Written more than a century ago, Eleanor Price’s ‘Cardinal De Richelieu’ is a comprehensive biography of one of the most powerful men of the seventeenth century. Although it’s narrative style seems a little dated compared with more modern biographies, it’s easy to enjoy because it’s so beautifully written. My main criticism of this book is the fact that in her admiration of Richelieu’s gifts and accomplishments, the author seems to excuse his many abuses of power – as if great men are somehow above the moral laws which apply to everyone else. Of course Eleanor Price wrote this book before the horrors of the twentieth century showed the extremes of wickedness which tyrants can be responsible for.(amazon)
