Madame de Pompadour's Protégé

Résumé du livre

The political career of Henri Bertin, 'Madame de Pompadour's protege' and favourite of Louis XV, covers the period between the 1750s and 1790s, a period when 'the European Enlightenment' was assuming a global significance and France, as a result of the military debacle of the Seven Years' War, was being forced to transfer her European and Imperial pre-eminence to Great Britain. This account of Henri Bertin's involvement, initially as secretary of state to Louis XV and then as the designer of an intellectual and cultural bridge between France and China, provides us with original insights into the cause of the political, socio-economic and cultural crises that altered the balance of world power and precipitated the collapse of Bourbon absolutism, a collapse that led to the 'Great Revolution of 1789'. The study also focuses upon the more personal events of Bertin's life: the tragic incarceration and eventual death of his elder brother in the Bastille; his relationship with the iconic mistress of Louis XV, madame de Pompadour, including their intimate managerial role in the bizarre sexual life of the king; pioneering reforms that facilitated the establishment of the first veterinary school in France; the creation of what evolved into the world-famous Sevres porcelain factory, and the reform of the agricultural and mining sectors of an economic system that was being transformed in accordance with the emergence of a capitalist and consumerist society. Professor Lewis has written extensively on the social and economic history of the ancien regime and the Revolution of 1789. His publications include The French Revolution: Rethinking the Debate (1993) and France 1715-1804: Power and the People (2005). Professor Lewis is a founder member of the British Society for the Study of French History, and has lectured in Europe, America, Canada, East Africa and Australia. He is currently an Emeritus Professor of History at Warwick University.