Tea at Trianon: A Review and An Interview

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

Thursday, October 9, 2014

A Review and An Interview

Thanks to Luann for the rave review of The Paradise Tree and the great interview questions! To quote:

The Paradise Tree by Elena Maria Vidal is a sweeping tale of an Irish-Canadian family that I happily dare to mention in the same breath as Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind. We get to see a fair amount of the family's life while still in Ireland, where they suffered state-condoned harassment and discrimination on account of their Catholic religion.

To escape imprisonment, Daniel emigrates to Canada, hoping to find a better climate in which to live and raise a family of his own. He's practically just off the boat, looking for work, and someone says, "Just don't tell me you are Catholic." Daniel proudly claimed his religion. That earned him points with me. I've heard it said that if we don't stand for something, we'll fall for anything. Daniel, and most of his family are fine examples of that maxim.

But Daniel's work ethic and honor win over a lot of people, who otherwise probably wouldn't have given him the time of day. He finds a good Catholic girl (who is considerably younger than him) to be his bride and they have a number of children. I believe two of them do not survive to adulthood, and the deaths are handled with the sensitivity and sadness that go along with the passing of family members.

One part that I found both intriguing and charming is that Daniel regularly invited a Protestant minister and his assistant to supper with his family, and lively debates over religious topics peppered the meal-time conversations. I know that parts of the book had to be fictionalized, due to the long time since these events occurred, but I hope this bit has a kernel or two of truth in it. These supper debates took place because Daniel felt that his children should be able to defend their faith if called upon so to do, and this was a good way for them to listen and learn.

Ms. Vidal was a new author to me before I read The Paradise Tree. I am now a huge fan! I subscribe to her blog and everything she's ever written for distribution is on my TBR (to be read) list. If you enjoy history and/or historical fiction, you'll become a fan too. (Read more.)