

Madame de Pompadour: More than a Mistress??
Tuesday 10th November
11.00-12.00 pm
(Dr Mark Barnard)
DAY TALK £6.00 PER PERSON
Jeanne Poisson, better known as the favoured and influential mistress of King Louis XV of France, Madame de Pompadour has become synonymous with mid 18th Century French decadence and extravagent backcombing hair-styles.
Drawing a deal of criticism, Frederick the Great of Prussia, for instance, remarked she was little more than the ‘plaything’ of the king. But what was she also renowned for?
Did she have a detrimental or benign political and cultural influence?
What was her alleged link with the RAF’s ‘dam-buster’ 617 squadron?
Join Dr Mark Barnard to hear the full legacy of the ‘beautiful and adored commoner’ who became the King’s ‘minister of pleasure’.
