France in the Enlightenment Book

So, I'm more than half-way through the 700 pages. This is definitely an important work. While it assumes a vast knowledge of French history--both the Ancien Regime and the Revolution--it is meticulously detailed and essential to understanding the background of the Enlightenment. A couple of comments though... 1)While the Enlightenment is "officially" dated as starting in the mid-18thc, I think that the background of Louis XIV's reign is critical to understanding what started all of this in motion. Roche gives little time to XIV and starts right in with XV; 2) This one is a biggie for me. I'm 400 pages into this and he's mentioned "women"... not even a specific person, but just the word "women" about 3 times. Seeing as my niche is studying women in 17th and 18thc France, I'm a bit puzzled by this. To me, women were a critical component of the Enlightenment. Certainly, they were not at the forefront like Diderot or Voltaire, but they provided the means for these men to express themselves... they coaxed the Enlightenment out of the men, so to speak. Looking at the index I see that some of this will be discussed in the upcoming pages, but just as passing stories...