Book Title: Mistress of the Sun (Fiction)
Author: Sandra Gulland
Publisher: Harper Collins Canada
Year: 20007
# of Pages: 376
ISBN: 978-0-00-200775-7

Reviewed By: Meghan Masterson (Calgary Correspondent - Canada)

Sandra Gulland's superb trilogy depicting the life of Josephine Bonaparte has been very successful, selling over 75,000 copies in Canada and as well as being received with international acclaim. Fans of Gulland's The Many Lives and Secret Sorrows of Josephine B. and its sequels will undoubtedly be pleased with her latest book, Mistress of the Sun.

In her novel, Gulland brings to life Louise de la Vallière, a young girl with a special affinity for horses, who becomes the mistress of Louis XIV, often known as the Sun King. Louise, affectionately known as Petite, is a vivid character: her passion for horses and hunting, her great love for the King, and her faith in religion bring her clearly to life in a way that makes the reader understand her actions and motivations. Throughout history, Louise de la Vallière has often been left in the background, described simply as a very modest young woman. However, she held the heart of the Sun King, a notorious womanizer, for many years and bore him several children, whom he formally recognized. It is a tribute to Gulland's perceptive and well-researched writing that readers can finally see a glimpse of Louise as a captivating and intelligent person, as she surely must have been.

The novel is studded with other colourful and mesmerizing characters, including Athénaïs, the beautiful Marquise de Montespan, best remembered today for suspicions of witchcraft, including dark rumours of child sacrifice.  Athénaïs also had a long relationship with the King, and the complicated relationship between her and Louise is a fascinating nuance to the novel.

Woven throughout the story is the history between Louise and a special white horse, named Diablo. This particular horse is entirely fictional, but it is true that Louise was a proficient horsewoman. A touch of enchantment is brought to the novel through one of Louise's actions early in life when she tames Diablo using ancient magic, found in a book in her father's library. This action follows Louise throughout her life, cropping up in ways completely unexpected, working simultaneously as both a hindrance and a blessing.

At first, Mistress of the Sun can be a trifle confusing because there are such a great number of characters at court (and in fact, Gulland acknowledges leaving out some notable figures in her author's note-the court of the Sun King was just a very busy and confusing place) and it is a little difficult to keep them straight. Paying close attention to the dialogue is an aid for determining character relationships; although a list of characters and their ranks may have been a helpful addition.

Mistress of the Sun is a beautiful and moving novel. Gulland's writing is in a different style than her Josephine trilogy; rather than the journal format she used previously, her latest novel follows Louise in a third-person narrative. The author is equally successfully in creating a vibrant portrait of her protagonist with this format, and her prose is as smooth and rich as her readers have come to expect.