Very accessible and mainly focused on the development of medicine in the time of King Louis XIV, I devoured this book in no time despite some rather disturbing passages. Indeed, the author expanded its details narrative rather dirty, to the point of rendering evil-player draw sheet. Was it necessary to speak in detail "dirty and smelly anus round" of the king? Or invent so many characters? Caution is still in a novel and not a historical documentary. Many things are fictional but once back in history, we let ourselves go with the story and the Palace of Versailles and its occupants is observed as the hole of a lock. Although it is struggling to do the part of right and wrong, is fun to follow the evolution of medicine, especially in our time when many techniques appear simple to understand, disinfection of instruments, for example. Realistic dirt of this century in beautiful surprise us, it does not go back that far! It's fun to see how some simple hygiene gestures are still unknown in the seventeenth century. So naturally some passages are not recommended before dinner! But in the end it is a novel that takes pleasure in reading, while keeping a certain distance vis-à-vis its authenticity.
