When Louis XVI wrote in his diary Rien (“Nothing”) on July 14, 1789, it did not mean that the King was oblivious to the events in Paris. On the contrary he had taken measures to prevent the unrest, in particular by posting foreign regiments in and around the capital. Those measures proved unsuccessful, and even […]
The website of the National Archives posts this letter sent on July 19, 1789 by Thomas Jefferson, then Ambassador of the young United States to France, to John Jay, Secretary of Foreign Affairs. Jefferson, though not an eyewitness to the storming of the Bastille, reports on the event five days later. He wonders why the 5,000 […]
First let’s put things in context. In 1789 France had been for decades in the grips of a budget crisis. It was due to the country’s absurd tax structure, and had recently been aggravated by the French support of the American Independence War. King Louis XVI, in order to implement new taxes, had called a […]
I have not seen the PBS film, and can’t comment on it, but the site is worth a visit. It is lavishly illustrated, and I found the parts on Versailles particularly interesting. The site also includes interviews of British historians Simon Schama and Lady Antonia Fraser. No French scholars? Not even Simone Bertiere, who is, […]
I began writing a post about the novelist Alexandre Dumas, one of France’s most beloved and popular writers, when I realized that it was impossible to do so without first mentioning his father, General Dumas. Thomas Alexandre, no last name (slaves had none) was born in 1762 in Saint-Domingue, modern-day Haiti, the son of the […]
The Marie-Antoinette exhibition at the Grand Palais was so vast and complex that I wanted to let my impressions settle a bit before consigning them to cyberspace. The part of Marie-Antoinette’s life that was least familiar to me was her childhood in Vienna. In this regard the exhibition does a very good job of evoking […]
I am often asked whether it is a sequel to Mistress of the Revolution. The answer is no. The characters of my first novel had such a grip of my mind that I needed to establish some distance, at least for a while. But my readers will recognize the same setting, the familiar streets of […]
This exchange exceeded the iron-clad 3,000 character limit for comments, set by my blogging software. Yet it seemed a pity not to publish Suzanne Levin’s remarks, which I found most interesting. I certainly look forward to reading her historical novel when it is completed. Suzanne’s continued remarks regarding my prior book cover post (I recommend […]
The most extravagant idea that can take root in the head of a politician is to believe that it is enough for one people to invade a foreign people to make it adopt its laws and constitution. No one likes armed missionaries; and the first advice given by nature and prudence is to repel them […]
It sometimes happens that objects, like people, have fascinating destinies. Such is certainly the case of the blue gem now known as the Hope Diamond. The story begins in 17th century India, in the legendary mines of Golconda. A blue diamond weighing an astonishing 115 carats was discovered there. For those of you unfamiliar with […]
Now in trade paperback.
"One of the best reads of the year." -Associated Press
