Tea at Trianon: More Portraits Of Madame Royale

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

Friday, July 1, 2011

More Portraits Of Madame Royale

The daughter of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette, the heroine of my novel Madame Royale.

(Images from Vive la Reine, HERE, HERE and HERE.) Share

5 comments:

Versailles said...: I don't believe she was a very nice person, at least not as a child. But she is fascinating none the less.

Just because she was the daughter of two people I adore, doesn't mean she was anything like them.; July 1, 2011 at 3:20:00 AM EDT
elena maria vidal said...: Even as a child she had a generous helping of the negative traits of her parents without enough of their positive qualities. Being in prison and surviving so many horrors as a teenager did not help her to blossom. She was said to resemble Madame Elizabeth in looks and personality-- same generosity and unwavering devotion to duty and faith as well as the same rigidity in political matters. She really was a fascinating character. You need to read my novel.; July 1, 2011 at 10:49:00 AM EDT
Julygirl said...: She was just stoic and meloncholy due to the horrendous events of her early life. Her parents especially her mother had a much happier childhood. No comparison.; July 1, 2011 at 4:01:00 PM EDT
tubbs said...: I keep hoping someone will find an old photo or daugretype(sp?) of her even though it would have to be in her final years.
As for her personality, a friend who was a real M.A. fan said that the childrens' governess taught them both to hate their parents, especially their Autri'"chienne" mother. Has anyone else ever heard or read of that?; July 1, 2011 at 6:10:00 PM EDT
elena maria vidal said...: Good point, Julygirl!

Tubbs, Simon the cobbler tried to teach the Dauphin to hate his mother. That is all.; July 1, 2011 at 6:37:00 PM EDT