Tea at Trianon: Rhett Butler novel

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

Monday, November 5, 2007

Rhett Butler novel

Reading the Past informs us that there is a new novel about the Rhett Butler character from Gone With The Wind, authorized by the Margaret Mitchell estate. Rhett Butler's People is by Donald McCaig; it is about Rhett's life and his view of the events told in GWTW. I have no idea how good the book is but the website is fun. Share

4 comments:

Anonymous said...: Sounds like something worth looking into if the Mitchell estate authorized it. An interesting premise. Did they authorize that sequel to GWTW?; November 5, 2007 at 3:16:00 PM EST
elena maria vidal said...: I believe that they did. I do think that this one sounds a lot better, though.; November 5, 2007 at 5:28:00 PM EST
Enbrethiliel said...: +JMJ+

Did you read Scarlett, Elena? I did, though several years ago, and didn't think it was too good. =S; November 7, 2007 at 8:25:00 AM EST
elena maria vidal said...: Oh, no, but I saw the TV miniseries! :-S It was a very forgettable soap opera, not quite on the level of GWTW.; November 7, 2007 at 8:32:00 AM EST