the Maréchal de Bellefonds.
Legacy
- The term lavallière (lavalierLavalierA lavalier is a type of jewelry, consisting of a pendant, sometimes with one stone, suspended from a necklace.-General jewelry:A lavalier is named for the type of pendant popularized by the Duchesse de la Vallière, a mistress of King Louis XIV of France. Within the fashion world, the name was...
), the name for a jeweled pendant necklace, comes from her name. - Louise Françoise le Blanc de la Vallière, the main female character of Zero no TsukaimaZero no Tsukaimais a fantasy and comedy-oriented series of Japanese light novels written by Noboru Yamaguchi and illustrated by Eiji Usatsuka. The story features several characters from the second year class of a magic academy in a fictional magical world with the main characters being the inept mage Louise and...
, is named after her. - Her life was the basis for a character in Alexandre Dumas'sAlexandre Dumas, pèreAlexandre Dumas, , born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie was a French writer, best known for his historical novels of high adventure which have made him one of the most widely read French authors in the world...
novel The Vicomte de BragelonneThe Vicomte de BragelonneThe Vicomte of Bragelonne: Ten Years Later is a novel by Alexandre Dumas. It is the third and last of the d'Artagnan Romances, following The Three Musketeers and Twenty Years After. It appeared first in serial form between 1847 and 1850...
. A common English translation of that novel breaks it into three parts, with the second part entitled Louise de la Vallière. In the novel Twenty Years AfterTwenty Years AfterTwenty Years After is a novel by Alexandre Dumas, père, first serialized from January to August, 1845. A book of the D'Artagnan Romances, it is a sequel to The Three Musketeers and precedes The Vicomte de Bragelonne .The novel follows events in France during La Fronde, during the childhood reign...
, the sequel to The Three MusketeersThe Three MusketeersThe Three Musketeers is a novel by Alexandre Dumas, first serialized in March–July 1844. Set in the 17th century, it recounts the adventures of a young man named d'Artagnan after he leaves home to travel to Paris, to join the Musketeers of the Guard...
, she is the childhood friend of Raoul de Bragelonne, the ward (revealed later to be the son) of Athos, one of the Three Musketeers, and in The Vicomte de BragelonneThe Vicomte de BragelonneThe Vicomte of Bragelonne: Ten Years Later is a novel by Alexandre Dumas. It is the third and last of the d'Artagnan Romances, following The Three Musketeers and Twenty Years After. It appeared first in serial form between 1847 and 1850...
the couple have, ten years later, fallen in love, only for Louise to have her head turned by the young King Louis XIV. Raoul, broken-hearted, goes off to fight in North Africa and is killed in battle. - Sandra GullandSandra GullandSandra Gulland is an American-born Canadian novelist. She is the author of Mistress of the Sun, a historical novel based on Louise de la Vallière, mistress of Louis XIV, The Sun King, and a trilogy of novels based on the life of Josephine Bonaparte: The Many Lives & Secret Sorrows of Josephine B.;...
has written a historical novel featuring Louise de la Vallière, called Mistress of the Sun, published in 2008. - Karleen Koen's 2011 novel, "Before Versailles", features Louise de la Vallière as a primary viewpoint.
- Joan Sanders published a biography of Louise in 1959 entitled La Petite: Louise de la Vallière.