Louis Quatorze Louis XIV (1638–1715), King of France (1643–1715), known as "the Sun King." The novel's reference is to a style of furniture.
Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner (1813–83), German poet and composer, known for his stirring, nationalistic music.
brocade a heavy fabric interwoven with a raised design.
frangipanni (sometimes spelled "frangipani") a tropical American shrub with fragrant flowers; perfume from or resembling the flowers.
début French, meaning "beginning" or "coming out."
abstruse difficult to understand; obscure.
rouge French, meaning "red," "lipstick," or "rouge"; artificial blush for facial cheeks.
espirit French, "spirit" or "wit"; usually spelled "esprit."
Piccadilly a thoroughfare in London running from the Haymarket to Hyde Park Corner.
myriad a large, indefinite number.
les grandpères ont toujours tort French, meaning "Grandfathers are always wrong."
hautboy an oboe.
Juliet the leading female role in William Shakespeare's (1564–1616)
Romeo and Juliet.
Rosalind a leading role in William Shakespeare's As You Like It.
munificent very generous.
greenroom a waiting room or lounge in a theatre, used by performers when off-stage.
Lady Capulet the mother of Juliet in William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.
Giordano Bruno (1548?–1600) Italian philosopher.
staccato here, rapid, short, crisp words.
efficacy ability to produce a specific effect.
