<DIV>Chief Minister to King Louis XIII, Cardinal Richelieu was the architect of a new France in the seventeenth century and the force behind the nation's rise as a European power. One of the first statesmen to clearly understand the necessity of a balance of powers, he has captured the imagination of generations, both through the story of his life and through Alexandre Dumas's portrayal of him as a ruthless political mastermind in the classic <I>The Three Musketeers</I>. <B><B>Jean-Vincent Blanchard's rich and insightful new biography brings Richelieu fully to life in all his complexity. His careful understanding of politics as spectacle speaks to contemporary readers; much of what he accomplished was promoted strategically through his great passion for theater and literature. <I>ƒminence</I> offers a rich portrait of a fascinating man and his era, and gives us a keener understanding of the dark art of politics.<B><B>"Blanchard's captivating biography vividly captures the rise to power of a seminal figure who was instrumental in creating France as we know it."<B>-<I>Publishers Weekly</I> (starred review)</B><B><B><B></B>"Lovers of intrigue and derring-do will enjoy Jean-Vincent Blanchard's <I>Eminence </I>... [His] lively style will appeal to general readers, while history buffs will appreciate his careful footnotes and plethora of primary sources."<B>-<I>The Baltimore Sun</B></I></DIV>