Writen in 1959 this biography is still worth seeking out if you have an interest in Anne Marie Louise d'Orleans, Duchesse de Montpensier, otherwise known as La Grande Mademoiselle the revolutionary Princess at the court of Louis XIV (The Sun King).
The biography is quite detailed and the author shows an in-depth understanting of France and the court during the Mademoiselle's lifetime. Its packed with lots of interesting facts about both the subject and the period being written. During her period of exile at Chateau de St Fargeau we are shown clearly why she thought she was in the wilderness and how she did her best to make something positive out of what was seen as a living death by the court.
The end of the book has a number of appendix which deal specifically with The Baptism of Royal Children, the Designations Monsieu, Madame, Mademoiselle etc, Mademoiselle and the Bastille, St Fargeau, the Death of Anne of Austria etc. The only thing this book is lacking is a detailed biblography of sources that you see in most modern biographies, but this aside this book is still one of the better biographies I have read on this interesting lady.
For other books on Mademoiselle see:
La Grande Mademoiselle at the Court of France: 1627--1693Against Marriage: The Correspondence of la Grande Mademoiselle (Other Voice in Early Modern Europe)Mémoires de la Grande Mademoiselle : Tome 1, Le choix d'un roi (1627-1650)
