"A bawdy romp one minute, a gruesome tragedy the next."-The Sunday Telegraph The Marquis de Montespan and his new wife, Athenais, are a true love match-a rarity amongst the nobility of seventeenth-century France. But love is not enough to maintain their hedonistic lifestyle, and the couple soon face huge debts. When Athenais is offered the chance to become lady-in-waiting to the Queen at Versailles, she seizes this opportunity to turn their fortunes round. Too late, Montespan discovers that his ravishing wife has caught the eye of King Louis XIV . . . Prize-winning author Jean Teule lives in Paris, France.