The Cat and the King
| Company type | Historical novel |
|---|---|
| Industry | Literature |
| Founded | 1981 |
| Founder | Louis Auchincloss |
| Products | Novel |
The Cat and the King (1981) is a historical novel authored by Louis Auchincloss that focuses on the reign of French monarch Louis XIV (1638–1715). The story is narrated by Louis de Rouvroy, the second Duc de Saint-Simon, a genuine French aristocrat known for his detailed memoirs about life at Versailles. Auchincloss envisions Saint-Simon extending his reflections beyond those originally recorded in his memoirs.
Synopsis
Blending historical facts with creative storytelling, Saint-Simon shares three distinct episodes involving himself and his wife amid the political machinations at King Louis XIV's Versailles. His perspective on the monarch and the court undergoes significant change. In the opening episode, the youthful Duc opposes the King's tactic of arranging marriages between his illegitimate offspring and noble families but faces defeat when adversaries threaten to expose the homosexuality of both the King's brother and Saint-Simon's patron, the Prince de Conti. The second episode portrays Saint-Simon acting as an intermediary between Conti (who briefly held the title of King of Poland in 1697) and Conti's mistress, Madame la Duchesse, only to find himself ensnared by his wife's manipulations. The final episode centers on scandalous rumors of incest that ignite a contest over which disreputable "princess" will wed one of the King's legitimate grandsons. Growing disillusioned by these court intrigues ("We had all...been made part of the Versailles system"), Saint-Simon decides after the King's demise to document Louis XIV's "great style" and relentless quest for glory.