Madame de Pompadour Author:Nancy Mitford Mistress to Louis XV at a time when thousands at Versailles lived only for pleasure, she determined to be more than a charming ornament at Court. She learned politics to become the King's private secretary. She designed, altered, decorated, she helped direct the intense artistic and creative life of the epoch, making her preferences and style fe... more »lt throughout France. Her story remains one of the extraordinary evocations of an opulent and fascinating age.« less