Author:Vincent Cronin
First published 25 years ago, this biography of the Sun King uses contemporary sources to examine what sort of monarch Louis XIV really was. The author's researches reveal a portrait of the man and an account of the principal events of his long reign (1642-1715). The book provides an overview of the entire civilization inspired by and reflecting the glory of the Sun King. Thus, while Louis occupies the foreground, artists like Racine, Moliere, Lully and Mansart, the architect of Versailles, share the middleground with politicians such as Cardinal Mazarin and Nicolas Fouquet and courtiers such as the king's mistress, Louise de La Valliere.
Her biography reads like a medieval romance, a marvellous intermingling of fact with legend...fascinating...splendid
—— Literary ReviewWeir approaches Eleanor's story with an objective eye and a mass of primary and secondary source material. The result is as vivid as it is informative
—— The TimesSensible and eminently readable
—— Times Literary SupplementWhen you finish the book you feel you have been put painlessly (but not necessarily without tears) in possession of the facts of this extraordinary, indefatigable woman, her sufferings and triumphs
—— Bevis Hillier , Spectator, Books of the YearTriumphantly done
—— Sunday TimesAs rich and informative a community study as one could hope to get
—— Urban StudiesIt offers the same switchback exhilaration as Morrison's comic books
—— Sunday HeraldAs a writer for Batman and Superman, Grant Morrison is in the perfect place to analyse the rise and fall of the superhero
—— Sunday TimesMorrison makes a passionate and knowledgeable tour guide through comics' golden age
—— The TimesWhatever your views on Grant's own creative output which I find both dazzling and, on occasions, daunting, no one can deny the man's blistering intelligence and throughout his career he has never ceased from innovation. Each new project makes readers sit up and think and I imagine many of his peers have felt the same way. Similarly this 400-page history of and tribute to this medium's meta - humans will give you much to ponder, and I don't think any true fan of the genre, as I have been since five, can afford to be without its illuminating torch
—— Page 45If this were just Morrison's story, the reminiscences of an original Scots thinker who works in a medium that silly people scorn, it would be worth your time. The sections detailing the writer's relationship with his father are especially touching. What makes this book exceptional is the history of comics that comes with the history of Morrison... As a superhero fan, I found this a diverting read. As a people fan, I found it unputdownable
—— ScotsmanAuthoritative overview of the genre...detailed and thoughtful
—— SpectatorMorrison's analysis of how comic books have reflected and influenced mainstream culture is never less than intriguing, and his turn of phrase is often a joy
—— Robert Colville , Daily TelegraphThis is entertaining stuff
—— Sunday Times, Christmas Round UpButterworth's fascination with his subject drips from the page...this is entertaining stuff
—— Dominic Sandbrook , Sunday TimesAn astounding story of bitter civil warfare that raged across many countries for decades. Butterworth's passionate account of the anarchist movements born in the late 19th century describes a conflict that spawned its own "war on terror"
—— Steve Burniston , Guardian