Tea at Trianon: Marie-Antoinette at Oxford

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, February 15, 2018

Marie-Antoinette at Oxford

A discussion on Amazon has been brought to my attention, HERE. It is about whether or not my books Trianon and Madame Royale are truly at the Bodleian and whether or not any academics have ever "examined" my books. I must respectfully cite my friend, author and historian Gareth Russell, who shared with me that he referred to my novel Trianon in his dissertation at Oxford University a few years ago. Gareth is the author of several books and plays, including the recent acclaimed biography of Catherine Howard, Young and Damned and Fair. Gareth also is the one who told me that both Trianon and Madame Royale are to be found at Bodleian Libraries at Oxford. HERE are excerpts from his dissertation which he gave me permission to publish.

I was also more surprised than anyone else to find Trianon mentioned in a work about mother and daughter relationships, HERE. I have no idea why but I am glad the book was found useful. I discovered Madame Royale mentioned in Russia and Europe in the Nineteenth Century by Roy Bolton and Grigory Goldovsky, HERE, which is an honor indeed. So I just wanted to clarify the matter for those who think my novels belong with the Harlequins that there exist scholars who have thought otherwise. But honestly, I know of few other historical fiction novels that have undergone such scrutiny and treated as if they were post-graduate theses. Share