Tea at Trianon: A New Biography of Louis XVI

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, January 30, 2013

A New Biography of Louis XVI

The life and contributions of Louis XVI have been reassessed by an American author, Alison Johnson.

Over two centuries have passed since King Louis XVI (1754-1793) was executed by guillotine. He is the only French King to die by execution. Ironically, Louis XVI did not want to be the king, writes Johnson. Rather, he preferred a quiet life in pursuit of his interests in locksmithing, carpentry and geography. When he accepted the throne, his work was dedicated to the welfare of his people until his government became engulfed in the violence of the French Revolution.

Regrettably, his reputation as being a "weak king", were the result very bad historical timing. Nevertheless, his personal courage was undeniable. For example, she describes an account when Louis XVI met with insurgents, who led street mobs who had murdered two of his personal officials and paraded their heads through the streets of Paris on pikes. Just a few days later, Louis XVI rode from his palace in Versailles to Paris with no protection to meet the insurgents.

Her book's last biographical chapters are based on accounts written in the journal kept by the king's valet. A poignant record of the King's calmness in the face of death is described. His valet recorded that when he awakened the king on the morning of his execution by guillotine, the King told him that he had slept very well. "That's the mark of a man absolutely secure in his conscience and religious faith," says Johnson. (Read entire article.)