450 pages on a minor French princess - originally from Savoy - and who died at the age of 26 - might see like a bit much, but this is also a biography of Marie Adelaide's husband, the Duc de Bourgogne, and really also a history of the court of Louis XIV during the period 1695-1712 - the era of the War of the Spanish Succession. The book is mostly well-written and quite interesting. The author follows the Flemish military campaigns of the Duc de Bourgogne with as much diligence and detail that he uses in describing the intrigues and machinations of the byzantine world of Versailles.

I've tried, not I haven't been able to find out _anything_ about the author, Charles W. Elliott. This seems to have been to his only publication, and it's not at all clear how he came to be interested in the subject - I'd be interested to find out. ( )

a very good read, highly recommended ( )