This biography investigates how a woman of common birth ascended to become the most influential political and cultural advisor to King Louis XV. Nancy Mitford, a noted biographer and novelist, utilizes her deep familiarity with French aristocratic culture to reconstruct the life of Jeanne Antoinette Poisson. The text argues that Pompadour was not merely a royal mistress, but a sophisticated patron of the arts and a central figure in the complex power dynamics of the Versailles court.

Critics often praise Mitford for her engaging, accessible prose style that brings the rigid structures of the French court to life. Readers frequently note that while the book is highly readable, it leans more toward a narrative-driven biographical style than a strictly academic or dry historical analysis.