ABSTRACT

Diplomatic writing provides a useful perspective on Louis XIV and his court, offering an alternative view to the one given by propaganda materials. As far as English diplomats are concerned, their testimonies regarding Louis XIV have been buried under piles of derogatory pamphlets. Early English Books Online provides many examples of this systematic denigration, which took place both in England and Holland. Portraits of French courtiers emphasised everything that was wrong and perverse in reign of Louis XIV. He then became prime target of Sir Robert Walpole and of the Whig press such as the Daily Courant. His alleged link with the French ambassador in London led him to run back to France. So his Patriot King fits with his previous publications, such as the Letter to Sir William Windham, in which he sought to justify his self-exile. His severe judgements on Louis XIV may have been dictated by an enduring hope of ingratiating himself with the English public.