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| A Lady |
Masquerades in the past were usually associated with the Carnival season which started at Epiphany and ended on Mardi Gras. From Reading Treasure:
While modern masquerades are usually
reserved for Halloween, in the 18th century masquerades were much more
frequent occasions. Marie Antoinette's fondness for masquerades was no
small thing: her frequent appearances at Paris masquerades at first
endeared her to Parisians, who became enchanted with the smiling new
dauphine that contrasted too wonderfully with the decrepit Louis XV; but
after she became queen, Marie Antoinette's love for donning a mask and
dancing the night away began to take a more infamous turn.
After she and her husband ascended to
the throne, the propaganda wheels that had previously only caused bumps
in the road began to turn in full force. Every little action by the
queen, however harmless it may have been, was ripe for gossip and
inflation.
Once, the queen and her entourage were
on their way--fully masked--to a ball, when the carriage broke down. It
was decided that because their faces were well hidden by the masks, they
would take a fiacre--otherwise known as a carriage for hire. For the
queen of all France to take what amounts to a common taxi was
inconceivable in French society, and perhaps nothing would have come of
the situation if Marie Antoinette had kept mum. However, the queen gaily
brought up the incident to others, thinking nothing of sharing what she
perceived as a fun adventure.
To the gossip mill that hounded her,
however, that "fun adventure" was surely the sign of more serious
transgressions. The 'fiacre' incident sparked rumors that the queen was
visiting the private homes of men in secret, and that she frequently
disguised herself to take private rides in fiacres with her lovers. As
Madame Campan succinctly summarized: "a single instance of levity gives room for the suspicion of
others." (Read more.)
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4 comments:
Mrs. Vidal,
Having long observed your remarkable talent as a historical novelist, especially in crafting works that not only entertain but also present history in a way both accurate and elaborate, I must confess that your take on figures such as Marie Antoinette and Henrietta Maria has proved refreshingly resonant compared to the usual vilification or stereotyping of their characters. Indeed, your portrayal of their own perspectives and, more importantly, their deep faith is rare among novelists.
In this regard, with the Henrietta Maria trilogy nearing conclusion and upon the supposition that a new subject is being sought, I would like to suggest a new theme.
Catherine of Braganza and Mary of Modena, who as "sister-queens" (sisters-in-law) faced similar tribulations in the Restoration court, may pose a promising subject for a subsequent novel or trilogy. Their Catholic faith and morals, not always allied with the "flamboyance" of the court, make for a compelling narrative. Both women led remarkable lives: the only Portuguese and the only Italian queens of England.
Catherine was an eyewitness to the restoration of an independent Portugal under her father, the musically gifted John IV. Equally, she was the daughter of a 'decisive' Queen, Luísa de Guzmán, whose political acumen was much in the vein of Marie de Médici. She also managed to overcome immense cultural differences upon her arrival in England, gave the English a strategic dowry, and remained loyal to her husband despite his innumerable infidelities. She accepted the cross of childlessness in a dignified manner, was a patron of Baroque art, and, once back in her homeland, served twice as Regent with remarkable success.
Meanwhile, Mary Beatrice of Modena had to abdicate her deep desire to be a nun to marry the future James II—a resignation only possible after a recommendation from the Pope. She was also a great patron of the arts, used her influence to try to protect her ladies from the 'excesses' of the court through art and culture, suffered the loss of the majority of her children, and shared her husband's fate through the turmoil of the Exclusion Crisis and the "Glorious Revolution." She spent the last years of her life in exile fighting for her son’s cause, much like your "Generalissima."
A trilogy would allow for a "clearer" view of the Restoration court and a deeper examination of the husbands' evolving characters, which have been so beautifully drawn in your current work. If my proposition is helpful, I would be delighted to recommend some works that might serve as a grounding introduction to these two characters.
- The graces and the extraordinary untold lives of woman at the restoration court by Breeze Barrigton
- The privite life of James II by Justine Ruth Brown
- Charles II's Portuguese Queen - The Legacy of Catherine of Braganza by Susan Abernethy
- Hoax: The Popish Plot That Never Was by Victor Stater
- Queen Mary of Modena, her life and letters by Haile, Martin (available for free in the Internet archive)
- Mary of Modena: James II’s Dazzling Queen by Justine Brown
- Espionage in the Divided Stuart Dynasty 1685-1715 by Julian Whitehead
- The Lost Queen; The Surprising Life of Catherine of Braganza—the Forgotten Queen Who Bridged Two Worlds By Sophie Shorland
N.B. While evaluating these two promising characters, I also came across three other ladies who may be of interest to you: Louise Hollandine of the Palatinate (the princess-painter turned nun), Teresa Sampsonia Shirley (the "Carmelite Amazon"), and St Joan of Valois.
Louise Hollandine was one of the children of Elizabeth Stuart, sister of Charles I. She became a talented painter under Gerard van Honthorst; so skilled was she that some of her works were attributed to her master.Curiously, one of her works is a portrait of Prince Rupert's Boye. In December 1657, Louise fled to France with the aid of Henrietta Maria and her brother Edward. There, she converted to Catholicism and became a novice, eventually serving as the Abbess of the Cistercian Maubuisson Abbey with the support of Louis XIV. She lived there until the remarkable age of 86, continuing her artistic endeavours by crafting a beautiful Madonna and Child (1691). She also made charitable donations to English Benedictine nuns.
Unfortunately, her conversion caused a lifelong animosity with her mother, making her the only child excluded from Elizabeth Stuart’s will. A novel was written about her by Margaret Irwin in the 1930s by the name The bride (1939) (it is available for free in the Internet archive)
A possible grounding introduction to her life may be found in :
- Converted Relationships: Re-negotiating family status after religious conversion in the Nassau-chalon and Palatinate Dynasties, available through The University of Western Australia
- A Princely Painter: Princess Louise Hollandine of the PAlatinate, Abbess of Maubuisson by Christopher A. Kerstjens, access options on Taylor & Francis Online.
- Daughters of the Winter Queen: Four Remarkable Sisters, the Crown of Bohemia, and the Enduring Legacy of Mary, Queen of Scots by Nancy Bazelon Goldstone
Teresa Sampsonia Shirley an influential Iranian-Circassian noblewoman and cultural diplomat who traveled extensively across Europe with her husband, the English adventurer Sir Robert Shirley, acting as an ambassadress for the Safavid Shah Abbas the Great. Known for her "undaunted" spirit, even saving her husband's life on at least two occasions from assassination attempts by his Persian enemies and hostile Portuguese traders, Teresa became known as a amazon. During her youth she was converted by the Discalced Carmelite missionaries in Persia, adopting the name Teresa after the great reformer saint, whose relic she was later gifted by the saint's niece herself during her time in Spain. Indeed, once a widow, courtiers and grandees who were jealous of the Shirleys' high standing with the Shah spread rumors that Teresa had been born a Muslim and later converted to Christianity. Converting from Islam was a capital offense. She was eventually captured and interrogated. During this dangerous questioning, she was reportedly threatened with being "burnt alive" or "thrown from a tower" if she did not renounce her Christian faith. Such events lead to she fleeting to Istanbul and later to Rome where she settled in a house next to the Carmelite Santa Maria della Scala church. She lived a pious life there for over three decades, devoting her time to charity and religion under the protection and guidance of the Carmelite Fathers. Today, in the church of Santa Maria della Scala, her and her husband’s tomb can still be seen—the translation of Robert’s body from Persia to Rome serving as a final, poignant love token. Throughout her life, she navigated a staggering array of cultural worlds, meeting the father of the emperor who commissioned the Taj Mahal, as well as Anthony van Dyck, whose iconic portrait of her remains a symbol of East-West relations in the early modern age. A possible grounding introduction to her life may be found in :
- Chapter Title: Teresia Sampsonia Shirley (c.1589–1668).
Chapter Author(s): Emily Stevenson
Book Title: Lives in Transit in Early Modern England
Book Subtitle: Identity and Belonging
Book Editor(s): Nandini Das
Published by: Amsterdam University Press. (2022)
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv2fzkpnj.31
- Other Renaissances, Multiple Easts, and Eurasian Borderlands: Teresa
Sampsonia Sherley’s Journey from Persia to Poland, 1608–1611 115
Bernadette Andrea ( Pg.115 of "A companion to the global renaissance; literature and culture in the era of expansion, 1500-1700; second edition; edited by Jyotsna G.Sinh)
- Elizabethans errant; the strange fortunes of Sir Thomas Sherley and his three sons, as well in the Dutch Wars as in Muscovy, Morocco, Persia, Spain, and the Indies by Davies, David William ( available for free in the Internet archive)
Thank you, JH, I have already read most of the books you suggest and will include many of those persons into the third book of the trilogy.
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