Madame de Pompadour: Sex, Culture and Power. - Review - book review

Contemporary Review, March, 2001

Madame de Pompadour: Sex, Culture and Power. Margaret Crosland. Sutton Publishing. [pound]19.99/US$29.95. 186 pages. ISBN 0-7509-2338-5. Madame de Pompadour's name has become synonymous with court mistresses and French elegance - frills, ruffs and silks. Ironically Jeanne Antoinette Poisson was by birth middle-class and was bred to be a courtesan through the usual medium, the stage.

By a skilful use of palace intrigue from behind the scenes she became a force to be reckoned with. She was loyal to Louis XV and became a French nationalist and believer in the myth of French supremacy. She was instrumental in the founding of the Ecole Militaire and educated herself in the fine arts so that her Versailles salon became a centre of sophistical life. If she did not make the world a better place she gave pleasure and in her private life displayed kindness and charity to those in need. She may be regarded as the model of the courtesan par excellence and she continues to fascinate: this well written biography brings he r and her exotic, hothouse world to life in a thoroughly enjoyable manner. (P.P.F.)