Embezzlement and High Treason in Louis XIV's France: The Trial of Nicolas Fouquet

By: Vincent J. Pitts

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Synopsis: Louis XIV’s vendetta against his disgraced finance minister exposed dark truths about the state's finances.From 1661 to 1664, France was mesmerized by the arrest and trial of Nicolas Fouquet, the country’s superintendent of finance. Prosecuted on trumped-up charges of embezzlement, mismanagement of funds, and high treason, Fouquet managed to exonerate himself from all of the major charges over the course of three long years, in the process embarrassing and infuriating Louis XIV. The young king overturned the court’s decision and sentenced Fouquet to lifelong imprisonment in a remote fortress in the Alps.A dramatic critique of absolute monarchy in pre-revolutionary France, Embezzlement and High Treason in Louis XIV's France tells the gripping tale of an overly ambitious man who rose rapidly in the state hierarchy—then overreached. Vincent J. Pitts uses the trial as a lens through which to explore the inner workings of the court of Louis XIV, who rightly feared that Fouquet would expose the tawdry financial dealings of the king's late mentor and prime minister, Cardinal Mazarin.

Book Quality:: Publisher Quality
Book Size:: 240 Pages
ISBN-13:: 9781421418254
Related ISBNs:: 9781421418247
Publisher:: Johns Hopkins University Press
Date of Addition:: 10/20/21
Copyrighted By:: Johns Hopkins University Press
Adult content:: No
Language:: English
Has Image Descriptions:: No
Categories:: History, Nonfiction, Business and Finance, Law, Legal Issues and Ethics, Politics and Government
Submitted By:: Bookshare Staff
Usage Restrictions:: This is a copyrighted book.