The Saint-Cyr institute, also called the Saint Louis Royal House, a real institution created in by King Louis XIV's morganatic wife Madame de Maintenon, was meant so that young ladies of good birth aged 7 to 20 would receive the education and dowry that their family were too poor to provide, and learn to hold their places in the world, mostly as nuns or ladies-in-waiting.
All of them are raised in strict Catholic ways. Book one, the shortest, introduces us to all of the cast; the twelve books after that follow one girl in particular and are told in first-person narration, and then the fourteenth reunites most of them. All these girls end up leaving the school for whatever reasons, and through their eyes the readers discover France and the world of the late 17th century.
When Jean Racine, the famous playwright, comes to offer them to play his latest play Esther, they are ecstatic to see theater come to shake up their monotonous lives, and to act in front of the King and the court.
But this play kickstarts many events that will soon take them all away from this place and their friends To new and exciting adventures! Le Secret de Louise Louise's Secret 3. Charlotte, la Rebelle Charlotte, the Rebel 4. Les Colombes du Roi-Soleil provides examples of:. Abusive Parents : Even by standards of the time, Henriette's mother's treatment of her daughter borders on psychological torture. The Ace : Aniaba masters the art of being a French courtier incredibly fast, learning to speak French fluently in a matter of months.
He is also an amazing shot, rider, billiard player. His courtesies are as polished as they come, and he slips from footman to prince with ease. Action Dad : Most of the girls' fathers are noblemen who lost their fortune because they spent too much serving the King in wars.
