This is the story of an aging king with all its problems related to age at a very, diet too rich. Historically, we discover and / or rediscover a lot of information on the state of France at the time: indebted country by successive wars, the people oppressed by taxes, courtiers indebted by the need to live Versailles with all the costs that implied: dress among others. The rivalry between "The Palatine" and Madame de Maintenon, the aging king who enjoys the quiet life imposed by Madame de Maintenon while regretting his former life. The fragility of power even when a powerful monarch vacillates for health problems, we must conceal the king's health.
The characters are described without concessions.
Descriptions on his problems with fistulas, his pain ... it's described without embellishment, details of the suffering, pain, various treatments are not lacking ... as we discover the evolution and medical discoveries, surgical advances, which make the profession of Surgeon will really be recognized at the expense of charlatans of the time.
In the end I did not have the impression of reading a novel but a documentary story, that's why I did not put the 5 *. This book is nevertheless really interesting and I recommend it to those who love history. It is well written, easy to read.
