A place for friends to meet... with reflections on politics, history, art, music, books, morals, manners, and matters of faith.
A blog by Elena Maria Vidal.
"She was not a guilty woman, neither was she a saint; she was an upright, charming woman, a little frivolous, somewhat impulsive, but always pure; she was a queen, at times ardent in her fancies for her favourites and thoughtless in her policy, but proud and full of energy; a thorough woman in her winsome ways and tenderness of heart, until she became a martyr."
"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."
"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."
~Edmund Burke, October 1790
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Unless otherwise noted, any books I review on this blog I have either purchased or borrowed from the library, and I do not receive any compensation (monetary or in-kind) for the reviews.
On the opposite wall, gazing rather sadly at the portrait of the Duc, was a Vigée-Lebrun original of a lady who bore a marked resemblance to Louis XIV. In Turkish dress, her high, frizzled coiffure artfully stuffed into a turban with long, dark ringlets flowing to her waist, the lady's face glowed with quiet resignation, shadowed only by the melancholy sweetness of her smile....
~ from Madame Royale by Elena Maria Vidal
Yet the story of Adélaïde began in a very ordinary fashion, insofar as the destiny of a princess can be deemed ordinary. Of the eight children of her parents, she was the only daughter to survive to adulthood. Her father was the Duc de Penthièvre, grandson of Louis XIV and Madame de Montespan. Her mother was an Italian princess, Marie Thérèse Félicité d'Este-Modène. Her only surviving brother, the Prince de Lamballe died at the age of twenty, leaving a young widow who would become one of Marie-Antoinette's closest friends.
This left Adélaïde, known as Mademoiselle de Penthièvre, the sole heiress to the largest fortune in France, and one of the most marriageable princesses of her time. As fate would have it, her father, when she was sixteen, arranged a match with another member of the royal family, Louis-Philippe d'Orléans, Duc de Chartres. The wedding was duly celebrated in the Royal Chapel of Versailles.
The young couple settled in the Palais-Royal, in the heart of Paris. And they had many children (six in eight years.) Were they happy? Not quite. Adélaïde's husband, now Duc d'Orléans, was a libertine who found his lovely bride very boring. He preferred the company of many mistresses, including the infamous Comtess de Genlis, by whom he had an illegitimate daughter named Paméla. Unfortunately not a unusual occurrence for princely and aristocratic marriages in the 18th century.
I have to agree with Elena, Richard! Sure, Grace Elliot was one of the Duc d'Orleans's mistresses, but that is the only connection I see between these two ladies. Grace had a very elongated face and neck (her portraits slightly remind me of Murnau's Nosferatu) and quite a different expression.
I feel sorry for this lady; in addition to having to deal with her scoundrel of a husband, and living through the perils of the Revolution, she became estranged from her children, with whose liberal views she disagreed. And then, two of her sons died young, after imprisonment. I recall reading (in one of the books about her daughter-in-law, Marie-Amelie) a sad account of her death; she was murmuring: "My poor children..." It seemed quite poignant.
Marie-Antoinette "en gaulle" by Elisabeth Vigée-Lebrun
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Marie-Antoinette, Daughter of the Caesars: Her Life, Her Times, Her Legacy
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Trianon: A Novel of Royal France
My Queen, My Love: A Novel of Henrietta Maria
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The Saga of Marie-Antoinette's daughter, Marie-Thérèse of France
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"In every Eden, there dwells a serpent . . . ."
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"...Bud forth as the rose planted by the brooks of waters. Give ye a sweet odor as frankincense. Send forth flowers, as the lily...and bring forth leaves in grace, and praise with canticles, and bless the Lord in his works." —Ecclesiasticus 39:17-19
The fact that a link is provided here in no way constitutes an endorsement of everything on the other end of the link.
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7 comments:
She resembles Grace Elliot, possibly it is the pose.
Richard
Oh, dear. I don't think they resemble each other at all.
I have to agree with Elena, Richard! Sure, Grace Elliot was one of the Duc d'Orleans's mistresses, but that is the only connection I see between these two ladies. Grace had a very elongated face and neck (her portraits slightly remind me of Murnau's Nosferatu) and quite a different expression.
Many thanks for the link, Elena!
Sorry, Richard, you are overruled! ;-)
Thank you, Catherine, for such an interesting post!
Once again! Shall I ever learn to leave things distaff alone?
Richard
Unfortunately, that link seems to be broken, but this one works:
http://blog.catherinedelors.com/adelaide-de-bourbon-penthievre-duchesse-dorleans-a-revolutionary-romance/
I feel sorry for this lady; in addition to having to deal with her scoundrel of a husband, and living through the perils of the Revolution, she became estranged from her children, with whose liberal views she disagreed. And then, two of her sons died young, after imprisonment. I recall reading (in one of the books about her daughter-in-law, Marie-Amelie) a sad account of her death; she was murmuring: "My poor children..." It seemed quite poignant.
Thank you, Matterhorn, I fixed the link!
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