"Queen of Versailles thoroughly explores the roles Madame de Maintenon played in the reign of Louis XIV. Mark Bryant follows Maintenon through the morass of seventeenth-century politics, religious controversies, and court factions to produce a truly impressive work of scholarship, demonstrating a confident command of a vast array of sources." Kathleen Wellman, Southern Methodist University and author of Queens and Mistresses of Renaissance France
"This is first rate research. Byrant is among the first people to bear insights drawn from modern gender history on Maintenon, who was one of the most powerful women in early modern Europe. Every scholar interested in the history of Louis XIV's Europe will read this book and it will be a vitally important addition to early modern womens history." James Collins, Georgetown University and author of The State in Early Modern France