Tea at Trianon: "When a Book Can Be Read in One Day...."

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

Monday, April 10, 2023

"When a Book Can Be Read in One Day...."

Queen Henrietta Maria

Queen Henrietta Maria, Baby Charles and King Charles I

From Kate at With a Book in Our Hands:

When a book can be read in one day you know the author has to be doing something right. This was a fascinating look at members of British royalty that have not been overly explored in historical fiction as of late. Vidal humanized both Charles and Henrietta. While their relationship may or may not have evolved from “love at first sight”, their early years were largely influenced by Charles’s friend and confidante George Villiers. Charles was immature and easily swayed by others. Henrietta was a soft hearted woman who wanted to love and trust her husband to honor his promises. Henrietta also had a super power, she was a Medici. Vidal wrote with such an easy prose and didn’t allow her storytelling to get bogged down by minutiae. While I was gluttonous in my desire for more I found the editing to be spot on. It was just enough to allow for a clear precise story to flow from the page but not so much that the descriptive elements were ripped away. I’m excited that this is only book one and look forward to Vidal writing the rest of the story. All anglophiles must get this on their list ASAP! (Read more.)

From Amanda at A Girl Reads Books:

I adore historical fiction. The idea that I can be transported on a journey to the past via words on a page will never bore me. A journey I have taken frequently is to the reigns of Queen Elizabeth and Queen Mary. Their stories are told over and over, while incredibly interesting author Elena Maria Vidal gives us the story of Queen Mary's grandson, Charles Stuart.
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Vidal gives us the story of Charles' marriage to a daughter of France, Henriette-Marie, daughter of King Henry IV and a Medici by blood. Charles' and Henriette's marriage starts off rough due to their opposing religious beliefs but that is not the only obstacle on their journey. A woman bound to a man at the age of 15, thrown to the world of treachery and manipulation with no guidance quickly learns she must find the strength to persevere for herself, her faith, and her love. (Read more.)

The youngest daughter of Henri IV, the first Bourbon King of France, Henriette-Marie always knew she would have to marry a prince. When the Prince of Wales, Charles Stuart, travels through Paris he sees her dancing at the Louvre and within two years a marriage is arranged. However, Henriette is Catholic and Catholicism is banned in England. In preparing to become Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland, Henriette has no idea of the obstacles that must be overcome before she can find happiness with Charles. The main hindrance, she soon realizes, is not the difference in religion but Charles’ best friend, George Villiers, the handsome Duke of Buckingham, who is resolved to subdue Henriette to his will. Buckingham forgets that Henriette is also half Medici and underestimates her determination to succeed as well as the depth of her love for Charles. My Queen, My Love is the first novel in the Henrietta of France Trilogy by acclaimed author Elena Maria Vidal. It describes the early years of the tumultuous marriage of Charles I and Henrietta Maria which preceded the English Civil Wars of the Seventeenth Century.