Saint-Simon sur le vif. Biographie
Work published with the financial support of the CRCV.
Philippe Hourcade, Saint-Simon sur le vif. Biographie, éditions Michel de Maule, November 2023, 16 × 24 cm, €24 (ISBN: 978-2-87 623-751-3).
Abstract
This biography of Louis de Rouvroy, Duke de Saint-Simon, memoirist and courtier of Versailles and eyewitness to the end of Louis XIV and the Regency, retraces the earthly existence of the duke chronologically.
More than just a narrative, it sets out to answer a number of questions - and not just the simplest - regarding his studious and military youth, his public début, his diligence at court, his respect for the King, his initiation to politics, his work as minister and his business affairs, as well as his domestic life, family, health and spiritual life, his friendships and lifestyle.
And what about his readings? His writings? Suffice it to say that they are omnipresent, salutary, silent, and absorbing!
Philippe Hourcade, former University professor in 17th and 18th-century French litterature, President of the Société Saint-Simon, has dedicated his research and work to novels, memoires, correspondence and historiography, and to the performing arts at court and beyond. He published Turcaret de Lesage (Flammarion, 1998), Contes de fées de Madame d’Aulnoy, La Bibliothèque du duc de Saint-Simon (Classiques Garnier, 2011) and worked on Madame de Pompadour et le théâtre des cabinets du roi (Michel de Maule, 2014).
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