Biography & Autobiography : Women

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 double 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 fêtes, the extravagance of her gambling, and the impeccability of her taste in everything from fashion to buildings. She inspired plays by Molière and Racine, organized ballets and operas by Lully and Quinault, and commissioned châteaux by the leading architects in France. Throughout the "âge 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 which uncovered conspiracy in the highest echelons of the nobility, that Athénaïs's hold on the King and cour more...

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In 1901, Philadelphia's celebrity female journalist stepped off a train in Blackfoot, Montana, and into a world of living legends. The miners and frontiersmen, Indians and trappers that Caroline Lockhart met there inspired this beautiful, single, strong-willed woman to live a life she had only dreamed about in what remained of the Wild West. more...

Price: $21.95

A collection of essays from some of today's hottest writers reflecting on how Judy Blume's novels affected their childhoods. From puberty to first loves to divorce, Everything I Needed to Know About Being a Girl I Learned from Judy Blume follows the j more...

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The 'Marvellous Child' Mark Twain's masterful biography of one of history's most remarkable characters. For four hundred years the story of Joan of Arc existed rather as a vaguely defined romance than as definite and authentic history. It is a deeply fascinating story, and in The Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc it can be experienced in its entirety. more...

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Aaliyah Dana Haughton was that music business rarity: a teen idol who transformed herself into a critically acclaimed hip-hop soul artist, a singer who successfully made the transition to actress, and a beautiful woman who never let the trappings of celebrity go to her head. Following her impressive debut at age 14 with the album Age Ain't Nothin' but a Number , Aaliyah raised the bar with her hugely influential and bestselling follow-up, One in a Million . She then took her talents to Hollywood, starring in the action thriller Romeo Must Die and the highly anticipated horror film The Queen of the Damned . But soon after the release of her third album in the summer of 2001, Aaliyah's life was cut short in a tragic plane crash. more...

Price: $6.99