Tea at Trianon: Mother Magdalen Taylor and Tyborne

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"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."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"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

Sunday, April 15, 2007

Mother Magdalen Taylor and Tyborne

A few months ago, Father Nicholas at Roman Miscellany had a wonderful post about Mother Magdalen Taylor, the foundress of the Poor Servants of the Mother of God, and the author of the historical novel, Tyborne. Tyborne is the story of a group of young Catholics during the reign Queen Elizabeth I and how they are compelled to make difficult choices. Mother Taylor displays a deep insight into the human heart, showing how easy it is to fall, and how steep the price of virtue can be. Ultimately, the book is about the struggle of passion and human respect with doing what is right for the love of God. It may not be among the great masterpieces of English literature but it is well-written, meticulously researched, and a classic portrayal of the English martyrs. Against the backdrop of estates of the landed gentry, the royal court, the prison of Mary Queen of Scots, dungeons, torture chambers, and the infamous scaffold at Tyburn, the novel gives the reader a rare glimpse of what it was like to live under the penal laws. Many bitter betrayals are countered by heroism and stoic sacrifice. Tyborne should be part of every homeschooling library and will be relished by all who enjoy good historical fiction.