The Creation of the French Royal Mistress: From Agnès Sorel to Madame Du Barry by Tracy Adams and Christine Adams (review)

This book traces the creation and development of the maîtresse-en-titre, otherwise known as the French royal mistress, from Agnès Sorel to Mme Du Barry. This role took on a uniquely quasi-institutionalized status in France, positioning royal mistresses as powerful players in courtly and diplomatic circles. Until recently, scholarship on this topic has focused on individual mistresses without attending to the wider implications of the tradition and its endurance over the course of four centuries. By taking a panoramic view, Tracy Adams's and Christine Adams's study is a welcome and timely contribution. The authors' approach is undergirded by Fernand Braudel's three-part schema of history in which long-term and medium-term structures are identified alongside short-term events. In applying this paradigm, the authors are able to depart from the assumption that the royal mistress grew out of the position of queen regent in France, but rather contend that the maîtresse-en-titre emerged as a female version of the royal mignon during the reign of Charles VII. The study moves chronologically, making it easy to follow, but the authors remain helpfully comparative throughout, drawing our attention to the broader stakes of the royal mistress tradition. This comparative style is enhanced by discussions about royal mistresses as future guides and models, presenting the maîtresse-en-titre not simply as a succession of women but also as iconographical figures. After Agnès Sorel in the fifteenth century, we turn to Anne de Pisseleu, Diane de Poitiers, and Gabrielle d'Estrées in the sixteenth. We then enter the rule of Louis XIV with Louise de La Vallière, Mme de Montespan, and Mme de Maintenon, followed by the reign of Louis XV and Mmes de Pompadour and Du Barry. Across these chapters, the authors contribute two vital perspectives to the field. Firstly, they connect the influence of the royal mistress to the establishment of resident ambassadors in France during the reign of François I^er. Although the tenure of Agnès Sorel precedes this diplomatic development (and this difference is discussed in detail), the authors show how the relationships courted by ambassadors with royal mistresses recognized the particular role that these women could play as unofficial advisors to the king, placing mistresses at the centre of court politics. Secondly, the authors argue that the position's success was dependent on its perception as an open secret. Despite her visibility by the king's side, the royal mistress could not appear as an advisor in an official capacity nor appear to contemplate queenship. Crises are triggered when this secrecy is breached, notably in the case of the alarm when Henri IV considers taking Gabrielle d'Estrées as his wife. Together, the authors' analysis of endurance alongside moments of instability invites us to reflect more deeply on the bumpiness of the tradition of the royal mistress and its unpredictable trajectory.