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...."
Marie-Antoinette "en gaulle" by Elisabeth Vigée-Lebrun
The Night's Dark Shade
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About My New Novel
O high and glorious King, O Light and Brightness true! God of Power, Lord, suppose it pleases you, Make my comrade welcome, and grant him all your aid. For him I have not seen since fell the night's dark shade, and soon will come the dawn. ~ from a twelfth century poem by Guirault de Bornheil
Set amid the turmoil of the Albigensian Crusade in thirteenth century France, The Night's Dark Shade tells of heresy versus orthodoxy, and of forbidden love versus fidelity. Heiress of her father's estates in Auvergne, the orphaned Lady Raphaëlle leaves her home to marry a nobleman in a remote castle in the Pyrenees. There she encounters the mysterious Cathar sect who challenge all of her most deeply held beliefs. As she seeks the path of her true calling, she discovers hatred and betrayal, as well as abiding friendship and unexpected love.
"From the first page, Vidal draws the reader into a vibrant world of action and emotion. Raphaëlle de Miramande is an engaging young heroine, bravely facing physical and moral dangers and dilemmas in search of truth and love. Vidal’s novel captures the spirit of the Middle Ages." ~Stephanie A. Mann, author of Supremacy and Survival
"In a country torn by religious strife, a spirited heroine struggles to reconcile faith, love, duty and family. A harrowing and engrossing journey." ~Catherine Delors, author of Mistress of the Revolution and For the King
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1 comments:
One of my son's favorite books! Many of her books were published after I was grown, but I did enjoy her first book, A Wrinkle in Time, as a tween.
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