Tea at Trianon: Christmas at Little Latches

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, December 20, 2018

Christmas at Little Latches

From Victoria:

As frosty winter winds sweep across the British lowlands, residents from Birmingham to Bromsgrove wrap their scarves a little tighter as they dart in and out of local shops, carrying daunting to-do lists. But in the village of Little Aston in Sutton Coldfield, Sarah Wilton-Basi is happily putting the finishing touches on her holiday décor, warmed by a blazing fire and her enthusiasm for the task at hand. Sarah and her husband, Param, moved into their circa 1660 semi-detached cottage in 2009 after a six-month renovation restored many of the home’s original features. The structure, which formerly served as the local schoolhouse, was christened Little Latches because of the number of latched doors on the property. It is a particularly appropriate venue for Sarah, who taught theatre studies at a performing arts school in Liverpool for many years. Filled with Shakespearean-themed keepsakes, from volumes of plays and poetry to art prints, the shelves are also laden with antique books of classic literature—treasured heirlooms passed down from her great-grandparents. (Read more.)