Tea at Trianon: "Living and Breathing"

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

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

"Living and Breathing"

Brigit's Lorica

A review of The Paradise Tree from The Book Drunkard. To quote:

I also had Irish ancestors who came to Canada (and French ones, also), so that made the story all the more meaningful to me. It gives great insight into what immigrants went through once they came here. It was not easy! Those that survived had to have come from strong stock and Daniel O’Connor was tough. I feel luckier after reading this book, knowing what they went through, in order for us to have what we have today.

Perhaps because this is based on a true story of her ancestors, but I felt a lot of emotion reading Daniel’s story. The author has a knack of bringing out these feelings in the characters and in the reader. The people in the story felt so real to me and almost like they could have also been my ancestors. She brought them to living and breathing life on the pages and I laughed and cried along with them. On top of that, the historical details add so much to the story and it appears that a lot of research went into the book. I found it completely fascinating from beginning to end.

If I wasn’t a fan of Elena Maria Vidal before(I was), I definitely am now. She knows how to evoke strong feelings from the readers of her books. She makes them feel and think and live other lives through the people she writes about. When I keep thinking about a book after I’ve finished it, that’s a win. (Read more.)

The Paradise Tree is available internationally from Amazon.

In order to win a free copy, visit Passages to the Past!

julygirl said...: I also found that to be true...certain events evoked tears, and others, laughter. Feels as if one is right there living and breathing the experiences, joys and travails.; October 21, 2014 at 1:57:00 PM EDT