Review of The Man Who Outshone the Sun King
Drazin Documents The Little Known Life Story of a French Nobleman
Dec 20, 2008
17th century France may not have realized how lucky she was to have the marquis de Belle-Isle roaming about Paris, because he had an "instinct for humanity," according to author Charles Drazin, "at a time when humanity was much more the dominant key." This man, Nicolas Foquet, is the subject of The Man Who Outshone the Sun King: A Life of Gleaming Opulence and Wretched Reversal in the Reign of Louis XIV (Da Capo Press, September 2008)
Fouquet or Foucquet?
The Man Who Outshone the Sun King tells the fascinating story of French nobleman that most American readers have, at best, accidentally bumped into while watching The Man in the Iron Mask. Mr. Drazin's version of Foucquet is kinder than the Focquet of fictional works, and Monsiour Foucquet would surely agree that Mr. Drazin's version is more accurate. Indeed, Mr. Drazin corrects the spelling of Foquet to Foucquet based on the viscomte de Melun et Vaux's own signature.
This is the sort of book that causes people to turn off their cell phones and ignore the outside world. Versaille and Paris in the 1600s were glamorous and cruel, and Fouquet's story shows how prestige and prosperity suffocates decency. Fouquet's kind impulses to help burdened taxpayers leads to his first disgrace, and his flashy impulses to impress the king leads to his final disgrace.
Balancing Opportunity and Responsibility
From his early years as a gifted, frustrated student to his early days in the French Ministry of Finance, readers meet a man who seems familiar, like the high-school friend who was elected most likely to succeed. Nicolas Foucquet sees his imperfect world through with clarity and decency, and although he is blinded by his class, "he was no more capable of blind obedience than he was of blind loyalty." Foucuqet struggles with his boss and his government, and his marriage to Marie de Castille brings him even more wealth and fortitude.
Madame Foucquet's story is equally interesting. She begins as France's version of Florence Nightengale, even publishing a book of medical treatments. The couple that began as people concerned for the poor and the sick became the owners of the most extravagant home in France, the Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte. The road to the house that became "an extraordinary jewel that far exceeded even Nicolas's hopes" was littered with schemes and disappointment.
Publication Information
The Man Who Outshone the Sun King: A Life of Gleaming Opulence and Wretched Reversal in the Reign of Louis XIV (ISBN: 306817578) is written by London film instructor and author Charles Drazin. Since September 2008, it has been available in hardback and in Kindle edition, with a paperback available in 2009. It is published by Da Capo Press.
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