Athénaïs de Montespan reigned as official mistress to Louis XIV during the most glorious period of "the splendid century." As lovely and charming as she was witty and cunning, Athénaïs quickly rose to far greater prominence than the King's own spouse. It was Madame de Montespan who was known as "the real Queen of France," the symbol of the apotheosis of French culture in the seventeenth century. As a lover, she risked the disgrace of adultery to conduct an affair that scandalized Europe; as a patron, she supported many of the leaders of the cultural renaissance; as a mother, she is the ancestor of most of the royal houses of Europe. In her superb new biography, Lisa Hilton chronicles the life of this extraordinary woman. She vividly describes Athénaïs's unhappy marriage to a gamester nobleman, her entry into the decadent and intricate world of court politics, and her brilliant seduction of France's most desired suitor, the King himself. Athénaïs transformed Louis from a shy, awkward young monarch into the polished Sun King of legend. Louis's court, too, was guided by his lover's hand: Athénaïs was famous for the brilliance of her fetes, the extravagance of her gambling, and the impeccability of her taste in everything from fashion to buildings. She inspired plays by Moliere and Racine, organized ballets and operas by Lully and Quinault, and commissioned chateaux by the leading architects of France. Throughout the "age Montespan," Athénaïs used her wit and beauty to stave off the intrigues of courtiers, the machinations of Versailles's clerics, and the wiles of lovely young pretenders to the King's heart -- all doggedly seeking to unseat her. It was not until the Affair of the Poisons, a bizarre witch hunt that uncovered conspiracy in the highest echelons of the nobility, that Athénaïs's hold on the King and court faltered. Though the mystery remains unsolved, Athénaïs's implication in the sinister dealings of sorcerers and poisoners caused a fall from grace almost as precipitous as her rise. Few have loved as publicly and flamboyantly as Athénaïs or indulged their passions with so much elan. At a time when most avenues of power were denied to women, Athénaïs achieved a preeminence that allowed her to leave her indelible mark on history, doing much to create the court that dazzled the world. Bringing her subject brilliantly to life, Lisa Hilton tells the compelling story of the influential woman behind the seventeenth century's most influential man. - Jacket flap.