A novel about the obsessions of the two great rulers at the palace of Versailles describes how Louis XIV celebrates his armies' victory over Holland while the head gardener, Jean-Baptiste de la Quintinie, the King's gardener, works to the rhythms of the seasons to make the gardens beautiful.

Gardener to the King: A Novel

Richaud, Frédéric

Literature & Fiction

Arcade Publishing

The battle has been joined. On this first day, Massena desperately holds onto Aspern, the French cavalry charges again and again, but the Emperor cannot seem to break the Austrians. Louis-Francois, stuck on the wrong side of the only available bridge, impatiently waits for repairs to conclude. Not only are his official messages delayed, but he's also dying to send news to Miss Krauss in Vienna. However, his friend Stendhal, who's remained with the beautiful Austrian lady, makes some upsetting discoveries...

The Battle Book 2/3 (Volume 2) (The Battle, 2)

Comics & Graphic Novels

Graphic Novels

Cinebook, Ltd

Napoleon is furious. It appears the battle can no longer be won. The French cavalry is so exhausted it can t even gallop when charging. Ammunition is running out, while losses mount horrifically both in men and in irreplaceable officers But the Austrians have paid an equally steep price, and a complete defeat may yet be avoided. Louis-Fran§ois, Paradis, Fayolle Who will survive the terrible bloodbath the better to serve again in the next one?

The Battle, Book 3/3 (Volume 3) (The Battle, 3)

1812. After the sort of lightning-fast attack he is known for, Napoleon and his colossal Grande Armee have ridden deep into the heart of Russia. But the Russians have no intention of letting him have his way, and several bloody and inconclusive battles have already taken place - no Austerlitz there. So, when the French finally arrive in Moscow, they're exhausted, starving, weakened, and fervently hoping they'll get a chance to rest... and maybe even accept the Czar's surrender after the fall of his capital...

Berezina Book 1/3 (Volume 1) (Berezina, 1)

Moscow is now in French hands, but a large part of the city has burned down, and it's been emptied of all food, fodder and warm clothes. Even as winter approaches, and against the advice of his generals, Napoleon insists on staying, convinced that the Czar will soon surrender to him. But both soldiers and civilians increasingly suffer from hunger and the cold, and the terrifying Cossacks constantly harry any troops sent out to forage for food …

Berezina Book 2 (Volume 2) (Berezina, 2)

September 1812. Napoleon is master of Europe, and strikes at Russia with 600,000 men. He enters Moscow with no resistance, a conqueror at the height of his glory... and everything crumbles. The last volume of a trilogy. The terrible Russian winter has engulfed the retreat, and the Grande Armee is no more. Mercilessly harassed by the fierce Cossacks, a few thousand men only continue to trudge forward, weak, starving, emaciated, leaving a trail of frozen dead behind. And as Russian regular forces prepare to surround and trap them, the weather suddenly turns warmer, making rivers impassable. To escape, they will have to somehow cross a river whose name would soon become synonymous with tragedy: the Berezina... Ages 15+

Berezina Book 3/3 (Volume 3) (Berezina, 3)

Rambaud, Patrick

Louis-François Lejeune, young colonel attached to the emperor's staff, meets his old friend Henri Beyne in occupied Vienna. He also meets the beautiful Anna Krauss, with whom he is madly in love with. Nearby, though, Napoleon is attempting to crush the Austrian army, and organising the crossing of the Danube for his troops on a single pontoon bridge hurriedly erected near Essling. Louis-François is forced to abandon his love and return to the front – and the coming firestorm …

Book 1/3 (Volume 1) (The Battle, 1)

August 1674 - Louis XIV, one of Europe's greatest sovereigns, celebrates his armies' victory over Holland. At Versailles, the favourite of the royal residences, everything must reflect the glory of the Sun King. In this world of pomp and show, one man remains detached from the procession of servants, soldiers, politicians, diplomats, flatterers and self-seekers that daily surround the King. As gardener to His Majesty, Jean-Baptiste de La Quintinie is master of his own domain, the royal fruit and vegetable garden. Louis' generals might proclaim the power of France abroad, but La Quintinie's espaliers and vegetable plots assert nothing less than man's mastery over nature: a garden that can feed a thousand at a sitting, standards of pruning that in three hundred years have never been surpassed. Once a lawyer who turned his back on a brilliant career to pursue his love of horticulture, La Quintinie became, in the process, an artist. His skill is admired by the King and revered by savants, his freedom is envied by all - the rhythms he observes are not those of the courtly dance but of the seasons. As the autocratic might of the King fuels the rising hysteria around him, La Quintinie's wide humanitarian sympathies are with the soil and those who live by it. For the kitchen garden at Versailles harbours not only a great courtier, gardener and provider, but also a secret radical.

Gardener to the King

Genre Fiction

Harvill Pr

For Jean Baptiste de la Quintinie, kitchen gardener to Louis XIV, the potager at Versailles proved not only his artist's canvas but the seedbed of his revolutionary sympathies. August 1674. Louis XIV, one of Europe's most powerful sovereigns, celebrates his armies' victory over Holland. In Versailles, the favourite of the royal residences, his kitchen gardener, Jean Baptiste de la Quintinie, labours to make the espaliers and vegetable plots that feed the court nothing less than a work of art. Revered for his skill, and envied for his freedom, this brilliant, unworldly man stands apart from the diplomats, flatterers and self-servers that surround the monarch. But is his understanding of the soil and those who live by it enough to protect him as the Sun King's reign spirals into a regime of fear?

Harvill/Panther

Monsieur le jardinier

GRASSET

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Books by Richaud, Frédéric

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Richaud, Frédéric. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Gardener to the King: A Novel

The Battle Book 2/3 (Volume 2) (The Battle, 2)

The Battle, Book 3/3 (Volume 3) (The Battle, 3)

Berezina Book 1/3 (Volume 1) (Berezina, 1)

Berezina Book 2 (Volume 2) (Berezina, 2)

Berezina Book 3/3 (Volume 3) (Berezina, 3)

Book 1/3 (Volume 1) (The Battle, 1)

Gardener to the King

Gardener to the King

Monsieur le jardinier