The Little Flowers of Madame de Montespan. 3rd ed.

Beryl Baigent is a poet; her published collections include Absorbing the
Dark, Hiraeth: In Search of Celtic Origins, Triptych: Virgins, Victims,
Votives, and Mystic Animals.

First published in 1983, this volume of poetry speaks through the voice
of Madame Franзoise-Athenais de Rochechouart de Mortemart, marquise de
Montespan, mistress of the Sun King. Historically, Louis XIV is
remembered for his desire to establish unfettered power on the home
front and absolute expansion abroad. He insisted that all architecture
serve to glorify his reign. His principal memorial, the palace of
Versailles (the setting for this collection of poems), took 47 years to
complete. We learn that “[t]he King wanted each of his mistresses
represented allegorically as the subject of a fountain.”

Jennifer Dickson provides a stunning cover. Her 10 black-and-white
photographs of the palace, statuary, and immense formal gardens
appealingly reflect the mood and imagery of the poems, which are divided
into four sections (The Baroque Bed, Artificial Fire, The Poisoned
Shirt, and Glass Coffins).

Authentic and carefully researched, this is a book for historians who
would like to experience the behind-the-scenes milieu of the
17th-century French court. It is also a book for women who, like Mme de
Montespan, have been told that they “had too much to say” and have
nevertheless continued to let their words “like beads [spill] across a
marble floor / in search of freer destinations.”