Abbé Joseph Cognat - Les Mémoires de Madame de Motteville,
Abbé Joseph Cognat: Les Mémoires de Madame de Motteville, 2/2 (complete). Plon, Paris, pp. Full leather (publisher) binding adorned with cold stamped patterns on the covers, back with 4 false bands embossed, golden frames in compartments, golden title and volume number, golden framing on the covers, golden fillets on cuts. Friction, wear and tear on the corners (dented), borders; back with friction and wear and tear in head and tail not too serious, covers with friction and scratches of use not too serious, inside: adorned end papers, slightly soiled by use; some foxing not too seriousThe memoirs of Mrs. de Motteville are regarded as the most important related to the history of the Fronde, and at the beginning of the reign of Louis XIV. The niece of the poet Jean Bertaut was the daughter of an ordinary gentleman of the King's Chamber. Speaking Spanish, Ms. de Motteville became the friend and favourite of Louis XIV's mother but, after the disgrace of the favourites of this Princess by cardinal Richelieu, she had to retire in her province home where she married Nicolas Langlois, Lord of London, 1st president of the Chamber of Auditors of Normandy. She was then 18, her husband 80. At the death of Louis XIII, Anne of Austria, she was immediately called to the court and made 1st maid and intimate confidante. Her memoirs, strong of its proximity with the mother of Louis XIV, constitute a valuable document on the life of the Queen and the Fronde Read More