Tea at Trianon: Death of a Legend

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

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Death of a Legend

Elizabeth Taylor has died. I have always loved her films. Two of my favorites are discussed HERE and HERE.

They say in Raintree County there's a tree bright with blossoms of gold.
But you will find the Raintree's a state of mind, or a dream to enfold.
~"The Song of Raintree County"

The North Coast said...: There passes one of the larger-than-life people who made the last half of the 20th so glamorous and flamboyant. Liz was a great lady, a warm, generous, large-spirited woman with a lot of courage and who seemed incapable of malice, in addition to being just about the most beautiful women in the world in her time.

There's no replacement for her. She'll be missed.; March 23, 2011 at 11:22:00 AM EDT
elena maria vidal said...: All I can think of are the words of Wordsworth: "...There hath pass'd away a glory from the earth..."; March 23, 2011 at 1:31:00 PM EDT
Mr. History said...: I remember seeing that photo a young Liz Taylor in one of those hardcover Life magazine photobooks and being fascinated at her beauty and elegance...she was probably my first crush. http://goo.gl/cxoLu

I haven't always agreed with her positions on issues, but I wholeheartedly believe that with her death, an era ends.

Rest in peace, Elizabeth.; March 23, 2011 at 1:44:00 PM EDT
elena maria vidal said...: She was the last Star of the golden age.; March 23, 2011 at 3:02:00 PM EDT
Julygirl said...: I am sitting here recounting the many brilliant films in which she starred and which also happen to be favorites of mine; Giant, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Elephant Walk, Suddenly Last Summer, A Place in the Sun, to name a few. She will be, and already has been, missed from gracing the 'Silver Screen', but her star will always shine brightly with unforgettable brilliance in the galaxy of beloved entertainers.; March 23, 2011 at 7:26:00 PM EDT
Christina said...: The brilliant - if unnerving - scenes she played with Richard Burton in 'Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?' seemed like a peek into their real life together. She seemed very much to be someone whose whole life was a film played out for all to see. A legend indeed.; March 23, 2011 at 7:47:00 PM EDT
elena maria vidal said...: I agree, Christina. 'Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?' is one movie I cannot even watch again because it is just too revealing although I think the acting was superb.; March 23, 2011 at 8:02:00 PM EDT
Julygirl said...: So true! It is not one of my favorites because of that, (although her acting in it was first rate.); March 23, 2011 at 8:52:00 PM EDT
lara77 said...: Rest in peace Dame Elizabeth Taylor. They will never see your likes again! Your beauty was only matched by your compassion and generosity of heart.; March 24, 2011 at 8:44:00 AM EDT