Madame de Maintenon and Françoise-Marie de Bourbon

Before she became Louis XIV’s second wife, Madame de Maintenon was the governess to his illegitimate children, including Françoise-Marie de Bourbon. At left is a
prayer book dedicated to the devout Maintenon. Although the text looks handwritten, it was in fact printed from engraved plates in a style meant to imitate
longhand. The decoration in Françoise-Marie’s manuscript prayer book at right emulates that in her governess’s book. When Françoise-Marie married her cousin
Philippe II, duc d’Orléans—who was regent of France during Louis XV’s minority—she briefly became the highest-ranking woman at court.