Tea at Trianon: Shakespeare’s Lost London Home

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

Friday, May 1, 2026

Shakespeare’s Lost London Home

From Mental Floss:

History never truly disappears in London. It lingers in forgotten corners and cobblestone crevices until rediscovered, sometimes in unexpectedly poetic ways. For centuries, scholars knew that William Shakespeare had owned property in the city, yet its exact location remained unknown, existing as more of a rumor than an actual record. A recent deep dive into the archives uncovered an overlooked map that transformed four centuries of speculation into fact. Instead of finding a newly built structure or sorting through debris, the discovery revived a piece of the past that had presumably been lost forever. Let's examine Shakespeare's personal life, property, and potential revelations about his later years.
Though his name is synonymous with London's theatrical reputation, Shakespeare's personal life remained rooted in Stratford-upon-Avon. He was born there in 1564 and maintained strong ties to the town throughout his life, even as his career flourished. His wife and children stayed behind while he spent extended periods in London, working as both a playwright and an actor.
By the late 1500s, Shakespeare had become a familiar presence in the entertainment world, collaborating with fellow performers and writing plays for Lord Chamberlain’s Men. Despite this, he never fully relocated his household to London. Instead, his life traced its arc across two places: one a family home, and the other a stage. (Read more.)