Memoirs: Duc de Saint-Simon

Written some 20 years after he stopped playing any role in the political affairs of his time, that is after the death of the Regent, the duke of Orleans, Saint-Simon's Memoirs are of interest to 21st century readers not only because of what we learn about life in Versailles, at the court of Louis the fourteenth (countless memoirs from the time have long been rightly forgotten) but because of what they reveal about human nature. Obsessed by his rank and deeply hurt by what he perceives to be the debasement of French high nobility by the king, Saint-Simon is first and foremost a very keen observer of the brutal struggle for power that goes on day in day out at the court. His title of duke and peer of the realm meant that he could move in all the spheres of power and knew not only the Sun king but all the planets and satellites that orbited around him. He breathes life into all of the courtiers and makes them unforgettable. Known best for the unflinching hatred he bore some of them, in particular the king's bastards, he can also bring the reader close to tears when he tells about the ones he loved. The duke of Burgundy's (Louis' grandson and heir to the throne) last days make for some of the most impressive pages I have ever read.Saint-Simon, though not an easy read at first, will give you intense pleasure and there's 9000 thousand pages to enjoy. This edition is an abridged edition of the complete memoirs. It's a good start but I highly recommend learning French just to read all of it.This is a diamond of a book, so join the club of those who can claim to have read Saint-Simon like among many others Stendhal, Proust, on whom he exerted a profound influence, or Julien Green, you won't regret it.