{"title":"Books by Philip Mansel","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9780241960585","title":"King of the World","description":"\u003cb\u003eWINNER OF THE FRANCO-BRITISH SOCIETY BOOK PRIZE 2019\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'The ultimate biography of the Sun King, Louis XIV' Simon Sebag Montefiore\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA \u003ci\u003eTELEGRAPH\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eSPECTATOR\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eBBC HISTORY MAGAZINE \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eTABLET \u003c\/i\u003eBOOK OF THE YEAR\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLouis XIV, King of France and Navarre, dominated his age. In the second half of the seventeenth century, he extended France's frontiers into the Netherlands and Germany, and established colonies in America, Africa and India. Louisiana, which once occupied a third  of the territory of the present-day United States, is named after him. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLouis was also one of the greatest patrons of European history - Molière, Racine, Lully, Le Brun, le Nôtre all worked for him. The stupendous  palace he built at Versailles, and its satellites at Marly and Trianon, became the envy of monarchs all over Europe, frequently imitated but never surpassed. In all his palaces, Louis encouraged dancing, hunting, music and gambling. He loved conversation, especially with women: the power of women in Louis's life and reign is a particular theme of this book.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLouis was obsessed by the details of government, and travelled extensively around his kingdom, but often his choices for ministers and generals proved disastrous. After the death of his very able minister Colbert, the extraordinary cost of building palaces and waging continuous wars devastated French finances and helped set France on the path to revolution. In 1685, his decision to revoke toleration for Protestants damaged his country, and alienated Protestant Europe and at the end of his life, his forces were persistently defeated by the Duke of Marlborough and Prince Eugene of Savoy. Nevertheless, by his death, he had helped make his grandson king of Spain, where his descendants still reign, and France had taken essentially the shape it has today.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePhilip Mansel's \u003ci\u003eKing of the World\u003c\/i\u003e is much the most comprehensive and up-to-date biography of this hypnotic, flawed figure in English. It draws on all the latest research in France, Britain and America and pays special attention to the culture of the court, on which Mansel is an acknowledged expert. It is a convincing and compelling portrait of a man who, three hundred years after his death, still epitomises the idea of \u003ci\u003ele grand monarque\u003c\/i\u003e.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43201664188594,"sku":"9780241960585","price":18.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780241960585.jpg?v=1786012527"},{"product_id":"9780719568800","title":"Constantinople","description":"Philip Mansel's highly acclaimed history of Constantinople (formerly known as Byzantium) absorbingly charts the interaction between the vibrantly cosmopolitan capital - the city of the world's desire - and its ruling family. In 1453, Mehmed the Conqueror entered Constantinople on a white horse, beginning an Ottoman love affair with the city that lasted until 1924, when the last Caliph hurriedly left on the Orient Express. For almost five centuries Constantinople, with its enormous racial and cultural diversity, was the centre of the dramatic and often depraved story of an extraordinary dynasty.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56295170179445,"sku":"9780719568800","price":16.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780719568800_8d6136c4-a8e7-4ea2-b63c-ff753c055c69.jpg?v=1786014898"},{"product_id":"9780719567087","title":"Levant","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eLevant\u003c\/i\u003e is a book of cities. It describes Smyrna, Alexandria and Beirut when they were windows on the world, escapes from nationality and tradition, centres of wealth, pleasure and freedom. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eUsing unpublished family papers, Philip Mansel describes their colourful, contradictory history, from the beginning of the French alliance with the Ottoman Empire in the sixteenth century to their decline in the mid twentieth century. Smyrna was burnt; Alexandria Egyptianised; Beirut lacerated by civil war.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56296671281525,"sku":"9780719567087","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780719567087_7cc909e2-f77b-4e6c-86e2-9d70681634ca.jpg?v=1786014880"},{"product_id":"9781784538477","title":"Aleppo","description":"\u003cp\u003eRevised and updated.\u003cbr\u003eA poignant testament to the city shattered by Syria's civil war.\u003cbr\u003eAleppo lies in ruins, a casualty of Syria's brutal civil war. Its streets are cloaked in darkness, its population scattered, its memories ravaged. But this was once a vibrant world city, where Muslims, Christians and Jews lived and traded together in peace. Few places are as ancient and diverse. At the crossroads of global trade, Aleppo drew merchants from Venice, Isfahan and Agra to the largest souq in the Middle East and it was from here that some of the world's most enduring food, music and culture sprang.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56305020371317,"sku":"9781784538477","price":15.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781784538477_75ff16fd-cf67-4de4-9b24-569645668a54.jpg?v=1786025624"}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/collections\/author-philip-mansel.oembed","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}