Tea at Trianon: Generalissima: A Novel of Henrietta Maria

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, September 8, 2025

Generalissima: A Novel of Henrietta Maria

Now in paperback. From the Amazon page:

"In this, the second part of the Henrietta of France trilogy, once again Elena Maria Vidal relies on strong characters based on meticulously researched historical facts to tell her story. Feel for the family of King Charles I as their country is riven by a civil war. Meet, again or for the first time, his unpopular French-born wife, a Catholic in a hostile country that was Protestant for only about a century then. But most of the time here she is simply a mother who of course wants to protect her children, who include the future kings Charles II and James II. The political intrigue and real risk of losing her life are not only on the battlefields of the English Civil War, nor only a war between king and subjects, but extend even to the queen's inner circle as she no longer knows who or what to trust. Except, that is, for her faith, which she surreptitiously tries to teach to her legally Protestant little ones. Dive into history presented with a human touch!" John Beeler, Journalist
"Good historical fiction requires thorough research, and I enjoy research. The storyline is basically provided for you; all the author has to do is weave the historical events together in a coherent and entertaining manner. The challenge for the historical fiction writer is to maintain the integrity of the historical persons, remembering that those who were real people have the right to be presented as close as possible to how they were in life...There is something about certain persons that reaches out to you from the past, the past being like Alice's mirror that she climbs through into another universe. People who faced hardships with courage, fortitude and faith have always appealed to me. By studying their lives and recreating what we discover into a living portrait we historical fiction writers are able to invite others to join us in our journeys into the past." from an interview with Elena Maria Vidal by Avellina Balestri at Fairydust and Fellowship