Synopses & Reviews
Chief minister to King Louis XIII, Cardinal Richelieu was the architect of a new France in the seventeenth century, and the force behind the nation's rise as a European power. In the wake of Niccolò Machiavelli, he was one of the first statesmen to practice realpolitik, clearly understanding the necessity of a balance of powers. Truly larger than life, he has captured the imagination of generations, both through his own story and through his portrayal as a ruthless political mastermind in Alexandre Dumas's classic The Three Musketeers.Forging a nation-state amid the swirl of unruly, grasping nobles, widespread corruption, wars of religion, and an ambitious Habsburg empire, Richelieu's hands were always full. Serving his fickle monarch, he mastered the politics of absolute power. Jean-Vincent Blanchard's rich and insightful new biography brings Richelieu fully to life in all his complexity--from his youth and early career in the Church to gaining a central role at court to striding influentially across the European stage. At times cruel and ruthless, Richelieu was always devoted to creating a lasting central authority vested in the power of monarchy, a power essential to France's position in Europe for the next two centuries. Richelieu's careful understanding of politics as spectacle for the media speaks to contemporary readers; much of what he accomplished was promoted strategically through his great passion for theater and literature, and through the romance of power. Éminence offers a rich portrait of a fascinating man and his era, and gives us a keener understanding of the dark arts of politics.
Synopsis
Chief Minister to King Louis XIII, Cardinal Richelieu was the architect of a new France in the seventeenth century and the force behind the nation's rise as a European power. One of the first statesmen to clearly understand the necessity of a balance of powers, he has captured the imagination of generations, both through the story of his life and through Alexandre Dumas's portrayal of him as a ruthless political mastermind in the classic The Three Musketeers.
Jean-Vincent Blanchard's rich and insightful new biography brings Richelieu fully to life in all his complexity. His careful understanding of politics as spectacle speaks to contemporary readers; much of what he accomplished was promoted strategically through his great passion for theater and literature. ƒminence offers a rich portrait of a fascinating man and his era, and gives us a keener understanding of the dark art of politics.
"Blanchard's captivating biography vividly captures the rise to power of a seminal figure who was instrumental in creating France as we know it."-Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Lovers of intrigue and derring-do will enjoy Jean-Vincent Blanchard's Eminence ... [His] lively style will appeal to general readers, while history buffs will appreciate his careful footnotes and plethora of primary sources."-The Baltimore Sun
About the Author
Jean-Vincent Blanchard is an associate professor of French studies at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania. Born in Canada and raised in Europe, he earned his Ph.D. from Yale University in 1997. He is a specialist on pre-revolutionary France, with a particular emphasis on the seventeenth century, and has written about a broad range of subjects in politics, history, religion, philosophy, and the arts. Eminence is his first book in English.