1<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?><?xml-stylesheet href="http://www.blogger.com/styles/atom.css" type="text/css"?><feed xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom' xmlns:openSearch='http://a9.com/-/spec/opensearchrss/1.0/' xmlns:blogger='http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008' xmlns:georss='http://www.georss.org/georss' xmlns:gd="http://schemas.google.com/g/2005" xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655932075959811304</id><updated>2026-09-28T04:49:00.892-04:00</updated><category term="marie antoinette"/><category term="books"/><category term="18th century"/><category term="review"/><category term="art"/><category term="paintings"/><category term="women's history month"/><category term="fiction"/><category term="versailles"/><category term="non-fiction"/><category term="film"/><category term="french revolution"/><category term="fashion"/><category term="lists"/><category term="marie antoinette 1938"/><category term="quotes"/><category 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1<category term="french revolutionary wars"/><category term="furniture"/><category term="fuyumi soryo"/><category term="ghosts of versailles"/><category term="gibson girl"/><category term="hairstyles"/><category term="henry fuseli"/><category term="hiroshima"/><category term="holocaust"/><category term="home design"/><category term="hotel beauharnais"/><category term="hundred days"/><category term="japanese books"/><category term="jean plaidy"/><category term="jewelry"/><category term="joseph bologne"/><category term="joseph caraud"/><category term="korean writers"/><category term="last testatment"/><category term="lent"/><category term="leonard"/><category term="leonard autie"/><category term="let's visit"/><category term="libelles"/><category term="literature"/><category term="louis joseph"/><category term="ludwig II"/><category term="ma 1938 costume guide"/><category term="madame adelaide"/><category term="madame clotilde"/><category term="madame du barry 1934"/><category term="madame pompadour"/><category term="madame tussaud"/><category term="manga"/><category term="maria antonia of naples and sicily"/><category term="maria teresa of spain"/><category term="marie advertising"/><category term="marie antoinete"/><category term="marie antoinette 1956"/><category term="marie antoinette products"/><category term="marie josephe de saxony"/><category term="marlene dietrich"/><category term="masquerade"/><category term="medical"/><category term="memoirs"/><category term="military history"/><category term="military uniforms"/><category term="modern fashion"/><category term="mops"/><category term="movie review"/><category term="museums"/><category term="musings"/><category term="my little paris"/><category term="mythology"/><category term="myths"/><category term="nicholas II"/><category term="nina's paris"/><category term="norma shearer"/><category term="notes"/><category term="novels"/><category term="other topics"/><category term="outside the box"/><category term="parmentier"/><category term="pastry"/><category term="perfume reviews"/><category term="personal collection"/><category term="photomanipulations"/><category term="pink dresses"/><category term="pop up books"/><category term="portraits"/><category term="prince de ligne"/><category term="restorations"/><category term="robert doisneau"/><category term="rose bertin"/><category term="russian history"/><category term="ruth marten"/><category term="self-portraits"/><category term="sermons"/><category term="silent films"/><category term="silly posts"/><category term="smallpox"/><category term="snow globes"/><category term="sophie helene de france"/><category term="symbolism"/><category term="tea"/><category term="tea reviews"/><category term="the king's trial"/><category term="the queen's theater"/><category term="the rose of versailles"/><category term="theater review"/><category term="toys"/><category term="trivia"/><category term="tudor"/><category term="tuesday trivia"/><category term="unseen versailles"/><category term="vampires"/><category term="vendee"/><category term="victoire de france"/><category term="vinyl records"/><category term="voltaire"/><category term="wallpaper"/><category term="washington irving"/><category term="watercolors"/><category term="wedding"/><category term="wellness books"/><category term="william russell flint"/><category term="wine"/><category term="winter"/><category term="witch"/><title type='text'>Inviting History</title><subtitle type='html'>Marie Antoinette, the French Revolution and more</subtitle><link rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#feed' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.invitinghistory.com/feeds/posts/default'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/1655932075959811304/posts/default'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://www.invitinghistory.com/'/><link rel='hub' href='http://pubsubhubbub.appspot.com/'/><link rel='next' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/1655932075959811304/posts/default?start-index=26&max-results=25'/><author><name>Anna Gibson</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/05396224945159965618</uri><email>[email protected]</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><generator version='7.00' uri='http://www.blogger.com'>Blogger</generator><openSearch:totalResults>570</openSearch:totalResults><openSearch:startIndex>1</openSearch:startIndex><openSearch:itemsPerPage>25</openSearch:itemsPerPage><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655932075959811304.post-5624135528764404374</id><published>2024-08-24T00:05:00.002-04:00</published><updated>2024-12-08T21:40:23.260-05:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="book review"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="books"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="historical fiction"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="review"/><title type='text'>Book Review: "The Pretender" by Jo Harkin</title><content type='html'><p>&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJM_lpb9zzR3Etb_-OUPyWvRO0vI-br6HOAH28N8oDSRjTHzzLD4DyY4N7nHycYFadPkOhqd_ML64ZTRzuesa2r
1EQr0h-J3bmmyVAnPSBiu6GtyBwg_rUWBPcR_9DZLtUzD-l2N5bThyphenhyphenCq-QlkWdiWrjarIp8KTqY1QrIDNi0Bxq2QpzcuX2De0upulso/s450/9798217070268.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJM_lpb9zzR3Etb_-OUPyWvRO0vI-br6HOAH28N8oDSRjTHzzLD4DyY4N7nHycYFadPkOhqd_ML64ZTRzuesa2rEQr0h-J3bmmyVAnPSBiu6GtyBwg_rUWBPcR_9DZLtUzD-l2N5bThyphenhyphenCq-QlkWdiWrjarIp8KTqY1QrIDNi0Bxq2QpzcuX2De0upulso/s16000/9798217070268.jpg" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><p style="text-align: left;">[I was provided a review copy from the publisher via Netgalley.]<br /><br />Oh, 2 what a book! I am only sorry that it is not being published until April 3 2025, although I am nothing but glad that I got to read it so early.<br />&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align: left;"><i><b>The 4 Pretender </b></i>by Jo Harkin is a sweeping historical 5fiction novel that tells a highly fictionalized version of the youth and 6 young adulthood of Lambert Simnel, who was claimed to really be Edward 7Plantagenet, 17th Earl of Warwick, and a challenger to the throne of the 8 newly crowned Henry VII.<br /><br />Very little is known about the real 9Lambert Simnel, including his actual name. Some contemporary records 10apparently call him John, which is presumably where Jo Harkin got the 11boy's âfirstâ name--John Collan--from. <br /><br />It is known that the real 12 Simnel was captured and pardoned by Henry VII, who made him spit-boy in 13 the kitchens and later a falconer. It is believed he may have had at 14least one child, but his adulthood and ultimate fate, like the boy 15himself, is generally shrouded in mystery.<br /><br />This makes it ripe for fiction, of course. Thankfully, Harkin plucked this ripeness in just the right season. <br /><br />While 16 most of the novel is quite fictionalized, it feels plausible enough 17unless you are an incredible stickler for historical accuracy. While 18some eras of history are harder for me to accept deviations from the 19record in, this isnât one of them, so I didnât mind any inaccuracies 20(and there are some, of course) because of the bookâs well thought-out 21conceit. <br /><br />Simnel, who begins the book as John Collan, transforms 22throughout the novelâand not only in the outward sense, from farm boy to 23 supposed-heir-to-the-throne. But we are thrust into his internal 24transformations, which are often half-complete and conflicting, playing 25with the novelâs themes about identity, belonging, happiness, love, 26morality, greed and ultimately, the seeming need for revenge. <br /><br />Who 27 is John, Simnel, Edward? Is he a peasant, a pretender, an earl? Does it 28 matter? Can he love someone else, if he doesnât know who he is? How is 29he supposed to live, when heâs been so many people, and none of them, 30perhaps, were the real him? <br /><br />There is heartache in this book. 31Tragedy, abuse, lies that come to fester and rot. There is also humor. 32There were quite a few passages (including one very well placed âWhat. 33The. Fuck.) that had me chuckling. There is beauty and grossness and 34everything one needs to explore the essence of being human.<br /><br />The 35only element of the book that fell very flat for me was a strange detour 36 near the end that focused heavily on sex. Yes, people have sex, 37including people in the past. Iâm not pretending people were prudes. But 38 it was just a bit strange for the book to suddenly hone in on sex as a 39narrative device for so long; maybe itâs something I will better 40understand with a re-read, or maybe itâs something that just didnât gel 41with me.<br /><br />But this theme doesnât last for too long, all things 42considered. And it does take place in the context of Simnel experiencing 43 yet another changing-of-the-guards in his identity, so there is an 44element of franticness about the whole thing that keeps it from being 45too over the top. <br /><br />The storyline takes place over several years, 46and Harkin does well to show us the development of Simnel as he ages and 47 is tutored in more complex subjects. <br /><br />
47As Simnel goes from a 48young boy learning basic Latin to a young man being presented with moral 49 quandaries as tests for his potential kingship, we see how his moral 50character developsâeven as he is faced with an increasing number of 51horrific events that test his understanding of the world. And most 52importantly of all, his understanding of himself. <br /><br />Overall, I 53highly recommend this book to anyone interested in a sweeping historical 54 fiction that combines humor with witness, stark humanity, and 55overarching themes about identity, love, honor and revenge.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /><br /></p></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.invitinghistory.com/feeds/5624135528764404374/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.invitinghistory.com/2024/08/book-review-pretender-by-jo-harkin.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/1655932075959811304/posts/default/5624135528764404374'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/1655932075959811304/posts/default/5624135528764404374'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://www.invitinghistory.com/2024/08/book-review-pretender-by-jo-harkin.html' title='Book Review: "The Pretender" by Jo Harkin'/><author><name>Anna Gibson</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/05396224945159965618</uri><email>[email protected]</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJM_lpb9zzR3Etb_-OUPyWvRO0vI-br6HOAH28N8oDSRjTHzzLD4DyY4N7nHycYFadPkOhqd_ML64ZTRzuesa2rEQr0h-J3bmmyVAnPSBiu6GtyBwg_rUWBPcR_9DZLtUzD-l2N5bThyphenhyphenCq-QlkWdiWrjarIp8KTqY1QrIDNi0Bxq2QpzcuX2De0upulso/s72-c/9798217070268.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655932075959811304.post-1823671515249105560</id><published>2024-08-19T20:05:00.008-04:00</published><updated>2025-02-16T20:03:49.348-05:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="book"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="book review"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="historical fiction"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="holocaust"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="review"/><title type='text'>Book Review: "When We Flew Away: A Novel of Anne Frank Before the Diary" by Alice Hoffman</title><content type='html'><p>&nbsp;<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhep1kYdDwulNXJkl0oIPPaE0UNmHXOKlhC6qb3pla5orc6iEoG3AmE0rhbbSANXDObTP8Tk3U_irZ5k5zNYqIfTMcqPMOHkeOVuUH-wTjyErXWXRZIF3nsYb2KqrJMLYvBxneFEPBpk7Q54c1GAwU77h6uNRGVrO4_BRhOusGwZ_0AeYE3ARDNhMNfiKA/s466/204790314.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="466" data-original-width="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhep1kYdDwulNXJkl0oIPPaE0UNmHXOKlhC6qb3pla5orc6iEoG3AmE0rhbbSANXDObTP8Tk3U_irZ5k5zNYqIfTMcqPMOHkeOVuUH-wTjyErXWXRZIF3nsYb2KqrJMLYvBxneFEPBpk7Q54c1GAwU77h6uNRGVrO4_BRhOusGwZ_0AeYE3ARDNhMNfiKA/s16000/204790314.jpg" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>[I received a review copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.]<br /><br />When Scholastic announced the publication of <i><b>When We Flew Away: A Novel of Anne Frank Before the Diary</b></i> by Alice Hoffman was announced earlier this year, I was both excited and tentative. <br /><br />I do think that a historical fiction novel about Anne Frank aimed at younger readers (on their website, Scholastic suggests this book for 8-12 year olds) may be a way for a new generation of readers to become interested in Anne's story before they are ready to read her diary.<br />&nbsp;</p><p>Unfortunately, I really struggled with this book and I have trouble imagining most student-age children wanting to read it or feeling engaged with it.<br /><br />The book is incredibly lyrical and fanciful, and almost the entire story (what little there is of an actual story, due to said lyrical and fancifulness often taking pages and pages simply to muse on subjects rather than propel any narrative) is written in a passive "tell, not show" style that quickly becomes wearisome.<br /><br />
55Very rarely do any of the characters in the story feel like real people that you might read about in any other historical fiction. This is primarily because Hoffman writes in a lyrical third person omniscient style, we are constantly told how characters act and feel. <br /><br />We are told Anne is this way, we are told the grandmother feels that way; very rarely do we get any information through character action or dialogue. On the rare occasions when we do, this is often immediately followed up by yet another barrage of explanatory, lyrical sentences that tell us everything without allowing the story to show.<br /><br />If anyone in the family happens to behave in a way that might seem unpleasant, Hoffman is quick to reassure us that actually, they only behaved that way because of some specific explanation. Then we get metaphorical sentences for at least a paragraph or two before moving on.<br /><br />The omniscient style extends into the future as well, as throughout the book we learn about events that are yet to come, such as the deaths of certain percentages of Jewish people from a certain city, and the fate of Jewish people in Europe in general.<br /><br />&nbsp;If the story had been written from the perspective of some otherworldly narrator (like "Death" in<i> The Book Thief</i>) then perhaps this would have felt fitting.<br /><br />As it is, it only works to further detach <i>When We Flew Away</i> from the realm of historical fiction that seeks to present real people and events and closer into a heavy metaphorical narrative non-fiction.<br /><br />Due to this style, it is only rarely that anyone in the book feels like a person with real thoughts or behaviors. Everyone almost feels like an exalted metaphorical figure, already knowing their fates and behaving like whimsical metaphors. Anne in this book does not feel like Anne from her diary or the Anne recounted by those who knew her. <br /><br />There are a few stand out moments where the characters feel real--a moment when Anne is accosted by a Nazi after she stands too long near an ice rink; her father's excitement when he thinks they have finally made progress in seeking refuge in America--but these are vastly outnumbered by the constant metaphors and lyrical prose.<br /><br />While Hoffman does occasionally allow a little of character to show in Anne, it quickly jumps back to presenting Anne as this sort of vague, whimsical, adult-in-a-child's body character who constantly sees metaphorical black moths encroaching on her world. <br /><br />Hoffman's writing is not bad. There are some beautiful passages in here. The trouble is that the entire book is written in this fanciful omniscient passive style that feels catered more towards adults who read middle grade than actual middle grade readers who might be looking for an engaging historical fiction story. <br /><br />When reading the novel, I couldn't help but think about recent social media posts discussing this very issue: how middle grade books are more and more catering to adults who buy them for kids, and not the children themselves.<br /><br />This might be a perfect read for someone looking for an evocative, lyrical book. Unfortunately, it wasn't right for me.</p></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.invitinghistory.com/feeds/1823671515249105560/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.invitinghistory.com/2024/08/book-review-when-we-flew-away-novel-of.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/1655932075959811304/posts/default/1823671515249105560'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/1655932075959811304/posts/default/1823671515249105560'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://www.invitinghistory.com/2024/08/book-review-when-we-flew-away-novel-of.html' title='Book Review: "When We Flew Away: A Novel of Anne Frank Before the Diary" by Alice Hoffman'/><author><name>Anna Gibson</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/05396224945159965618</uri><email>[email protected]</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author>
55<media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhep1kYdDwulNXJkl0oIPPaE0UNmHXOKlhC6qb3pla5orc6iEoG3AmE0rhbbSANXDObTP8Tk3U_irZ5k5zNYqIfTMcqPMOHkeOVuUH-wTjyErXWXRZIF3nsYb2KqrJMLYvBxneFEPBpk7Q54c1GAwU77h6uNRGVrO4_BRhOusGwZ_0AeYE3ARDNhMNfiKA/s72-c/204790314.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655932075959811304.post-8240108065991669045</id><published>2024-08-18T21:10:00.006-04:00</published><updated>2024-08-18T21:10:35.667-04:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="book"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="book review"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="hiroshima"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="japanese history"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="review"/><title type='text'>Book Review: 'Hiroshima: The Last Witnesses' by M.G. Sheftall</title><content type='html'><p>&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0fNWHxw2A-LX4nFKtkZvZVCNCbv1R-F_HhAM-qdxi8vwgZQ_uiaK5I-vu-vBwGD1HurF3Sui7hdZaUeoP4M1rT-HaMLy3eEeYTkHPLaN5DgaG19mzt-z73K6IQmPcB387I7CCgZbSTZybtj_uKcNsuhEjPHaHBvBMukUeWRucrwkaXE6yPSHvoCnPNTk/s500/51Bx7R10UjL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="331" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0fNWHxw2A-LX4nFKtkZvZVCNCbv1R-F_HhAM-qdxi8vwgZQ_uiaK5I-vu-vBwGD1HurF3Sui7hdZaUeoP4M1rT-HaMLy3eEeYTkHPLaN5DgaG19mzt-z73K6IQmPcB387I7CCgZbSTZybtj_uKcNsuhEjPHaHBvBMukUeWRucrwkaXE6yPSHvoCnPNTk/s320/51Bx7R10UjL.jpg" width="212" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;">[I received a review copy of this publication from the publisher via Netgalley.]<br />&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align: left;"><i><b>Hiroshima: The Last Witnesses </b></i>by M.G. Sheftall is the first volume in what will be a two-book series covering Sheftall's extensive research into the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This first volume, which covers the bombing of Hiroshima, is the result of years of personal interviews with Hiroshima survivors and research into the atomic bomb and its effects, including literal physical effects and the social and psychological effects that survivors faced down the years.<br />&nbsp;<br />If I were to choose one word to describe this book, it would be this: unrelenting. Because when the chapters begin to hone in on details clearly gleaned from the personal testimony of survivors, it really does feel like an unrelenting surge of horror that you canât look away from. Nor should you be able to.<br />&nbsp;<br />Sheftallâs book begins chronologically, with the lead-up to the bombing, some backstory on its creation and mechanics, before moving into what begins as chronological almost minute-by-minute testimony related to survivors and victims of the bomb.<br />&nbsp;<br />It is in the information taken from interviews and testimonies that the importance of this book really takes shape.<br />&nbsp;<br />While Sheftall's book is not the first English-language book to contain detailed testimony from survivors, it is the first one Iâve read which incorporates every possible human detail and, most importantly of all in terms of historical value, places that testimony into its proper context.<br />&nbsp;<br />We are not just told that a person was at such-and-such a place during the bomb. Those who died, and those who survived, are not vague figures or statistics mentioned in passing. Instead, Sheftall reconstructs who they were, how they came to be in a specific place when the bomb dropped, and even &lt;I&gt;why&lt;/I&gt; they were there in the first place.<br />&nbsp;<br />Due to the ages of the survivors Sheftall interviewed, most of the detailed survivor accounts come from students who had been part of the forced labor mobilization that took Japanese students out of the classrooms and placed them in factories, working on firebreaks, and training for what was expected to be a land invasion. So many of the victims discussed here were killed in schools, or while working with classmates; survivors, more often than not, were those who happened to stay home that day.<br />&nbsp;<br />It quickly becomes clear when reading Sheftallâs account of events that the difference between life and death in Hiroshima was often due to random circumstances.<br />&nbsp;<br />One girl survived because her class team leader lost a game to determine which students worked on an area that would end up being close to ground zero, while the others were further away and thus, more likely to survive the bombing. One boy survived because he had a stomach ache and, since his father (who would not have accepted a stomach ache as a reason to stay home from important war work) was not home, his mother let him stay in bed to rest.<br />&nbsp;<br />It is when exploring these human details that the book is at its most engrossing and informative, despite the unrelenting nature of the information we learn. The reconstruction of events created from invaluable primary sources (I.e, Sheftallâs many interviews, along with published narratives and testimony) provide invaluable information about what was happening on the ground, in addition to sharing what will be far lesser known experiences to English-speaking readers.<br />&nbsp;<br />However, shortly after the initial set of detailed minute-by-minute testimony about the bomb and its short and long aftermath, the book suddenly seems to stop: it goes from a chronological account based on survivor testimony into modern first person anecdotes from the perspective of Sheftall.<br />&nbsp;<br />These first person passages(both the initial interlude and then later random passages) tend to revolve around Sheftallâs research. Sheftall recalls how he felt judged when visiting a memorial park, how he convinced a certain survivor to give an interview, how he attended various memorials down the years and his reception there.<br />&nbsp;<br />In these passages, the book feels like itâs more about Sheftall than the subject of the narrative. This may have felt more appropriate as an authorâs note in the introduction, but it is rather strange when it occurs on and off throughout the book proper.<br />&nbsp;<br />Another jarring element of the book is that while it began chronologically before suddenly shifting to a chapter discussing Sheftall visiting a survivor in the hopes of gaining an interview, after this initial first person interlude,&nbsp; it jumps back to âthe beginning,â so to speak.<br />&nbsp;<br />After the sudden chapter from the authorâs point-of-view, the book heads back in time to present another round of testimonies starting before the bomb dropped. From this point on, the chapters go back and forth so often, suddenly stopping the narrative about a certain family or individual before beginning a new chapter about someone else, that it becomes dizzying. Itâs essential to take notes to keep track of everyone, and itâs frustrating to constantly go back and forth in the timeline.<br />&nbsp;<br />While the book excels at presenting detailed information about the survivors and victims that presents a complete picture of the human beings affected by the decisions of the governments above them, sometimes I had to wonder why Sheftall spent so much time on certain elements.<br />&nbsp;<br />The strongest example of this is a multi-chapter interlude where Sheftall goes into the history of Christianity in Japan and then specifically in Christianity in Hiroshima. This interlude begins after Sheftall ends a chapter by noting a survivor who ended up turning to Christianity in the years after the bombing.<br />&nbsp;<br />Then we are suddenly thrust into a multi-chapter historical lesson (it takes two chapters to get back to the survivor in question) that veers so far off from the narrative path that I had to go back two chapters to remind myself where we had been.<br />&nbsp;<br />This type of excessive backstory also tends to happen when companies or organizations are mentioned. Instead of a paragraph or two explaining the history or context of the company, we get multiple pages about them, all simply because one person worked for them at the time of the bombing.<br />&nbsp;<br />While I absolutely appreciate that Sheftall brings proper context to the people and events in question, sometimes--as with the two chapter Christianity backstory--it feels excessive.<br />&nbsp;<br />Eventually, the book does fall back into a more-or-less chronological narrative, discussing the social and political aftermath of the bombings for those that survived. This is another element of the book that shines strongly, particularly because Sheftall isnât afraid to debunk myths and expose the less appealing underside of the narratives built up around the bombing in the decades afterward.<br />&nbsp;<br />Sheftall, for instance, notes one survivor who became unpopular in survivorâs groups because she wrote about and denounced the ultra-conservative narrative being embraced by the families of many victims; this narrative mirrored the same narrative used in the enshrinement of war criminals at Yasukuni shrine. While other books might shy away from exposing this unappealing element--both the narrative and the treatment of the survivor--Sheftfall lets readers take it in.<br />&nbsp;<br />Overall, while I have some misgivings about the structure of the book and the sometimes jumbled focus, I do think that Sheftallsâ incredible intimate, detailed reconstructions of the experiences of those who survived--or didnât survive--the bombing of Hiroshima will make this one of <i>âtheâ</i> books on the subject in the years to come.<br />&nbsp;<br />&nbsp; <br /></p></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.invitinghistory.com/feeds/8240108065991669045/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.invitinghistory.com/2024/08/book-review-hiroshima-last-witnesses-by.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/1655932075959811304/posts/default/8240108065991669045'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/1655932075959811304/posts/default/8240108065991669045'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://www.invitinghistory.com/2024/08/book-review-hiroshima-last-witnesses-by.html' title='Book Review: 'Hiroshima: The Last Witnesses' by M.G. Sheftall'/><author><name>Anna Gibson</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/05396224945159965618</uri><email>[email protected]</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author>
55<media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0fNWHxw2A-LX4nFKtkZvZVCNCbv1R-F_HhAM-qdxi8vwgZQ_uiaK5I-vu-vBwGD1HurF3Sui7hdZaUeoP4M1rT-HaMLy3eEeYTkHPLaN5DgaG19mzt-z73K6IQmPcB387I7CCgZbSTZybtj_uKcNsuhEjPHaHBvBMukUeWRucrwkaXE6yPSHvoCnPNTk/s72-c/51Bx7R10UjL.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655932075959811304.post-6508651293623424173</id><published>2024-08-10T19:12:00.002-04:00</published><updated>2024-08-10T19:12:24.423-04:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="anne boleyn"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="book"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="book review"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="review"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="tudor"/><title type='text'>Book Review: Thorns, Lust and Glory by Estelle Paranque </title><content type='html'><p style="text-align: center;">&nbsp;</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBD5bxie-OOeM1QSFdJmJl-KdaK955rWZ7SCLlJe7Cy8cl71RXvez9FHsTVEIzfc_5JUwgmDY8cCJfLaU6oMD6THs5AMmFdWHi2ZwPnFnLUNc0I5giDpTPnJKqsAm4jILmXPKJStgfqt_V6eOBCMBx4-sFzM9aNrctBnTlUtGyZWUu_YdLTjuy13vJXLo/s1000/71hEjYN34IL._A
55C_UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="650" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBD5bxie-OOeM1QSFdJmJl-KdaK955rWZ7SCLlJe7Cy8cl71RXvez9FHsTVEIzfc_5JUwgmDY8cCJfLaU6oMD6THs5AMmFdWHi2ZwPnFnLUNc0I5giDpTPnJKqsAm4jILmXPKJStgfqt_V6eOBCMBx4-sFzM9aNrctBnTlUtGyZWUu_YdLTjuy13vJXLo/w260-h400/71hEjYN34IL._AC_UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg" width="260" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: left;">[I received a review copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.]<br />&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align: left;"><i><b>Thorns, Lust and Glory: The Betrayal of Anne Boleyn</b></i> by Estelle Paranque is a highly engaging book that doesnât quite live up to the presumption of âbetrayalâ made in the title. <br /><br />The premise set up in the early pages of <i><b>Thorns, Lust and Glory: The Betrayal of Anne Boleyn </b></i>and explored throughout the book is admittedly somewhat blurry: the general idea is that Anne was "betrayed" by the French who refused to take a stand against Rome in favor of supporting England, Henry VIII and her marriage.<br /><br />The book later fleshes out this idea, positing that this was a âbetrayalâ because Anne was essentially a "French princess," that she had been acting in French interests after her rise in England, and thus the refusal of the French king and court to support England over Rome and step in when Anne herself was arrested was specifically a betrayal against Anne Boleyn herself. <br /><br />While Paranque explores what we do know of Anne's connections to France (which continued after she left England, to at last some degree) and discusses at length the political and diplomatic schemes, plots and pleadings involved in the various attempts to gain French support for Henry VIIIâs annulment and remarriage, I don't feel that the general thesis was actually supported by this presented evidence. <br /><br />Yes, Anne served in the court of France for some years. Yes, Anne entertained French ambassadors, and went with Henry to France in their bid to get Francis' support for their marriage. Yes, the French sent various diplomats at various times to attempt to drum up support for Henry VIIIâs will on the matter of his marriage(s).<br /><br />But nothing written about in this book supports this idea that Anne was acting in French interests, that she was--as Paranque writes numerous times in the book--essentially a "French princess," nor that the Frenchâs actions could be viewed as as a âbetrayalâ against Anne Boleyn. <br /><br />Paranque writes in her introduction that, âSome dialogue has been re-created from primary sources and perhaps I have also allowed myself more speculative claims that again are based on primary evidence, but rely evidently on my own judgment and appreciation of them.â <br /><br />In regards to the dialogue being primary sources repurposed, itâs not something I like to see done in non-fiction&nbsp; without the author admitting that they are putting letters into a different context at the moment. <br /><br />Otherwise, readers are left to wonder: is what Iâm reading an accurate representation of this primary source? Was the original primary source a letter, which has been spun into a piece of dialogue? Did the primary source use these exact words? What does recreated mean, here? <br /><br />While it may make the book more readable, it makes the final understanding of the history fuzzier, and thus not something I want to rely on when learning about Anne Boleyn or these events. <br /><br />Speculation is inherent when writing about history, especially a figure like Anne Boleyn
55where there are shockingly few traces of her thoughts and feelings, but the speculation in the book often goes too far. <br /><br />There is a difference between, for instance, suggesting that a young Anne would have surely been impressed by royal spectacle witnessed as a lady-in-waiting to the French queen and what Paranque does repeatedly throughout this work, which is connect basic events ("Anne witnessed this spectacle while serving in France") and leap to vaster conclusions. <br /><br />For instance, Paranque writes, after exploring the brief courtship between Henry Percy and Anne Boleyn, that Anne was "buoyed with confidence from her years in France, and what she had learned from the royal women there, she felt ready for whatever might be in store. Secretly, she prayed for glory." <br /><br />Did she? When? What about Anne's reaction (which is to say--we don't know it!) to the ending of her courtship with Percy, or anything at all from this period, suggests that she was secretly praying for glory? Suggesting that perhaps she admired the powerful women at the French court is one thing, but writing at this stage that she secretly prayed for glory is an entirely different level of speculation. <br /><br />Although I donât really agree with the basic premise of the book and I donât think there was any great revelation made here regarding Anne being âbetrayedâ by France, I did appreciate some of the smaller details that Paranque was able to uncover regarding Anneâs time in France, along with more detailed information about the movement of diplomats in regards to the âmarriage problemâ of Henry VIII. <br /><br />I think that many popular portrayals about the marriage forget just how long it took for decisions to be made, just how many politicians, courtiers and clergymen were tasked with trying to resolve the kingâs âquestionâ of his marriage; all these moving parts, at least in regards to France, are covered here in a way that is easy to understand.<br /><br />Paranqueâs writing is very engaging as well, even when the book is covering what might otherwise be a bit of a slog to get through. Sometimes I felt like I was listening to someone speak passionately about a subject they were invested in, which makes for easier reading when it comes to non-fiction. You can tell that Paranque has a strong passion for Anne Boleyn and respect for what she endured in her final days. <br /><br />Although I donât think the book lives up to the premise that Anne was âbetrayedâ by the French, I do think the book is worth a look if youâre interested in more of the behind-the-scenes diplomatic details regarding Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. The book does contain more actual primary sources (versus speculation about what Anne surely must have felt or done) when it comes to these diplomatic missions, so that is one of the stronger areas of the book.<br /></p><p style="text-align: center;">&nbsp;</p></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.invitinghistory.com/feeds/6508651293623424173/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.invitinghistory.com/2024/08/book-review-thorns-lust-and-glory-by.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/1655932075959811304/posts/default/6508651293623424173'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/1655932075959811304/posts/default/6508651293623424173'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://www.invitinghistory.com/2024/08/book-review-thorns-lust-and-glory-by.html' title='Book Review: Thorns, Lust and Glory by Estelle Paranque '/><author><name>Anna Gibson</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/05396224945159965618</uri><email>[email protected]</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author>
55<media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBD5bxie-OOeM1QSFdJmJl-KdaK955rWZ7SCLlJe7Cy8cl71RXvez9FHsTVEIzfc_5JUwgmDY8cCJfLaU6oMD6THs5AMmFdWHi2ZwPnFnLUNc0I5giDpTPnJKqsAm4jILmXPKJStgfqt_V6eOBCMBx4-sFzM9aNrctBnTlUtGyZWUu_YdLTjuy13vJXLo/s72-w260-h400-c/71hEjYN34IL._AC_UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655932075959811304.post-3219694659582662975</id><published>2023-06-15T22:25:00.017-04:00</published><updated>2023-09-07T22:19:38.138-04:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="film"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="film review"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="joseph bologne"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="movie review"/><title type='text'>Chevalier (2022) Review </title><content type='html'><p style="text-align: center;">&nbsp;</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwf9crMo1zkl7puo9rRGGUJeU44l1qAHUrauS6gTfjsRzNCssgBnT87a8ZAGbrWcV_BjfTSt36Y355lpDL6kWhpYD3Bmb7WaS-jewTlJJJaYzqh99MbUaq18fUariWI_XdLPL_kbnOR-ig78EBOTRDovLbtr0iid_VCGoE0PZMLEJJk0ebNCnqEY4K/s1481/MV5BNDU5OTBhNzEtYjllNS00Y2RkLWEzYTgtOTRmMGZhOTYyYmMwXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyODk4OTc3MTY@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1481" data-original-width="1000" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwf9crMo1zkl7puo9rRGGUJeU44l1qAHUrauS6gTfjsRzNCssgBnT87a8ZAGbrWcV_BjfTSt36Y355lpDL6kWhpYD3Bmb7WaS-jewTlJJJaYzqh99MbUaq18fUariWI_XdLPL_kbnOR-ig78EBOTRDovLbtr0iid_VCGoE0PZMLEJJk0ebNCnqEY4K/w432-h640/MV5BNDU5OTBhNzEtYjllNS00Y2RkLWEzYTgtOTRmMGZhOTYyYmMwXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyODk4OTc3MTY@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" width="432" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><i>&nbsp;Note: This review contains significant spoilers for <b>Chevalier</b>. </i><br /></p><p>One of the early pivotal scenes in <b><i>Chevalier</i> </b>depicts Joseph Bologne expertly dueling a man in front of the French court as the man's champion reads a tract against the population of black people living in France. The contrast between the man's insistence that the duel will demonstrate the superiority of the white race and Bologne's deft handling of his opponent is viewed with varying looks of admiration and consternation among those watching. <br /></p><p>After Bologne wins this volatile duel, Marie Antoinette--who clearly admires him at first sight and rattles off a list of his accomplishments in a <i>research-beforehand-or-you'll-miss-it</i> line of dialogue--impulsively states that she, Marie Antoinette, queen of France, anoints him "chevalier de Saint-Georges." Louis XVI, who has no presence in this film outside of this scene, blandly smiles along with the announcement.&nbsp;</p><p>It is the first of many inaccuracies in the film that go beyond standard historical biographic nitpicking and transcend into inaccuracies with troubling implications for the film's depiction of Joseph Bologne.</p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Diving into Inaccuracies</b></span><br /></p><p>Let's be clear: no period film is historically accurate. Even the most meticulous of historically based media is going to contain something that simply isn't true, whether it's a mistake or deliberate choice made out of narrative necessity or lack of budget or impossibility of modern film-making or any myriad of reasons.</p><p>I don't care about little inaccuracies in <i>Chevalier. </i>I'm not pressed about the hairstyles for Marie Antoinette usually look more "Jacques Demy <i>'Lady Oscar</i>'" than authentically mid-1770s French, or even the opera <i>Ernestine</i> being produced earlier and under different circumstances.</p><p>What stood out to me is the critically inaccurate way that the film has taken real people and real events, and warped them to fit into a specific thematic narrative that didn't exist. <br /></p>Referencing back to the early duel scene where Marie Antoinette giddily anoints Joseph Bologne "chevalier" in front of the crowd who has witnessed him best his opponent, much to the chagrin of the man who was championing the inherent inferiority of Bologne just moments before--<br /><p>In actuality, Joseph Bologne <i>earned</i> the title of chevalier on his own merit in 1766, after he was admitted into and graduated from a royal academy. This was years before Marie Antoinette ever set foot in the country. Bologne did not need the hand-waving, good-natured but impulsive help from the queen of France to be a chevalier. It was something he achieved, on his own merit, which the film deliberately transforms into the whim of a giddy queen. <br /></p><p>This scene strips Bologne of the agency he had in this accomplishment and instead gives it to someone else--specifically, a white queen acting on adoring whimsy towards him. A whimsy that will prove, in the film, to break under the slightest pressure.</p><p>Taken in context of the film as a whole, the reasoning seems clear: this is an early example of Bologne being pulled along by white society, being led to believe he is an accepted part of it, only to forget--as his father tells him early in the film--that he must be perfect in every way, unlike everyone around him. While he thinks that Marie Antoinette sees him as any other accomplished young man, the film later reveals she will easily cast him aside if it means protecting herself.&nbsp;</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq7lrt8_6Ts-j76AQsQC5aiMcH4z7ugS24q1X2mNv0wmRcG4axix3ExSCyRb28v44SpDrA08_Kta9JKL7JXAM_RrnRsM-pUmiNqR2Hxyp4kUcr_hmofjy9-fXlYxe_JT19HJ3EyQoi-h-ECcJ
55sq_TZRM6PlcBmEOQDLzfPa3KncbFNWNi9tIqK0hG1/s1160/Screenshot%202023-06-15%20at%2020-34-11%20Chevalier%20Official%20Trailer%20Hulu.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="537" data-original-width="1160" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq7lrt8_6Ts-j76AQsQC5aiMcH4z7ugS24q1X2mNv0wmRcG4axix3ExSCyRb28v44SpDrA08_Kta9JKL7JXAM_RrnRsM-pUmiNqR2Hxyp4kUcr_hmofjy9-fXlYxe_JT19HJ3EyQoi-h-ECcJsq_TZRM6PlcBmEOQDLzfPa3KncbFNWNi9tIqK0hG1/w640-h296/Screenshot%202023-06-15%20at%2020-34-11%20Chevalier%20Official%20Trailer%20Hulu.png" width="640" /></a></div><p>Unfortunately, this type of glossing over the real Bologne's accomplishments and actions in order to suit a specific thematic narrative is emblematic of the film's fictionalized take on the real history behind Joseph Bologne. <br /></p><p>The film's inciting event occurs when Marie Antoinette, unable to openly recommend Bologne for the position of Director of the Paris Opera because he is black, comes up with the idea of there being a competition between him and the other front-runner for the position: Christoph Willibald Gluck.&nbsp;</p><p>What we're meant to take away from this scene--when considered with the film as a whole- is that Marie Antoinette, again being impulsive, comes up with a way for Bologne to likely get the position of Director without compromising herself by advocating for him directly. There is the veil of support here: she's trying to get Bologne the position and in the film, genuinely seems to think that this will work and is not doing it to be cruel. But she's also showing her hands as a flimsy ally: she's willing to support him for this position he so desperately wants, but only in a way that doesn't negatively impact her. <br /></p><p>In reality, Marie Antoinette supported Bologne's bid for opera Director because she supported his work and career. There was no grand competition, no high stakes composition of "Ernestine" under pressure; Ernestine premiered in Paris on its own merit in 1777, without any need for fictional competitive dramatics.&nbsp;</p><p>in fact, he went to the queen's private apartments <i>more often </i>after the opera scandal to play with her and her companions. Marie Antoinette supported Joseph Bologne's career so extensively in the 1780s--after the "opera scandal" depicted in the film--that his orchestra would often wear their formal uniforms during performances, because the queen was bound to show up.We know that she attended one of his ice skating events in 1789.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>In an interview acknowledging that the events of the film were fictionalized, director Stefani Robinson noted:</p><p><i>"You fast forward to the latter part of his life, and he's taking up arms against her, so clearly something happened within a period where there was this shift, so that speaks to just needing to excavate what was spiritually true, and then render it in terms of storytelling in this more operatic and dramatic way to explain the shift in his psyche."&nbsp;</i></p><p>Bologne didn't take up arms against Marie Antoinette specifically. I'm not sure why the film and its postscript think that Marie Antoinette was a ruling queen, as the film repeatedly shows things done in Paris "by order of the queen" and the king is literally nonexistent beyond sitting blandly next to her in one scene, but she wasn't.&nbsp;</p><p>Bologne took up arms against foreign armies and royalist French armies in a civil war. He did refuse to join the royalist armies that were attempting to invade France after the execution of Louis XVI in order to save the royal family. But we know that she supported his career in the 1780s and even in 1789.&nbsp;</p><p>It's bizarrely shallow to imply that the reason Bologne didn't support these royalist armies was because he and Marie Antoinette no longer got along. The "shift" happened after the revolution, and does not necessarily indicate that they had some sort of personal falling out. Instead, it indicates that Bologne was willing to put the cordial if not friendly relationship they previously had to the side because of his belief in revolutionary ideals.</p><p>Why must there be some literal falling out between them? There is apparently no room for nuance here. You can only support the revolution if you personally hate Marie Antoinette because she wronged y
55ou, apparently.</p><p>The film puts far too much emphasis on Marie Antoinette overall. She should have been a footnote in this story, because that's all she really was in the end for the real Bologne. She was peripheral to him, not a central actor. <br /></p><p>Circling back around to the competition...<br /></p><p>Again, it's as if the filmmakers think viewers won't believe that Marie Antoinette didn't have a problem with supporting Bologne openly. But there is a reason, after all, why the women who created the infamous <i>"our dignity will not allow us to submit to the orders of a mulatto"</i> petition addressed it to the queen herself. She was Bologne's most prominent supporter. But in the film, Marie Antoinette has to be sneaky, and support him only under the guise of loving a good competition.&nbsp; </p><p>The outcome of the "competition," where Bologne's opera wins but he is not allowed to assume the position of Director because of the racist petition circulated by the women of the Opera House, is likewise entirely fictional.&nbsp;</p><p>While the racist petition did occur and was the reason why Bologne did not end up assuming the position, there is no evidence to suggest it occurred because of the reasoning in the film: because La Guimard was angry that Bologne rejected her sexual advances on a singular occasion and decided to ruin him because of it. </p><p>Gabriel Banat breaks down his theories about the petition in his biography, and theorizes that the primary reason that Guimard likely circulated the petition is that she was keen to retain her internal control over the Paris Opera, and she knew that this would not be possible with Joseph Bologne at the helm. And so she utilized existing racism and fear of black men in white society to get her way and if reports on the Opera a few years later are anything to go by, she was able to retain that internal control thanks to successfully throwing Bologne out of the ring.&nbsp;</p><p>Another accuracy note here: in the film, Gluck is appointed the director of the Paris Opera. In real life, Bologne withdrew his bid for director after it became clear that the racist petition and rumors being spread about him were not going to go away. Louis XVI then seized control and effectively handed the position to the government rather than appoint someone else Director. Some biographers believe the move was done to neutralize the situation while avoiding further humiliation to either his wife, who did not answer the petition, and towards the composer she supported. <br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitHF0Ro93Q5Rxbk0VyN1SF8WI6QqOOGOY4EAYvG171gEhHr4EGmsc-X18X1NLUrPeCps72B2hp6KZgn6v19V3L1gqEWUOrjNuW1LWK5Z2Sbx6iyjBNNUPZPiYThG9QHfRsFuhoLc8e5n1-GKLkKePR326Lz_-EhAvSE2uuz6d5L_FYhGqx3VplbD8X/s1111/Screenshot%202023-06-15%20at%2019-49-11%20Chevalier%20Official%20Trailer%20Hulu.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="534" data-original-width="1111" height="309" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitHF0Ro93Q5Rxbk0VyN1SF8WI6QqOOGOY4EAYvG171gEhHr4EGmsc-X18X1NLUrPeCps72B2hp6KZgn6v19V3L1gqEWUOrjNuW1LWK5Z2Sbx6iyjBNNUPZPiYThG9QHfRsFuhoLc8e5n1-GKLkKePR326Lz_-EhAvSE2uuz6d5L_FYhGqx3VplbD8X/w640-h309/Screenshot%202023-06-15%20at%2019-49-11%20Chevalier%20Official%20Trailer%20Hulu.png" width="640" /></a></div><p>Likewise, the film's treatment of Gluck is not only inaccurate but once again, goes directly against what we actually know about Gluck and Bologne's dynamic. The film's Gluck is a stuffy man that Bologne and Marie Antoinette mock together when he shows up to Paris. Gluck is openly hostile towards Bologne, saying, to his face, that he is the "show off who spoiled Mozart's concert." In the film, Gluck is clearly part of the set who think that Bologne has no right to be where he is. <br /></p><p>But the real Gluck was working under a 6-work contract with the Paris Opera, and never put in a bid for director of the Paris Opera. Joseph Bologne was actually one of the so-called "Gluckists" who supported Gluck's works in Paris over those of the Italian Niccolò Piccinni, and he attended Gluck's first performance in Paris as a means of showing support. Yet the film wants us to believe that he hated Gluck and the two were bitter rivals.</p><p>The film also pretends that Marie Antoinette finds Gluck boring, and he's only in Paris because he wants the Director position. But here again, it's the opposite in real life: the real Marie Antoinette was Gluck's biggest advocate. Not because, as the film later pretends, she <i>has to be</i> due to the racist petition causing Bologne to lose out on the petition and later fall from grace when he openly rails against it, but because she genuinely supported Gluck and his work.</p><p>Her support of Gluck is a fairly significant moment in her history as a patron of composers as well, so this isn't some little nitpick but a rewriting of how Marie Antoinette and Bologne and Gluck all worked within the musical world of Paris in the 1770s.<br /></p><p>Again and again, I find myself asking: why is the film seemingly afraid to work within even the vaguest of confines of real history? Why not create a fictional composer to compete with Bologne, if the filmmakers were so intent on the silly conceit of a competition?&nbsp;</p><p>Why look at Gluck, whom Bologne and Marie Antoinette both supported, and say: "Yes, we'll make him a stuffy jerk who is openly disdainful of Bologne and both Marie Antoinette and Joseph hate him, actually"?&nbsp;</p><p><b><span style="font-size: large;">&nbsp;Marie Josephine, Poor Dear?</span></b><br /></p><p>&nbsp;</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2gbWKHIsTq_K2BXO-Zl6yGqenRFQncBiApJ4FAQnH98wr1qJZfpYQphWMdXdn4w3qvbIvYjVNf6Ur2uqpXhw3aFC6lHzaU1X8wtqojzK8g28gCfmnVRs4sOhe7KIoi3PNkez0-OjIE1d7RuxhcZTk-Dw1ZVGCZvKKw2ax_04sVsG9eqbYR44viJinIgE/s1024/Chevalier-Marie-Josephine-3-1024x576.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="1024" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2gbWKHIsTq_K2BXO-Zl6yGqenRFQncBiApJ4FAQnH98wr1qJZfpYQphWMdXdn4w3qvbIvYjVNf6Ur2uqpXhw3aFC6lHzaU1X8wtqojzK8g28gCfmnVRs4sOhe7KIoi3PNkez0-OjIE1d7RuxhcZTk-Dw1ZVGCZvKKw2ax_04sVsG9eqbYR44viJinIgE/w640-h360/Chevalier-Marie-Josephine-3-1024x576.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>Another critical inaccuracy is the film turning the figure of Marie-Joséphine de C
55omarieu de Montalembert into a woman striving to break away from her strict, art-hating husband. <br /></p><p>The film portrays her as a stifled, vivacious woman who is trapped in a gilded cage with a man who has a clear disdain for the arts and wants to keep his wife away from the theater and at home where she belongs. She is drawn to Bologne because of his charisma and his interest in music and performance. She auditions (though we all know she is the only woman for the role) for a spot in his opera that is being composed for the competition. He is her opera director but also her lover. <br /></p><p>After she gives birth to Saint-Georges' child, her husband tears the child from her arms and kills the newborn boy. The death of this child is the catalyst for Saint-Georges to finally "join the revolution," here depicted as a fishbowl 1789-esque scene (but set in 1776) in which guards are trying to put down protests "by order of the queen!" Because in <i>Chevalier</i>'s universe, Louis XVI does not really matter and Marie Antoinette is clearly in charge. </p><p>The death of his child is also used to segue into a scene where his mother sorrowfully talks about being separated from him, though as I'll discuss in the next section, this, too, was not represented accurately. <br /></p><p>But the reality of Marie-Joséphine, or what we can know of it, was very different.</p><p>The real Marie-Joséphine was an actress who regularly performed on a private stage in a theater she and her husband ran together. Her husband, Marc René, marquis de Montalembert (who did have a military and engineering career) was a playwright who owned and ran the theater with her. Whereas the film presents him as a stereotypical boorish military man who says he doesn't understand theater, arts or music, in reality he was a lover of theater and music.&nbsp;</p><p>Marie-Joséphine connected with Bologne because she wanted him to conduct at the theater she and her husband ran. She effectively convinced his current employer to lend him out, and that is how he began to conduct for her and her husband's performances.&nbsp; So the real Marie-Joséphine was a woman who was essentially "employing" Bologne--a very different power dynamic than the one presented in the film, where she cannot engage in her passion and is stifled by her brute of a husband who hates all things art and theater. <br /></p><p>The notion that Bologne and Marie-Joséphine had a child together comes from the gossip journals of Beauvray, who noted "there is even talk of a child born of this illegitimate commerce, that died a short time after his birth of an illness which they could have but did not care to have him cured of, conforming, no doubt, to the views of the putative father who took advantage of that circumstance to rid himself without undue notice of a son he had every reason to believe was not his."&nbsp;</p><p>Another diarist, who does not mention the child, noted that her husband was not a "complacent husband" this affair, had a violent temper, but was at a stale-mate because his wife's alleged lover was a master fencer. So we do have some sort of primary source that suggests the marquis was known to have a bad temper, but that's as far as the reality goes for these characters. <br /></p><p>The film's Marie-Joséphine is presented as a poor pretty dear, oppressed by her art-hating husband who won't let her perform, which leads her to lashing out, desperate to find some purchase outside of her gilded cage. She is drawn to Bologne for his musical soul, and she is portrayed in some ways as his muse. Her child is ripped from her arms immediately after birth and murdered, something she regrets, laments, and is horrified by. <br /></p><p>The real Marie-Joséphine was performing regularly in a theater her husband owned and wrote plays for, and specifically sought to hire Joseph Bologne for said theater, making her his employer. The only source we have regarding their child suggests that she, along with her husband, did n
55ot care to have the alleged child she had with Saint-Georges treated from illness and he died from preventable disease. <br /></p><p>Why the change, why the fear of nuance and reality? Why wouldn't the filmmakers <i>want </i>to dive into this uneven dynamic, since it could represent the themes they were trying to work into the film's narrative without totally deviating from history like they did with Marie Antoinette?&nbsp;</p><p>It wouldn't be too hard to extrapolate those themes with the real Marie-Joséphine: She is drawn in by Bologne, decides she must simply have him for her theater, but doesn't care about the consequences that come with said affair. Being his "employer," she is in a position of power of him, as is her husband. And after having his child, she chooses the "easy" route of not fighting to have the child treated, since the social consequences of dealing with an illegitimate black child that her husband clearly didn't want to support would have been disastrous. It's all very "Great Gatsby," if you want to view it through a certain lens. And is much better suited to the narrative themes that the film is trying to present here than what they fictionalized. <br /></p><p>Again and again and again, the film takes historical facts and presents them in such distortion that they are in almost every case, the opposite of reality.&nbsp; </p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><b>The Nanon Conundrum</b></span><br /></p><p>Another critical inaccuracy lies at the heart of the film, which is unfortunate, because it's a heart which is movingly and beautifully portrayed by everyone involved--but once it becomes clear that it is complete fiction, it feels hollow. <br /></p><p>In the film, Bologne is depicted as being taken away from his mother as a young boy. He does not see her again for more than a decade, and this only occurs because his father, Georges de Bologne, has died and freed Nanon in his will. She arrives in Paris and there is an immediate distance between her and the man that Bologne has become growing up in Parisian society.&nbsp;</p><p>She is regretful that he has lost touch with his heritage, and repeatedly rebukes him for trying to act like a white man at the expense of himself. Bologne, for his part, is dealing with the re-opened wound of being ripped away from his mother at a young age and forced into an isolated life in Paris where he was surrounded by white people whom he had to please in order to exist within their world. </p><p>In real life, Bologne's father brought Nanon to Paris less than 2 years after Joseph was brought there as a child, and she was either freed before she was brought to Paris or shortly thereafter, as she could only exist as a resident in Paris if she were no longer enslaved. From what little evidence we have, Bologne's father dealt with difficulties getting Nanon to Paris, and worked tirelessly for Joseph and then later Nanon to live in mainland France. After she was brought to Paris, Nanon lived with Bologne or nearby him for as long as she appears in the records.&nbsp;</p><p>Nanon last appears in the record in 1774, the same year that his father died. Biographer Gabriel Banat believes that Nanon died in 1774 or shortly thereafter, as she doesn't appear in any of Bologne's later financial or residential records and he doesn't believe that Joseph would have simply abandoned her.&nbsp;</p><p><b>8/19/2023 Edit: </b>The trouble of a lack of new widespread scholarship on Bologne... I recently found out through the work of Pierre Bardin that Nanon/Anne died in 1795. She lived alone, her neighbors thought she had no family, and there is evidence to suggest that Joseph Bologne had attempted to distance himself from her and his heritage during a serious illness in 1778, which led him to believe his mother would die. <a href="https://www.ghcaraibe.org/articles/2015-art01.pdf">Bardin's work can be read here.</a> While I don't expect the filmmakers to have known this since I don't think Bardin's work is in any widespread publication, I felt it important to include here, as my previous information about Nanon is outdated.<br /></p><p>What does this change achieve? Thematically, it's purpose is clear: in the film, Nanon and the men and women she has brought with her are there to shake Bologne out of his place in Parisian society. She is there to remind him of his heritage and real home. She is there to thematically represent how slavery ripped people from their heritage, culture, homes and families, and planted them elsewhere. And, more distinctly, she is there to represent the importance of reclaiming forcibly lost heritage. <br /></p><p>She and her companions repeatedly make fun of him for his European dress and manners, and when he is rejected by Marie Antoinette and the upper echelons of society, she is able to pull him into an isolated courtyard where he sheds his European wig, has his hair braided, and finally embraces the heritage that he had been avoiding because of the necessity of fitting in within white French society.<br /></p><p>It is a powerful scene, the culmination of every scene she has with her son, where she tries to both educate and shield him from a fragile status that she knows will crumble as soon as he doesn't stay within the lines painted for him by white French society.&nbsp; </p><p>The problem is... none of this happened. Not in the way the film wants it to have happened, anyway. <br /></p><p>Nanon was not kept away from Joseph for a decade. Again, she was brought to him, from what we can tell via records, as soon as was feasibly possible. She lived with or near him until she drops out of historical record.&nbsp;</p><p>Would it have been upsetting for Joseph to be separated from his mother for almost 2 years? Of course. But in reality, the not-quite-2-year gap was filled with Joseph's father working to get Nanon to Paris to be with Joseph. It is a different type of trauma than the one the filmmaker's created in order to fit within a specific theme. <br /></p><p>I personally wonder if the filmmakers leaned heavily into Alain Guédé's 56biography with their fictionalization of Nanon and Joseph's 57relationship, particularly Nanon repeatedly criticizing Joseph for 58forgetting his heritage.&nbsp;</p><p>Guédé's biography sometimes reads like 59historical fiction, as it makes up dialogue, motivations, 60inner-thoughts, etc, with no primary sources cited. Guédé often cites a 61narrative fiction book that other biographies deemed to have <span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0">dialogue 62 that "borders on the ridiculous" when it comes to Nanon, who reminds 63him repeatedly that he is a black person living in a white world, 64motivations and dialogue that are heavily present in the film. </span></p><p>It'
64s not as if the filmmakers couldn't draw from the real experiences of Nanon and Joseph in France to illustrate the racism that they both faced. <br /></p><p>When Joseph was an adult, the real Nanon and Joseph were forced to register with government officials when an act was passed that required any black people living in France to be register, so that limitations on the amount of black people living within the French mainland. Joseph did not go himself, and sent someone in his place.&nbsp;</p><p>Why? We can only speculate, but here is an incident that works well with the type of fictionalized speculation that must be done in film. This could have easily been extrapolated into a moment when Joseph is forced to remember that, despite the outward appearance of his acceptance into French society, he is still viewed by the government as an inferior outlier. It would even make sense if the film had taken this incident and created something larger out of it.</p><p>Instead, we get too much fictionalization that is intended to fit a certain thematic narrative, even if that narrative doesn't match what we know about the real life of Joseph Bologne. <br /></p><p><b><span style="font-size: large;">It's Not 1789 Yet<br /></span></b></p><p>One of the first notes I wrote down for this film, typed quickly into my phone as I sat through the credits, was: <i><b>"This film desperately wishes it was set in 1789-1793." </b></i></p><p>The film's bombastic, emotional climatic scene is straight out of 1789. We see massive crowds of people chanting in the streets, burning effigies of Marie Antoinette, chanting "Liberté, égalité, fraternité!" This phrase would not be coined for almost 15 years, and that's just about all you need to know in regards to the film's absolutely strange last act.<br /></p><p>To preface this finale: throughout the film, Bologne is accosted by the duc d'Orleans, who is for once not played as slimy or underhanded but as a member of the nobility who seems genuinely interested in social change. This is genuinely refreshing, and one of the brighter spots of the film.&nbsp;</p><p>The trouble is, this version of Orleans is about a decade or so too early to appear. He is openly calling for revolution, for liberty, equality, and fraternity, and he asks Joseph to join him in the "revolution."</p><p>Notably, he also asks Joseph to join him in assisting the poor people of the city, who are clamoring for bread. Joseph refuses, and in one case, clearly refuses because he'd rather be flirting with his new paramour than focusing on politics. <br /></p><p>It is only in the last act that Bologne--rejected from society because he did not quietly accept the racist decision to keep him from the Director position, dealing with the aftermath of knowing that his child has been killed--enthusiastically tells Orleans that he will help "fund the revolution" with him. This film is set in 1776, by the way. While there were individual periods of unrest, typically connected to poor bread harvests or high bread costs, people were not marching in the streets chanting slogans associated with the 1789-onward revolutionary era and demanding the overthrowing of Marie Antoinette. <br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz-Eq8wXE4NyEij6KllTWN6KH6zS_9j26uSvff-wx3btH6uQVk-pNpfZPa9gAiM8KnbYj1qyjr1rI_rbiM9L-nQCi9ZtlAd8IcnAF5n9h_ePdle5xIWnnUjoW_3va1xUGxGdCbPs0TKIxqRyf8MKZWaFOphpR2rQ6SWmaGv3nmCV9kU2wRe5AAkl4q/s1146/Screenshot%202023-06-15%20at%2020-38-57%20Chevalier%20Official%20Trailer%20Hulu.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="542" data-original-width="1146" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz-Eq8wXE4NyEij6KllTWN6KH6zS_9j2
646uSvff-wx3btH6uQVk-pNpfZPa9gAiM8KnbYj1qyjr1rI_rbiM9L-nQCi9ZtlAd8IcnAF5n9h_ePdle5xIWnnUjoW_3va1xUGxGdCbPs0TKIxqRyf8MKZWaFOphpR2rQ6SWmaGv3nmCV9kU2wRe5AAkl4q/w640-h302/Screenshot%202023-06-15%20at%2020-38-57%20Chevalier%20Official%20Trailer%20Hulu.png" width="640" /></a></div>&nbsp;<p></p><p>Bologne and Orleans print revolutionary pamphlets and organize a concert to raise funds for <i>"Liberté, égalité, fraternité!"</i> and surround themselves with people who are now openly calling for the overthrow of the monarchy (among other insults, such as the oddly hilarious "She's not MY queen!") while burning straw versions of Marie Antoinette. In 1776. When, in reality, Marie Antoinette would have been experiencing her last years of broad popularity among the general populace, before the negative pamphlets of the court began to bleed heavily into the rest of society. <br /></p><p>Towards the very end of the film, Marie Antoinette meets with Bologne before the concert and asks him not to perform. When he resists, she sneers that there will be "no new France," and tells him that one cannot "topple what has been ordained by God," because again, Bologne, Orleans and the mob outside are openly calling for the "rights of man" as if it is 1789 and not 1776.&nbsp;</p><p>He points out that he defended her from attacks, which makes one pause, because he absolutely did not. In fact, the film makes it a point to show is that Bologne didn't even know Marie Antoinette was hated by the public until he was told by someone else. But in the end of the film, we're suddenly told that he ardently defended her from her detractors, because we're supposed to now see Marie Antoinette as a flimsy ally who is being called out for her BS.</p><p>But Bologne is never shown actively defending Marie Antoinette, just as Bologne isn't shown caring about the starving people until he no longer benefits from French high society. Yet in both cases, the film gives him lines intended to show him calling out Marie Antoinette, without actually backing up Bologne's stance in either case.&nbsp;</p><p>It makes him look hypocritical and almost silly. All I could think during a scene when he shouts out, "Your people are starving! You're not the queen of France!" is that <i>he</i> didn't care about the starving people until he lost the Director bid and was rejected by Marie Antoinette and the court. His mother even points out earlier in the film, when he buys her a new dress, that the dress could have "fed the whole city." He dismisses her, and says she deserves to look pretty. <br /></p><p>The film tries to tell us that Bologne unpeels some unpretty truths about Marie Antoinette (that he defended her but she was unwilling to defend him; that she doesn't care about the starving people but he does) but it forgets to actually set them up. <br /></p><p>Back in the scene, Marie Antoinette petulantly says she will strip Bologne of his title and essentially erase him if he performs. He doesn't care. He defiantly performs his concert and Marie Antoinette sends the police in to arrest him. The crowd begins to chant revolutionary slogans and he is released; he walks out of the concert hall, looking defiantly at an aghast Marie Antoinette who is just standing around while people chant 1789-era slogans, and the film ends. <br /></p><p>Did I mention that the film is set in 1776? Because it doesn't seem to remember that at all.</p><p>It all begs the question here: why not just make the film set in 1789-1795? Why not start the film with Bologne in 1789, enjoying his popularity, and show how he chose, of his own volition, to supp
64ort the ideals of the revolution? </p><p>Clearly the filmmakers were itching to show Bologne join the revolution. But instead of doing so in a plausible manner, they create a fictional version with a timeline that doesn't make sense within the actual historical narrative. <br /></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Final Thoughts</b></span><br /></p><p>There are a few things that I did enjoy about this film. <br /></p><p>The film has a beautiful score, though it's woefully insufficient when it comes to utilizing Bologne's actual music. The climactic <i>Sinfonie Liberté</i> is breathtaking, and it almost made me forget how ridiculous the set-up for the final act was in the first place. Almost.</p><p>Samara Weaving's character, while heavily fictionalized, was well-acted and I appreciated that they included some parallels between her and Bologne while also pointing out that they still occupied very different places in society. There is a striking scene where she makes blithe remarks about him being unmarried, not thinking about the fact that he was in a position in which marriage was impossible without ruining his social status.&nbsp; <br /></p><p>Kelvin Harrison Jr. delivers an absolute knockout of a performance, and I continually wished that he had been able to play a version of Bologne that was closer to what we know of him. A Bologne who doesn't hand wave away talks of abolitionism and tilting the scales away from the oppression of the poor in ancien regime society because he's too busy enjoying the fruits of aristocracy, but who ardently supports them despite his standing in society which should make him shy away from such things.<br /></p><p>But in the end, the film's heavy fictionalizations sends a strange message: it's as if the real Joseph Bologne did not experience what the filmmakers wanted him to experience--in certain ways, at certain times, for certain reasons--so they crafted a fictional version that strips him of his agency and personal beliefs in order to cram him into a desired mold.&nbsp;</p><p>I know that films are never going to be accurate reflections of reality. But I do believe, especially with a figure like Bologne who has not been represented in mainstream films up to this point, that filmmakers have a responsibility towards creating something that doesn't disparage the real historical figure in the process.&nbsp; <br /></p><p>The choices in the film ultimately make his decision to support the revolution an impulsive reaction to humiliating, racist rejection--rather than something he developed on his own while navigating his seemingly impossible social status in a France which was becoming increasingly closed off to anyone who wasn't white, <i>while s</i>upporting the abolitionist movement in England to the point of endangering his own life, <i>while </i>being applauded in the court and music halls of France.</p><p>Notably, the film allows the white<i> </i>aristocrat--the duc d'Orleans--to support the revolution without being personally used and abused by Marie Antoinette and her court.&nbsp; But it does not allow this same liberty for Bologne. Instead, he must be humiliated and aggressively put down--his child must be <i>murdered</i>--before the film allows him to actively support the idea of equality and liberty or care about the suffering of the poor. <br /></p><p>The real Joseph Bologne joined the revolution because he believed in those ideals, despite benefiting from the society which those ideals rejected. The film's Joseph Bologne joined the revolution because he was aggressively rejected by society, and it is only then that he is willing to care about the world around him. <br /></p><p>In the end, I can only wonder: why was the real Joseph Bologne not good enough for this film? <br /></p><p><b><span style="font-size: large;">Postscript</span></b><br /></p><p>And yet--there is something to be said for the fact that I have to hold up this film to such scrutiny. With historical figures like Marie Antoinette or even more continually maligned figures like Maximilien Robespierre, there are plenty of portrayals to choose from, each with varying levels of historical accuracy, plausibility and even genres. <br /></p><p>With Marie Antoinette, there is a YA novel where Marie Antoinette is a vengeful ghost who murders people from beyond the grave and it doesn't really matter that this exists, because if you want something that's&nbsp;
64 historically plausible or authentic, you can turn to sweeping films like <i>La Revolution Francaise</i> or intimate micro-dramas like<i> L'Autrichienne. </i>Or you can<i> </i>head to the library, the theater, streaming services, for a nearly endless number of historical novels, plays, a musical, and even a ballet or two or three.&nbsp; </p><p>But there are only a handful of other notable film or TV portrayals of Saint-Georges outside of his film. two are documentaries, and one of those portrayals (a small but reoccurring role in the <i>Marie-Antoinette</i> Canal+/BBC series) only premiered in 2022, the same year as the film.&nbsp;</p><p>While Bologne hasn't been widely ignored in the academic musical circle--I refer here to Gabriel Banat's biography, which breaks down the general continual interest in Bologne's work from his death and beyond--he hasn't achieved the same sort of pop culture status as figures as his white contemporaries. What little other media has been made about him is typically limited to French markets and long out of print, such as a spectacle concert held at Versailles in 2004 or a documentary circa 2003 which uses the unfortunate "Black Mozart" moniker.&nbsp;</p><p>The fact that this is the first mainstream film about Joseph Bologne means that this film is where many people are going to pick up their basic knowledge about him. And while it is not a filmmaker's job to teach about history, I believe it should be their job to understand the context in which a film is going to be received by audiences.&nbsp;</p><p>Because this film is the first major motion picture about Bologne, I think much greater care should have been taken into creating a film that accurately reflects who Joseph Bologne was: an incredibly accomplished man who carved himself a seemingly impossible place in French society, and then decided that this personal beliefs and ideals were more important than the adulation of that society, and gave it all up willingly. Rather than someone who didn't care about those ideals and cared only for hedonistic pleasures offered by the ancien regime until said regime reprimanded him for stepping out of line, which suddenly turns him into an ardent revolutionary. <br /></p><p>There is an upside to the film, despite my many criticisms of it. <br /></p><p>I believe it is due to this film's existence that we are seeing a resurgence in more mainstream works about Joseph Bologne in other media as well. There are several theater and opera productions (old and new) related to Bologne that have been performed or are on the docket for 2022-2024, along with a renewed number of concerts and special performances dedicated to his work. <br /></p><p>I hope that one day this film's massive fictionalizations won't matter, because we can turn to other portrayals of Joseph Bologne that are more authentic to the real man. <br /></p><p><br /></p></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.invitinghistory.com/feeds/3219694659582662975/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.invitinghistory.com/2023/06/chevalier-2022-review.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/1655932075959811304/posts/default/3219694659582662975'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/1655932075959811304/posts/default/3219694659582662975'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://www.invitinghistory.com/2023/06/chevalier-2022-review.html' title='Chevalier (2022) Review '/><author><name>Anna Gibson</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/05396224945159965618</uri><email>[email protected]</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author>
64<media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwf9crMo1zkl7puo9rRGGUJeU44l1qAHUrauS6gTfjsRzNCssgBnT87a8ZAGbrWcV_BjfTSt36Y355lpDL6kWhpYD3Bmb7WaS-jewTlJJJaYzqh99MbUaq18fUariWI_XdLPL_kbnOR-ig78EBOTRDovLbtr0iid_VCGoE0PZMLEJJk0ebNCnqEY4K/s72-w432-h640-c/MV5BNDU5OTBhNzEtYjllNS00Y2RkLWEzYTgtOTRmMGZhOTYyYmMwXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyODk4OTc3MTY@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655932075959811304.post-8279892660193134251</id><published>2021-08-06T13:08:00.001-04:00</published><updated>2021-08-06T15:32:23.909-04:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="david adjmi"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="marie antoinette"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="theater"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="theater review"/><title type='text'>Review: A Reunion Reading of Soho Rep Production of 'Marie Antoinette' by David Adjmi</title><content type='html'><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">&nbsp;</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6K5LaFs52GUzZ-SxDpdhKm0yufep6MDkBEzYfr68olL6GXY_JYXy9Ocs1a61zvjRFuXzF_x8KnsceKSREV9CP9qV7KnY8JTkWjTx4XZaD8mNvSX6wHhfjsqeLMuvHzgtpRf2D6-Jk-3c/s800/https+_cdn.evbuc.com_images_142581419_26335276477_1_original.20210724-195256.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6K5LaFs52GUzZ-SxDpdhKm0yufep6MDkBEzYfr68olL6GXY_JYXy9Ocs1a61zvjRFuXzF_x8KnsceKSREV9CP9qV7KnY8JTkWjTx4XZaD8mNvSX6wHhfjsqeLMuvHzgtpRf2D6-Jk-3c/w640-h320/https+_cdn.evbuc.com_images_142581419_26335276477_1_original.20210724-195256.jpg" width="640" 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Accent 5" ></w:LsdException> 300<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="99" SemiHidden="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5" ></w:LsdException> 301<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="99" SemiHidden="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5" ></w:LsdException> 302<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="99" SemiHidden="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5" ></w:LsdException> 303<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="99" SemiHidden="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5" ></w:LsdException> 304<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="99" SemiHidden="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5" ></w:LsdException> 305<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="99" SemiHidden="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5" ></w:LsdException> 306<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="99" SemiHidden="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5" ></w:LsdException> 307<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="99" SemiHidden="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5" ></w:LsdException> 308<w:LsdException Locked="false" 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></w:LsdException> 317<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="99" SemiHidden="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6" ></w:LsdException> 318<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="99" SemiHidden="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6" ></w:LsdException> 319<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="99" SemiHidden="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6" ></w:LsdException> 320<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="99" SemiHidden="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6" ></w:LsdException> 321<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="99" SemiHidden="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6" ></w:LsdException> 322</w:LatentStyles></xml><![endif]--><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">When David Adjmi's <i><b>Marie Antoinette</b> </i>opened at Soho Rep in 2013, it&nbsp;was a minimized departure from the initial productions at the American Repertory Theater and Yale Repertory Theatre. Whereas the show's first incarnations looked like they were plucked from the dreamy "I Want Candy"
322 sequence in Sofia Coppola's<i> Marie Antoinette</i> film, the Soho Rep production pared down the entire set to some chairs, a table or two of macarons, the occasional prop, and an ominous screen with supertitles giving us the wheres and whens of the story. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">On the drastic slimming down of Marie Antoinette's stage design for the 2013 Soho Rep production, director Rebecca Taichman had this to say:<b> "I'm fascinated by what less can do and can be, especially when you're doing a play about excess. Now we can get at the core of it--the marrow, not the icing."</b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This phrase was repeatedly brought to my mind while watching the reunion reading of the Soho Rep production of David Adjmi's<i> Marie Antoinette</i>, hosted on Zoom. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">For what could be more representative of that marrow than a Zoom meeting? All character, emotion, stage, setting, costume, reduced to a frontal shot from the shoulders up. Minimized to what we can see on individual screens. A wood alcove with a door behind Fersen. A grey screen behind Louis, revealing nothing. The occasional speaker clash from raised voices, &nbsp;a character name at the bottom of a cropped screen.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This streaming production was directed by Rebecca Taichman, who also directed the 2013 Soho Rep production; the direction works well, keeping characters off-screen until they appear, and allowing the stage directions to remain audio-only made the production seem, on the whole, professional and streamlined. <br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">To be clear to those unfamiliar with the work, Adjmi's <i>Marie Antoinette</i> is not a historical play, despite its use of historical events and people. Attempting to view the play as a representation of the actual historical figures is a fruitless endeavor, and one which makes the play less enjoyable.&nbsp;</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The characters, events, and relationships are so separated from reality that there's often no reconciling them with the historical fact&nbsp;or figure. You will not gain insights about the real Louis XVI or Marie Antoinette, except perhaps one that is already known: that she was a public figure to the extreme degree, with all of the benefits and pitfalls that come with that role. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Instead, history here is an impression, used symbolically and interspersed with familiar events and names that a general audience will recognize, though they are not depicted accurately. The fall of the Bastille, Robespierre, the flight to Varennes, Marie Antoinette herself, are all twisted and used to suit the needs of the narrative.&nbsp;</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZfDU7PSUxW7bdR6zl3n_HKOOuL0yXp7xH_n1atGx0oNBJZ1C4865_1dswZnAWw16Z5_4BZ60AqAPBFqWfSOpcb6ao60B5EqqhF_X_73i6RG83yVCewgvVHa_op_3plY6fFmoTXp4H2n0/s826/1.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="454" data-original-width="826" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZfDU7PSUxW7bdR6zl3n_HKOOuL0yXp7xH_n1atGx0oNBJZ1C4865_1dswZnAWw16Z5_4BZ60AqAPBFqWfSOpcb6ao60B5EqqhF_X_73i6RG83yVCewgvVHa_op_3plY6fFmoTXp4H2n0/w400-h220/1.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>image: the only costumes that appear in the production; "farmer" disguises for the ill-fated flight to Varennes</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The play was written during the prominence of the â1%/99%â social movement, as well as a significant rise in celeb culture that saw 'social celebs' like the Kardashians take center stage, and its script circles around these themes throughout both A
322cts: at the pitfalls and vapidness of celebrity culture; at our need to consume and discard people in the spotlight; at the dangerous ignorance that living in a bubble brings; and at the righteous, inevitable backlash from the people who are on the other side of that bubble. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">These themes just as true today than they were when the play premiered in 2013. If anything, the swift rise of social media personalities&nbsp;and an increasing focus on the disconnection between the ultra-wealthy and the average person has brought Adjmi's <i>Marie Antoinette</i>--both the play and titular character--even closer to our understanding than before. There's no denying that a meta line about America being a failed experiment feels far more poignant in 2021 than it did in 2013.<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">While Adjmi's script is at times too repetitive, too flighty or (in Act II) too unbalanced with weighty philosophy that contrasts heavily with the poppier dialogue in Act I, the performances in this reading bring the script and characters to a high level worthy of introspection--and, with the on demand option, rewatching. <br /><br />In particular, Steven Rattazzi as Louis XVI brings pathos to Adjmi's childlike stereotype of Louis XVI. His most compelling scene is one that is historically ludicrous: in Adjmi's play, Louis XVI visits Paris and is a personal witness to the fall of the Bastille, returning to Versailles with a Phrygian cap on his head. Accuracy aside, it's a fascinating character scene in which the revolution has been placed literally on top of the passive Louis XVI's head, and Rattazzi's unsure reluctance in confronting what exactly this means--and his desire to have someone, anyone, make a decision for him--is fascinating to watch.&nbsp;</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">His awkward and subdued Louis XVI is a contrast to Ireland, who snarks and bites and laughs and bustles with the energy that Rattazzi's Louis lacks. His final scene, in which he quietly serenades an infinitely stressed Marie with a song, tears in his eyes, ends with a sad, desperate stare of realization before the entire imprisoned family bursts into painful, stark laughter. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">As Joseph II, Karl Miller brings a business-like pomp, glossing over Marie's desire to reminiscence about her childhood and getting straight to the point: when are you going to make an heir? As his second act character Mr. Sauce, Miller portrays an increasingly ominous peasant whose realization that he's talking to the king and queen of France leads to their renewed imprisonment. With a smile that doesn't reach his eyes, it's easy to see why the rest of the characters look as if they wish to back away from the screen in foreboding.&nbsp;</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGE1Ejmp8UAjpuWrh9hL2kT4zJ4TBmzOWefMIpMzomT4OMo4v1QNnKUyCv9SDuQhplTd4M4Mh0z7C8jXfx1bZ8HRs95_gTD-Hfea7zHM00_jc_ThvBCaiKUawVFIcRKJL3rMqDPZnAfk8/s754/3.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="471" data-original-width="754" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGE1Ejmp8UAjpuWrh9hL2kT4zJ4TBmzOWefMIpMzomT4OMo4v1QNnKUyCv9SDuQhplTd4M4Mh0z7C8jXfx1bZ8HRs95_gTD-Hfea7zHM00_jc_ThvBCaiKUawVFIcRKJL3rMqDPZnAfk8/w400-h250/3.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>image: Ireland (Marie) Rattazzi (Louis XVI) and Stack (Fersen). "Actually the public debt has tripled."</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: inherit;">&nbsp;</span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Chris Stack plays Adjmi's version of Fersen, whose primary role is to provide a voice of reason and introspection. The dynamic between Ireland and Stack is intriguing, a sort of constructed easine
322ss that allows Ireland's Marie to open up. When he returns at the end of Act II, in the form of a hallucination, there's a sad poignancy and realization in his eyes that gives the scene a unique bittersweet edge that doesn't come through in the script itself.<br /><br />Will Pullen makes the most out of Adjmi's sometimes clumsy dialogue as "The Revolutionary," a character which represents not so much "the people" as he does a symbolic culmination of the events that caused the revolution itself. He's the anger, the desperation, the burden, the hunger, rolled into a human body that finds little to reconcile with Marie, even when the two finally engage in meaningful discussion.<br /><br />As the duchesse de Polignac, Ziles embodies a sort of false vanity, putting on airs to match Marie's bubblegum-popping attitude; this wavers when she attempts to engage with Marie on intellectual subjects, before awkwardly realizing that her companion has no idea what she's talking about. The conversation then immediately delves back into a safer subject: fashion. Like Miller's Mr. Sauce, Ziles' Mrs. Sauce plays an increasingly deceptively sweet woman who, with her husband, ensures that the royal family is not able to escape.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">By contrast to Polignac, Ikeda's Lamballe (she also returns 323as an exposition-character, a Royalist) wants to engage with Marie on a more real level, offering shrugging advice and reluctantly informing her about some of the nastier rumors going around. She has a warm presence, almost subdued in her attempts to convince Marie to think a bit harder, until bubbling tensions towards the end bring out her frustration. <br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span>Kat Elizabeth Williams joined the cast as the Dauphin, or Louis Charles. Williams does well showing the uneasy reaction of a child exposed to larger events outside of their control--the frustration of an annoyed mother who doesn't have time to deal with them, the wariness of frightening strangers, and child-like fear at hearing about a world turned upside down.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Then there is... The Sheep. A symbolic, strange character played here, as in the 2013 Soho Rep production, by David Greenspan. The sheep is not real. The sheep is creepy. The sheep warns Marie about the future and demands to be pet while invading her personal space. While the character itself feels unnecessary--particularly given that the territory Adjmi covers with the Sheep is already covered by the Revolutionary--Greenspan embodies the sheep with an underlying menace that pays off in the end.&nbsp;</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And of course, there is Marie herself.<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5TC7RwTHnltYYKO4O2UCZG481ydxhyphenhyphentwdsZKaS8X9tRja2XtraFBlfTpJ-sbT0CUuT4cTuuICKbP34a15yjKJ0nAycRr4xB72qEvuXf0rSRQVl6uwrFKGLl7hBlJrbARAtt0mWCPv3jw/s793/5.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="465" data-original-width="793" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5TC7RwTHnltYYKO4O2UCZG481ydxhyphenhyphentwdsZKaS8X9tRja2XtraFBlfTpJ-sbT0CUuT4cTuuICKbP34a15yjKJ0nAycRr4xB72qEvuXf0rSRQVl6uwrFKGLl7hBlJrbARAtt0mWCPv3jw/w400-h235/5.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Marie (Ireland), Lamballe (Ikeda) and Polignac (Ziles).</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: inherit;">&nbsp;</span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Marin Ireland's Marie Antoinette is a marvel to behold. Frenetic, anguished, flippant, despairing, callous, genuine, bursting at the seams of a video square. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Irelandâs performance brims with teetering layers that are peeled away as the show goes on, starting with a frosted pink top of pompous celeb silliness and ending with something pathetic, trapped underneath glass, aching to get out. What exactly that âsomethingâ is, neither the audience--nor Marie--truly knows. Nor does she ever really find out. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Some of the more revealing moments of Marieâs gilded-cage come from nostalgia for her childhood at Schönbrunn, a Von-Trapp like existence&nbsp;that&nbsp;she describes as "playing in the mountains,&nbsp;singing songs.â She longs to hear news of her childhood governess. She asks her elder brother if he remembers playing outdoors. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Yet when her childlike longing begins to reveal something more serious underneath, itâs immediately dismissed and not dwelled upon. How could it be, when more important things--like having an heir, like dealing with the revolution--are at stake? </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Ireland's blithe&nbsp;like-so-ums&nbsp;in Act I are interspersed with bursts of thoughtfulness, revelations of despair and something like intelligence&nbsp;inside her, only to be plastered over again&nbsp;with the need for distraction, the need to ignore anything serious. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">With Ireland, this lack of seriousness projects a shield-like protectiveness. Marieâs frantic revelation to Fersen that she was accosted at the Assembly by a man clad in black, who told her that what sheâs now experiencing is nothing, and all this is but a âpreamble to your suffering,â is reflected on in a moment of horror before Ireland slaps on a smile, offering Fersen chocolate.&nbsp;</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYS9gbbPSjgeBE3kkmayGRmJ2S8dQUNH_wqTpBWBNx6VCymSi_ucfG__GqbE52Vs35FXXQK1MxAeTNtEcvADaWg
323NYUJ2__URCMy-1AXPZbYQRa7iZCV11kcJsPKgS11jSSID7ZYvsH5ds/s767/4.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="419" data-original-width="767" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYS9gbbPSjgeBE3kkmayGRmJ2S8dQUNH_wqTpBWBNx6VCymSi_ucfG__GqbE52Vs35FXXQK1MxAeTNtEcvADaWgNYUJ2__URCMy-1AXPZbYQRa7iZCV11kcJsPKgS11jSSID7ZYvsH5ds/w400-h219/4.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>"I've been having nightmares." A late Act I revelation with Marie and Fersen.</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: inherit;">&nbsp;</span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">As Act I goes on, however, it becomes impossible for her to continue in ignorance. And by Act II, Marie is forced to shift gears, trading macarons for poorly thought out escape plans and ciphers. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Adjmiâs script is often quick, quipping, biting or sarcastic or otherwise short. At times, it becomes too repetitive, circling around the same themes without offering anything additional to the audience.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Towards the end of Act II, however, the scenes get longer and more introspective, finally avoiding the glossy cover-ups from Act I to confront the revolution (and the philosophical arguments contained within) for better or worse.&nbsp;</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">While Act II contains the bulk of the fantastic character scenes in which this cast truly shined, it also tends to drag under the weight of mishmash historical events and increasingly philosophical dialogue that sometimes feels too hamfisted to be successful. I think the script actually benefited from the reading-style production in this respect; dialogue that felt too heavy or when spoken on stage seems to flow better when all we have is an intimate shoulders-up view. <br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The final scenes of Marie Antoinette in prison with only another character (a Revolutionary, a Sheep, and a dream sequence Fersen, in that order) are the most cerebral and contain some of Adjmi's best dialogue.&nbsp;</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Solitude in prison makes Marie chatty, thoughtful, desperate. Ireland plays off well against Pullen's fervent Revolutionary, Greenspan's bizarre and eventually nightmarish sheep, and Stack's deceptively pitying dream!Fersen/Executioner.&nbsp;</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It's in these final scenes that the play's call to action hits home.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Does it matter that Marie longs nostalgically for the whimsical version of her childhood home? Does it matter that she was neglected by her mother and married off at 14? Does it matter that Marie feels trapped, pressured, caged in by the world that has made her? <br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In one of the play's last scenes, in which the Revolutionary is cutting her hair in preparation for her execution, he tells the now captive former queen, who is complaining about lice and scissor cuts on her scalp:&nbsp;</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">"Poor thing. You act like everything's hurt you and everyone's used you and you're just some sweet sunburnt girl at the beach. You won't look at reality."&nbsp;</span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The line is both a metaphor for Marie's obliviousness throughout the play (she complains about a gilded cage, while others tell her people are starving) and a meta take on the Marie Antoinette mythos itself, where the titular queen is often painted in pastel colors while the political realities underneath are ignored or glossed over. <br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"I wasn't raised," Marie desperately tells the Revolutionary towards the end of the play in a bid to make him understand her, as much as it is an last-ditch attempt to understand herself--and as much as it is directed towards the audience, letting us know that Marie is not a fully realized being.&nbsp; </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"I was <i><b>built</b></i>."&nbsp;</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Marie Antoinette is available on demand through <a href="https://www.eventbrite.com/e/play-perview-marie-antoinette-live-reunion-reading-tickets-162714917699">August 9th. </a><br /></span></p></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.invitinghistory.com/feeds/8279892660193134251/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.invitinghistory.com/2021/08/review-reunion-reading-of-soho-rep.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/1655932075959811304/posts/default/8279892660193134251'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/1655932075959811304/posts/default/8279892660193134251'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://www.invitinghistory.com/2021/08/review-reunion-reading-of-soho-rep.html' title='Review: A Reunion Reading of Soho Rep Production of 'Marie Antoinette' by David Adjmi'/><author><name>Anna Gibson</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/05396224945159965618</uri><email>[email protected]</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author>
323<media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6K5LaFs52GUzZ-SxDpdhKm0yufep6MDkBEzYfr68olL6GXY_JYXy9Ocs1a61zvjRFuXzF_x8KnsceKSREV9CP9qV7KnY8JTkWjTx4XZaD8mNvSX6wHhfjsqeLMuvHzgtpRf2D6-Jk-3c/s72-w640-h320-c/https+_cdn.evbuc.com_images_142581419_26335276477_1_original.20210724-195256.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655932075959811304.post-4883103485063283970</id><published>2021-07-27T09:53:00.009-04:00</published><updated>2023-06-19T18:22:44.026-04:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="analysis"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="french history"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="marie antoinette"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="sophie helene de france"/><title type='text'>The Mistaken Portraits of Sophie Hélène Béatrix de France [Updated June 2023]</title><content type='html'><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeTz98Puxev9hmgDnyhhSFaxH1V-NDM43yL3z6DfG71F7FMoPDLASw5qMvPzbsbkEO3ts3QMTu0LlCNnzRKy8x9K_hBa137yvbTu33Lt-os424OtIdZ4hRataVIChW4tTytxUgz6jzfsY/s1240/enfant.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1045" data-original-width="1240" height="540" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeTz98Puxev9hmgDnyhhSFaxH1V-NDM43yL3z6DfG71F7FMoPDLASw5qMvPzbsbkEO3ts3QMTu0LlCNnzRKy8x9K_hBa137yvbTu33Lt-os424OtIdZ4hRataVIChW4tTytxUgz6jzfsY/w640-h540/enfant.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i> A pastel portrait of the child of 324Louise Hyacinthe de Montesquiou and Anne-François V de Lastic by Elisabeth Vigee-Lebrun, circa 1780-1783.&nbsp; In the collection of the Chateau de 325Parentignat.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Note: This post has been updated as of June 2023</b></p><p style="text-align: left;">This charming pastel portrait has long been identified as Sophie Hélène 326Béatrix, the second daughter and last child born to Marie Antoinette and 327 Louis XVI.&nbsp; This identification was first made in a Vigee-Lebrun 328exhibition catalog published in the 1980s by Joseph Baillio, an expert 329whose specialty is the work of Elisabeth Vigee-Lebrun. Baillio also 330identified another Vigee-Lebrun work, a sketch, as depicting the infant 331Sophie in this same publication.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0X7rs2rz8wJ9AG9zaCkY4OCWxC_yY3d0msRJzPtnwVfitQv9TMjdFUhVjXLlYTBdCKIsCxZzKVKhrIY8GVc-vRxqPZ92TCZIP67cIcW05q87DxLFiCEVGbjax0viqR6xZCuwAf__r06E/s660/tumblr_1c95c6339fa16ad5409cc1ef66c2f24c_04e5ea40_500.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="660" data-original-width="500" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0X7rs2rz8wJ9AG9zaCkY4OCWxC_yY3d0msRJzPtnwVfitQv9TMjdFUhVjXLlYTBdCKIsCxZzKVKhrIY8GVc-vRxqPZ92TCZIP67cIcW05q87DxLFiCEVGbjax0viqR6xZCuwAf__r06E/w484-h640/tumblr_1c95c6339fa16ad5409cc1ef66c2f24c_04e5ea40_500.jpg" width="484" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><b>âSleeping Babyâ </b>by Elisabeth Vigee-Lebrun, circa 1780s. According to Joseph 332Baillio, this may be a sketch of Eugène de Montesquiou-Fézensac, whom the artist also depicted in a pastel.&nbsp;</i></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">&nbsp;</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">&nbsp;</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">&nbsp;</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">&nbsp;</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">However, after decades of being known as portraits of Sophie 333Hélène Béatrix, the real identity of the children in the above portraits has become clarified:<b> neither child is Sophie de France.</b></p><p>According to <a href="https://www.parentignat.com/portfolio/enfant-endormi-sur-un-coussin/">the chateau de Parentignat website,</a> the archives of the 334Montesquiou-Lastic family indicate that the pastel portrait depicts the first 335child born to Louise Hyacinthe de Montesquiou and Anne-François V de 336Lastic. <br /></p><p>The couple had three children: Amédée, François and Octavie. Only Octavie <i>(Gertrude Charlotte Marie Octavie) </i>would live past childhood; she was a dame d'honneur to Empress Josephine and had several children of her own. <br /></p><p>If 337 it does indeed depict their first child, then the infant in the above 338portrait would be Amédée. There are conflicting reports regarding his 339birth and death date; Geneanet.org indicates that he was born in 1782 340and died in 1788; according to Baillo, he was born in 1780 and died in
3411788. Various books reporting on the genealogy of the Lastic family give 342 differing information: one indicates that Amédée&nbsp; merely âdied young,â and another 343says âdied in infancy.â <br /></p><p>The above pastel portrait is remarkably similar to another infant portrait by Vigee-Lebrun, done for the Montesquiou-Fézensac 344family. This portrait depicts Eugène de Montesquiou-Fézensac (1782-1810). </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis9c2p_PD-7x_fIBeEfm9UtfzqtA_qCbPWdUdqi9t2wrn10z1lrq_ZXX8YMdH0JLTtUSI0IIm8j6AuxAiKrghVQlsZoI6lstMp4KOkYuOi7GhO6JAtumYJl97oMncjpeIMUaSEkxq-Spc/s1600/babyeugene.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1132" data-original-width="1600" height="452" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis9c2p_PD-7x_fIBeEfm9UtfzqtA_qCbPWdUdqi9t2wrn10z1lrq_ZXX8YMdH0JLTtUSI0IIm8j6AuxAiKrghVQlsZoI6lstMp4KOkYuOi7GhO6JAtumYJl97oMncjpeIMUaSEkxq-Spc/w640-h452/babyeugene.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Image: Portrait of 345Eugène de Montesquiou-Fézensac 346 347by Elisabeth Vigee-Lebrun, circa 1782-1783. </i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p>Perhaps both portraits were painted around the same time; or perhaps they requested the artist to paint them in a complementary style. Regardless of whether the "not-Sophie" misidentified portrait is Amédée, 348François or Octavie, the children in both pastel portraits were cousins.&nbsp;</p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyd1ieMwdmHckcQ4sykO2_hYMuqG1Tx5evc87dsP7_BHD_RlrIi8Wtnf4DLitWvIdDayAzp35inLA3D8sVCc-mebveCx3knUjS5m1_QcX6z3C2D3PyWWA7Ej6ZiPDrzVGMIYLN7zpjJrYMjRgsjwatXYR-xOdr3QToxFCyXbo4JWQIeK26h5jvgfnG5pY/s660/Sophie_Beatrice_of_France1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="660" data-original-width="500" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyd1ieMwdmHckcQ4sykO2_hYMuqG1Tx5evc87dsP7_BHD_RlrIi8Wtnf4DLitWvIdDayAzp35inLA3D8sVCc-mebveCx3knUjS5m1_QcX6z3C2D3PyWWA7Ej6ZiPDrzVGMIYLN7zpjJrYMjRgsjwatXYR-xOdr3QToxFCyXbo4JWQIeK26h5jvgfnG5pY/w484-h640/Sophie_Beatrice_of_France1.jpg" width="484" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Image: Eugène de Montesquiou Fezensac, at the age of five months, asleep on a cushion by Elisabeth Vigee-Lebrun, circa 1783.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><p>The above image is actually featured on the Wikipedia page for Sophie,&nbsp; and has been shared online interchangeably as either Sophie or an infant Louis Charles. However, like the other portrait, it is depicting someone else entirely: in this case, an infant Eugène de Montesquiou Fezensac<br />&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></p><p>With three of the previous âSophieâ portraits now given the correct 349identifications, we are left with precious little tangible portraiture 350of Sophie.</p><p>The only absolutely confirmed contemporary depiction of Sophie comes from a series of engravings of the royal family, something <a href="https://tmblr.co/myA2iKl3A5X0sNtyUxHllQA">@tiny-librarian</a>â discovered and shared. Unfortunately, the image itself is rather small--but it does at least indicate that there was some contemporary portraiture of her, and perhaps a larger version will one day make an appearance. <br /></p><p>&nbsp;</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSp-e2iQsaT
350K7a8vxaG5QA_t3XvFpWWpX6NX71t4Ij8HVx5B2M9WCmtbVh05_OR_7gpakQWshRr9KV3wphaJEilBN8faDHbCEscgA_PcadEYFb3goruvmnjmUMm43G_FJZi6of357E_Ro/s187/tumblr_9c00134b32e9aedecec3c0ba9b43235a_d6d1ecef_250.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="187" data-original-width="167" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSp-e2iQsaTK7a8vxaG5QA_t3XvFpWWpX6NX71t4Ij8HVx5B2M9WCmtbVh05_OR_7gpakQWshRr9KV3wphaJEilBN8faDHbCEscgA_PcadEYFb3goruvmnjmUMm43G_FJZi6of357E_Ro/s0/tumblr_9c00134b32e9aedecec3c0ba9b43235a_d6d1ecef_250.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Image: a contemporary illustration of Sophie; from an engraving featuring portraits of the French royal family.</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>There is also an alleged portrait of all four of Marie Antoinetteâs 351children, attributed to Jean Pierre Chasselat. However, in 2023, this miniature resufurfaced with a new identification and even a new artist: the work has been re-identified as a portrait of the children with Madame Leclerc, along with the son of Bernard, by Jean-Baptiste-Jacques Augustin. It does not depict the children of Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI and thus, the infant depicted here is not Madame Sophie. <br /><br /> </p><p>&nbsp;</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie9Q8sNKrcgx69KOMN3R_UN-e0O2HkzS21fEKDNC593BmpFp5dTj5yxyP46Qzt8B3gxXRw7jKGY1XMfO_9vF3536a73unF9s6nRRVueMc49-UbN7mMkBnflB7J7DmVNXCVQeiIySHhyphenhyphenLM/s494/tumblr_5d23f7a0ba54393f45d3a5d08c54af6b_10ceec8b_500.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="494" data-original-width="417" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie9Q8sNKrcgx69KOMN3R_UN-e0O2HkzS21fEKDNC593BmpFp5dTj5yxyP46Qzt8B3gxXRw7jKGY1XMfO_9vF3536a73unF9s6nRRVueMc49-UbN7mMkBnflB7J7DmVNXCVQeiIySHhyphenhyphenLM/s16000/tumblr_5d23f7a0ba54393f45d3a5d08c54af6b_10ceec8b_500.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Image: An alleged portrait of the royal children by Jean Pierre Chasselat,</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /> <p></p><p>We may have another faint glimpse of Sophie in this alleged 352 allegorical portrait of Marie Antoinette looking at her children, 353attributed to Jean-Baptiste André Gautier-Dagoty.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiirQnFPqQId3KSpSwRHBFgaX-cmGHYm7o3J4n0-AfvpDrvGCPrq0wkyJn3H2JbVAGLScNTaE4uOBfPA2Elmz5E4VeRIio1njicWIgQmZYuQ5tWWP8_dlzBBL6Ur1H_xhnGHTEmuiCkqjHLutwgV_zWVE5sJxjeFRTMYw--Lqvivegod5QSz4lo2eoCEdE/s1479/tumblr_d951909bbd795554e4a2773d42223bc3_4d459d3c_1280.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1479" data-original-width="1280" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiirQnFPqQId3KSpSwRHBFgaX-cmGHYm7o3J4n0-AfvpDrvGCPrq0wkyJn3H2JbVAGLScNTaE4uOBfPA2Elmz5E4VeRIio1njicWIgQmZYuQ5tWWP8_dlzBBL6Ur1H_xhnGHTEmuiCkqjHLutwgV_zWVE5sJxjeFRTMYw--Lqvivegod5QSz4lo2eoCEdE/w554-h640/tumblr_d951909bbd795554e4a2773d42223bc3_4d459d3c_1280.png" width="554" /></a></div>&nbsp;<p></p><p>Looking closely at the profiles, one can see the faintest outline in the 354 front. Was this meant to represent Madame Sophie? But there is a catch 355here: Jean-Baptiste André Gautier-Dagoty died in 1786, before the death 356of Madame Sophie.&nbsp;</p><p>The work does look incomplete, is it possible that the 357 artist died before it was completed, thus leaving Sophie vague and 358unfinished?&nbsp;</p><p>If this is indeed an allegorical portrait of Marie 359Antoinette done by Gautier-Dagoty, it is the only practical explanation. 360 But as weâve seen, there are quite a few portraits of the queen 361formerly attributed to Gautier-Dagoty which have been later attributed 362to someone else, so it is possible that it is not his work after all. </p><p>Truly, the title of the chapter focusing on Sophie in Philippe Delormeâs <b><i>Les Princes du Malheur</i></b> is more apt than ever:</p> <i>L'éphémère Madame Sophie.</i> The ephemeral Madame Sophie.<p><br /></p></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.invitinghistory.com/feeds/4883103485063283970/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.invitinghistory.com/2021/07/the-mistaken-portraits-of-sophie-helene.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/1655932075959811304/posts/default/4883103485063283970'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/1655932075959811304/posts/default/4883103485063283970'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://www.invitinghistory.com/2021/07/the-mistaken-portraits-of-sophie-helene.html' title='The Mistaken Portraits of Sophie Hélène Béatrix de France [Updated June 2023]'/><author><name>Anna Gibson</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/05396224945159965618</uri><email>[email protected]</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author>
362<media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeTz98Puxev9hmgDnyhhSFaxH1V-NDM43yL3z6DfG71F7FMoPDLASw5qMvPzbsbkEO3ts3QMTu0LlCNnzRKy8x9K_hBa137yvbTu33Lt-os424OtIdZ4hRataVIChW4tTytxUgz6jzfsY/s72-w640-h540-c/enfant.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655932075959811304.post-7732009017235814951</id><published>2021-06-15T20:41:00.000-04:00</published><updated>2021-06-15T20:41:01.902-04:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="book"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="review"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="the holocaust"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="wwII"/><title type='text'>Book Review: At the Edge of the Abyss: A Concentration Camp Diary, 1943-1944 by David Koker </title><content type='html'><p style="text-align: center;">&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm0N1MxCG0D6kLAakmExbhdo1Kaqlb6c270bMKQFDtx6V7aSd-pKJ1Lc2w9YZ3ughZkmHBN9nK2rpZ12UfbLAu6cg4JTDmqi1lSGn_7ogJVWRuV4ZKvbUOYrZNjtJHP1xK3O-HcungulI/s1187/61uIk2HEqdL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1187" data-original-width="777" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm0N1MxCG0D6kLAakmExbhdo1Kaqlb6c270bMKQFDtx6V7aSd-pKJ1Lc2w9YZ3ughZkmHBN9nK2rpZ12UfbLAu6cg4JTDmqi1lSGn_7ogJVWRuV4ZKvbUOYrZNjtJHP1xK3O-HcungulI/w419-h640/61uIk2HEqdL.jpg" width="419" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The cover for <i>At the Edge of the Abyss: A Concentration Camp Diary, 1943-1944 </i>by David Koker<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">[<b>Note:</b> <i>I originally reviewed this 363 book in 2012 on the original 'Inviting History Book Reviews.' This 364review is rewritten from the original version.</i>]</p><p style="text-align: left;">&nbsp;<br />David Koker was only 23 years old when he died on route to Dachau in early 1945. He was one of an estimated 6 million Jewish victims of the Holocaust. A writer, a student, a son, a brother, a friend. The diary he kept while enduring one of the most unthinkable horrors in recent memory was published in English for the first time as <i>At The Edge of the Abyss: A Concentration Camp Diary, 1943-1944.</i></p><p style="text-align: left;">David Koker's diary is nothing less than a remarkable and essential read, a book that not only provides an unsettling and revealing grounds-eye view of the inner workings of a concentration camp but which provides readers with an unflinching reality: that of a silenced voice, diminished and subject to mental and physical brutality that impacted all who were imprisoned under it. <br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">David Koker was interned, along with his mother, father and younger brother, in the Vught camp in February of 1943. He began his diary soon after, and maintained it until February of the next year, when he and his family were deported out of the camp and the diary was given to a civilian employee working at Vught. This civilian employee smuggled it out to a non-Jewish friend of Koker, who kept the pages safe during the war.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The diary is not only a well-detailed account of life in the Vught camp, but a testament to Koker's internal struggles as he (and those around him) attempted to come to terms with the horror of their situation. As people are sent on trains "to the East,"
364 as a camp which housed children deports them to unknown destinations, Koker and those around him are faced with new realities that they must contend with day by day. <br /><br />In his introduction to <i>At The Edge of the Abyss: A Concentration Camp Diary,</i> Robert Jan van Pelt explains why the diary's existence is unique:&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><blockquote><i>&nbsp;"... the number of postwar memoirs written by Holocaust survivors is enormous, and the number of diaries and notebooks written during the Holocaust [by people who were] at home, or in a ghetto, or in hiding is substantial, the number of testimonies that were written in the inner circles of hell, in that German concentration camp, and that survived the war is small."&nbsp;</i></blockquote><p></p><p style="text-align: left;">The ability to write a diary under such circumstances would have been difficult enough, both emotionally and logistically, but David Koker did more than that. He did not simply write: he wrote a substantial and highly observational diary, full of factual observations about life and prisoners in the camp; along with an insightful, often disturbing, psychological probe into the âabyssâ that surrounded Koker and the other prisoners at Vught.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Koker was able to obtain a relatively privileged position in the camp, which was one of the reasons why he was able to maintain his diary and perhaps, one of the reasons why Koker was able to maintain a greater sense of âdetachmentâ from camp life. <br /><br />In some ways, David Koker's diary is remarkably subdued, particularly given the subject matter. Many of his diary entries describe unreal circumstances with an almost nonchalant attitude. Perhaps the apparent ânormalcyâ in his diary could be attributed to Koker's feelings of detached assimilation into camp life, a sort of psychological defense mechanism to being thrust into a wholly extraordinary situation.<br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">In March of 1943, less than a month after having been imprisoned at the camp, he wrote to his girlfriend in hiding: <i>&nbsp;</i></p><blockquote><p style="text-align: left;">"I immediately accept everything as normal. That's why I don't experience things sufficiently. ... You must believe me: from the second day on everything was quite normal: the German detachments, being together with so many people, the strange food, taking care of the most essential daily matters, etc. I didn't notice the passage from one kind of life to the other ... even the strangest and most awful things become normal and agreeable."&nbsp;</p></blockquote><p style="text-align: left;">Koker's position of privilege in the camp came with a psychological transformation. Koker was aware of how imprisonment had changed him and in one self-aware, somber passage, he wrote: </p><blockquote><p>"You become selfish, even towards your own family ... Sometimes I treat the children with bitterness, yet the friendliest treatment hides a bit of sadism and lust for power. ... A kind of feeling of being in charge." </p></blockquote><p>In several passages throughout his diary, Koker mentions notable events in Poland; including the now-notorious name of Auschwitzâan ominous, blackened destination that is forever associated with pain, violence and mass genocide.&nbsp;</p><p>Yet to Koker--at first--Auschwitz was merely a destination where many of those deported from Vught and other camps were headed. The real fate of those sent "to the East" was not wholly known and in the case of Vught, Koker and the other imprisoned people were led to believe that being deported was not something to be feared. <br /></p><p>In September of 1943, Koker wrote: â⦠good reports are coming in from Poland. Itâs only too bad that people really are working in the coal mines. But the work isnât all that heavy, many write.â A footnote goes on to explain that a special project was created in which Jewish inmates were, prior to being murdered, forced to write postcards to relatives, which were then sent out at intervals to give the impression not only of life but of relatively good conditions in the camps. In November, Koker wrote again: â ⦠the administrator has spoken about Auschwitz, where the [Escotex branch] will go in its entirety. Stories ⦠have a more or less sunny aspect. Jewish camp leadership. A lot of agriculture, the camp is largely self-supporting. ⦠If you ask me, it sounds livable.</p><p>But the brutal reality of âthe Eastâ came crashing down only a few weeks later.</p><p>On&nbsp; November 27th, David Kokerâs birthday, Koker and his group learned the truth about what was going on outside the walls of their prison.</p><blockquote><p>âThe morning of my birthday: Spitz reads an excerpt from a letter from Poland. Three people ⦠are living with Moves <i>[note: expression meaning âthey are dead.â].</i> And Movesâs business is working overtime. ⦠Seldom have I seen anything set out so clearly in writing ⦠Our optimistic messages from Poland are not incorrect. They have simply been incomplete. A probably relatively small group is working and doing reasonably well. And the rest: wiped out. The world has changed.â </p></blockquote><p>Koker, who was transferred into a privileged group known as the "Philips-Jews," was deported to Asuchwitz in June of 1944; for a time, he and a select group were protected from routine death selections due to their status. However, in February 1945, Koker fell ill and died on a transport to Dachau. His father died of exhaustion in LangenBilau; his mother and brother, Max, both survived the war. <br /></p><p>Readers may sometimes struggle with the flowing structure of Koker's diary, but it should be remembered that his diary is effectively raw. Unlike writers who penned diaries in total hiding or who survived the Holocaust and wrote their memoirs afterwards, Koker did not have the ability to edit his diary either for its intended readers (himself, along with his girlfriend) or for later public consumption. The editorial team does an excellent job with providing footnotes and s
364ource citations for the people, places and events mentioned in the diary, which does make it easier to understand the context of the information.</p><p>Yet the rawness of Koker's diary should not be taken as a flaw or even a criticism of his writing. It should be a reminder of what we are reading, what each word printed on the page represents. At its core, <i>At the Edge of the Abyss </i>is a compilation of the inner thoughts of a human being whose identity, whose freedom, whose life was cruelly destroyed and eliminated by Nazism. A human being who had hope of surviving the water, <br /><br />I recommended<i> At the Edge of the Abyss: A Concentration Camp Diary, 1943-1944 </i>by David Koker, edited by Robert Jan van Plet and translated from Dutch by Michiel Horn and John Irons, to any reader searching for contemporary Holocaust documents. It is one of the most important contemporary accounts of a concentration camp published in English within the last 2 decades.<br /><br /><i> [A review copy of this book was provided by the publisher upon my request.]</i></p></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.invitinghistory.com/feeds/7732009017235814951/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.invitinghistory.com/2021/06/book-review-at-edge-of-abyss.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/1655932075959811304/posts/default/7732009017235814951'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/1655932075959811304/posts/default/7732009017235814951'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://www.invitinghistory.com/2021/06/book-review-at-edge-of-abyss.html' title='Book Review: At the Edge of the Abyss: A Concentration Camp Diary, 1943-1944 by David Koker '/><author><name>Anna Gibson</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/05396224945159965618</uri><email>[email protected]</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm0N1MxCG0D6kLAakmExbhdo1Kaqlb6c270bMKQFDtx6V7aSd-pKJ1Lc2w9YZ3ughZkmHBN9nK2rpZ12UfbLAu6cg4JTDmqi1lSGn_7ogJVWRuV4ZKvbUOYrZNjtJHP1xK3O-HcungulI/s72-w419-h640-c/61uIk2HEqdL.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655932075959811304.post-121535841018803762</id><published>2021-06-09T21:43:00.003-04:00</published><updated>2021-06-09T21:43:47.065-04:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="18th century"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="american history"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="american revolution"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="book"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="review"/><title type='text'>Book Review: Review: Treacherous Beauty: Peggy Shippen, the Woman behind Benedict Arnold's Plot to Betray America by Stephen H. Case and Mark Jacob </title><content type='html'><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQR1vS35dFe0yoXReVThcx-UI6VANU8QPJKHBAJBKGrOWLGPRdez5VC3jiH0hpxNrpiwUhZU30zJecNCilOpaWzUQeFTWRCbaF6-6vGBQrTl0NCC1clhdKXlG82n77Jl98Q1xVWtJ535E/s475/13202967.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="317" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQR1vS35dFe0yoXReVThcx-UI6VANU8QPJKHBAJBKGrOWLGPRdez5VC3jiH0hpxNrpiwUhZU30zJecNCilOpaWzUQeFTWRCbaF6-6vGBQrTl0NCC1clhdKXlG82n77Jl98Q1xVWtJ535E/w428-h640/13202967.jpg" width="428" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><h3 class="post-title entry-title" itemprop="name"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> The cover for <i>Treacherous Beauty: Peggy Shippen, the Woman behind Benedict Arnold's Plot to Betray America </i>by Stephen H. Case and Mark Jacob 365</span></h3></td></tr></tbody></table></p><p style="text-align: left;">[<b>Note:</b> <i>I originally reviewed this book in 2012 on the original 'Inviting History Book Reviews.' This review is rewritten from the original version.</i>]</p><p style="text-align: left;">When considering notable women who played a role in the American Revolution, it is usually select women who come to mind. Women such as Abigail Adams, whose words "remember the ladies" resonate today despite more than two centuries of distance; Deborah Sampson, whose decision to enlist in the military despite the restrictions against women and then later fight for her right to a military pension
365were deeply symbolic of a desire for the foundation of a new country<br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">But what about the women who did not support the decision to separate from England--or women who went so far as to work against the Revolution itself? <br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><i>Treacherous Beauty: Peggy Shippen, the Woman Behind Benedict Arnold's Plot to Betray America </i></b>by Stephen H. Case and Mark Jacob is the first modern popular biography of an enigmatic and often ignored figure in American history--Peggy Shippen, the wife of the infamous Benedict Arnold.&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align: left;">Peggy, born Margaret Shippen, was born into the elite world of Philadelphia's high society. Not much is known about her early childhood, although Case and Jacob suggest in this book that she received an above-average education for her sex and learned much about finances through her father and mother.&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align: left;">She came of age during the American Revolution in British-occupied Philadelphia and developed a strong social reputation due to her beauty and wit. She was considered to be one of the most beautiful women in the city and frequently attended balls and other social gatherings with others of her rank. Also in attendance at these elite social gatherings were British soldiers, including one John André, who would later play an important role in the "Benedict Arnold plot."<br /><br />Peggy was considered to be beautiful, loving and sweet, but she was presumably not Benedict Arnold's first choice for a new wife. Case and Jacob point out that many of the lines Benedict used in his courting letter to Peggy were actually recycled from letters he had written to a previous potential wife. Regardless of whether or not Arnold was pursuing Peggy out of genuine love or merely from acceptance that his first choice had rejected him, the two were eventually married and what soon followed is the subject of much debate and controversy.&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align: left;">How much of a role did Peggy Shippen play in Benedict Arnold's decision to become a spy for Britain? Did she know about the extent of his betrayal? And if she did, how much did she use her knowledge to advance Britain's desire to quash the American Revolution? Did Peggy herself play an active or passive role in the most notorious betrayal of the American Revolution?<br /><br />Although the title of the book labels Peggy squarely as the woman <i>"behind"</i> the plot, I don't think that the authors, if it was their attention to paint her as the mastermind, successfully provided enough evidence to suggest that Peggy was the one who pushed Arnold into making his final and what would be his fateful decision regarding espionage. <br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">Unfortunately, much of Peggy's correspondence was destroyed or burned in the wake of the plot, perhaps to save her reputation or prevent her from being implicated. So it is difficult to determine exactly what she did, how much she knew--and what role she played in the decision for Benedict Arnold to betray the cause he had once fought to promote. <br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">After the news of Arnold's betrayal broke, Peggy claimed innocence; "the poor innocent wife of Benedict Arnold," as she was called after news of his betrayal and her subsequent hysterics at the "shocking news" broke out across the rebelling colonies. </p><p style="text-align: left;">And although they do not provide a tight case for Peggy being the woman <i>behind</i> the plot, Case and Jacob were able to provide ample information which not only indicates she <i>knew</i> about Benedict Arnold's betrayal--but that she assisted him and played at least some active role in the espionage. <br /><br />The plot to betray America is, understandably, the real meat and bones of the book. Because there are gaps in the recorded history of Peggy's life, some of the narrative focuses much more on the actions of Arnold--whom Peggy often followed; along with John André, who left behind a more tangible historical trail than Peggy Shippen. However, Case and Jacob have made excellent use of the resources they had to create an interesting and rounded narrative of Peggy's life--from her birth in pre-revolutionary American to her matrimonial betrayal of the revolution and finally to her last years in England, where she spent most of her time dealing with poor state of her family's finances and securing a future for her children.<br /><br />I recommend<b><i> Treacherous Beauty: Peggy Shippen, the Woman Behind Benedict Arnold's Plot to Betray America </i></b>by Stephen H. Case and Mark Jacob to readers who are interested in the American Revolution, 18th century, or women's studies in the 18th century. <br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><i> 366[A review copy of this book was provided by the publisher upon my request.]</i></p><p style="text-align: center;">&nbsp;</p></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.invitinghistory.com/feeds/121535841018803762/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.invitinghistory.com/2021/06/book-review-review-treacherous-beauty.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/1655932075959811304/posts/default/121535841018803762'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/1655932075959811304/posts/default/121535841018803762'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://www.invitinghistory.com/2021/06/book-review-review-treacherous-beauty.html' title='Book Review: Review: Treacherous Beauty: Peggy Shippen, the Woman behind Benedict Arnold's Plot to Betray America by Stephen H. Case and Mark Jacob '/><author><name>Anna Gibson</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/05396224945159965618</uri><email>[email protected]</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author>
366<media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQR1vS35dFe0yoXReVThcx-UI6VANU8QPJKHBAJBKGrOWLGPRdez5VC3jiH0hpxNrpiwUhZU30zJecNCilOpaWzUQeFTWRCbaF6-6vGBQrTl0NCC1clhdKXlG82n77Jl98Q1xVWtJ535E/s72-w428-h640-c/13202967.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655932075959811304.post-3888860956180426514</id><published>2021-06-02T23:02:00.003-04:00</published><updated>2021-06-02T23:02:29.021-04:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="marie antoinette"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="marie antoinette 1938"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="personal collection"/><title type='text'>A Czech Movie Herald for Marie Antoinette (1938)</title><content type='html'><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="721" data-original-width="800" height="576" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhBaMP6S_es1BKBA-k8jo3ac-cYeQdTjzo_jQz6YhK0fNwdKP96OTb3ejCZSvzcHfTuturCUcc2DOvMZkM5MtNfzUCvKsLUXOiEJDMcBvxmIn-UCWdF0PvYh5Z_X-akfGz1RI8GvXQf_w/w640-h576/scan2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">image: the front cover of a Czech movie herald released for <i>Marie Antoinette </i>(1938); image is scanned from my collection.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhBaMP6S_es1BKBA-k8jo3ac-cYeQdTjzo_jQz6YhK0fNwdKP96OTb3ejCZSvzcHfTuturCUcc2DOvMZkM5MtNfzUCvKsLUXOiEJDMcBvxmIn-UCWdF0PvYh5Z_X-akfGz1RI8GvXQf_w/s800/scan2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">&nbsp;</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Vintage movie heralds, programs and other advertisements are an interesting look into the marketing machines that powered many older Hollywood films. Like the modern film industry, old Hollywood took great pains to market and promote films, often curating an experience for moviegoers that could include programs, promises of "reasonable prices," and more.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This particular program for MGM's expensive historical drama <i>Marie Antoinette </i>(1938) was created for the theatrical release of the film in, at the time, Czechoslavakia. The film was released in February of 1939, during the brief Second Czechoslovak Republic, which lasted from September 30th, 1938 through March 15th, 1939.<br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">&nbsp; <br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">&nbsp;</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVhiWZQFMZNfmhCM9D2rUw4ELOJEnUmKlxRhwG0HNO5mugWG5QSDQIpV46eu4-gkfy35Z9ZBgoSTkEs9jTxQ4T2hb2E6MNjRXthAynAqK7T-V3xyBvRlDJTq6zaGLHyXH520Jd-l1Ya8Q/s800/Document_2021-05-25_201926.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="705" data-original-width="800" height="564" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVhiWZQFMZNfmhCM9D2rUw4ELOJEnUmKlxRhwG0HNO5mugWG5QSDQIpV46eu4-gkfy35Z9ZBgoSTkEs9jTxQ4T2hb2E6MNjRXthAynAqK7T-V3xyBvRlDJTq6zaGLHyXH520Jd-l1Ya8Q/w640-h564/Document_2021-05-25_201926.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">image: the interior page of a Czech movie herald released for <i>Marie Antoinette </i>(1938); image is scanned from my collection.</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>The interior page, which features a wedding-clad Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette contrasted next to the guillotine, contains a brief plot introduction along with a list of the primary cast. Notably, both Norma Shearer and Gladys George have their names altered in order to added the feminine "-ova" at the end, a practice which was (and in many cases, still is) popular in the region.<br /><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWbkch4
366kZlLf99jYVGIOIH3N07dl3Xhxv5ncM-k45C4UsJn9Ux5UFgZQ2JclMazKlfJUeu-LXBCIi6p63HwL9YxouptypgJG-4Hu-uqztMST7b571XZvSRVFJVbQiJz6FHEH59LFTbpD8/s800/scan.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="713" data-original-width="800" height="570" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWbkch4kZlLf99jYVGIOIH3N07dl3Xhxv5ncM-k45C4UsJn9Ux5UFgZQ2JclMazKlfJUeu-LXBCIi6p63HwL9YxouptypgJG-4Hu-uqztMST7b571XZvSRVFJVbQiJz6FHEH59LFTbpD8/w640-h570/scan.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">image: the back cover of a Czech movie herald released for <i>Marie Antoinette </i>(1938); image is scanned from my collection.</td></tr></tbody></table><p>The back cover of the herald features a colorized photo of Norma Shearer in the "garden party" gown, which she wears during the scene of a night gathering at the Petit Trianon. Surprisingly, the delicate bird cage on top of her head still exists, and was shown at an Irving Thalberg exhibition in recent years.<br />&nbsp;</p><p></p></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.invitinghistory.com/feeds/3888860956180426514/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.invitinghistory.com/2021/06/a-czech-movie-herald-for-marie.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/1655932075959811304/posts/default/3888860956180426514'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/1655932075959811304/posts/default/3888860956180426514'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://www.invitinghistory.com/2021/06/a-czech-movie-herald-for-marie.html' title='A Czech Movie Herald for Marie Antoinette (1938)'/><author><name>Anna Gibson</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/05396224945159965618</uri><email>[email protected]</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhBaMP6S_es1BKBA-k8jo3ac-cYeQdTjzo_jQz6YhK0fNwdKP96OTb3ejCZSvzcHfTuturCUcc2DOvMZkM5MtNfzUCvKsLUXOiEJDMcBvxmIn-UCWdF0PvYh5Z_X-akfGz1RI8GvXQf_w/s72-w640-h576-c/scan2.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655932075959811304.post-6963556256923389563</id><published>2021-05-29T17:04:00.001-04:00</published><updated>2021-05-29T17:04:16.281-04:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="17th century"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="book"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="japanese history"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="review"/><title type='text'> Book Review: An Imperial Concubine's Tale: Scandal, Shipwreck, and Salvation in Seventeenth-Century Japan by G.G. Rowley</title><content type='html'><p style="text-align: center;">&nbsp;<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSS2xe5IQUTfY9KVFgiJiSBStXtreqRT337CpUBmNPQxk7cn8MQHmAHITlaztvL0buJGUbwThsvOUug74jDG5eUirNjab1cY9Xd-rUD-AEJAq-xYSYKprJQNBk4iUl95rk12Khn01FrO4/s525/9780231158541.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="525" data-original-width="350" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSS2xe5IQUTfY9KVFgiJiSBStXtreqRT337CpUBmNPQxk7cn8MQHmAHITlaztvL0buJGUbwThsvO
366Uug74jDG5eUirNjab1cY9Xd-rUD-AEJAq-xYSYKprJQNBk4iUl95rk12Khn01FrO4/s16000/9780231158541.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cover for<i> 'An Imperial Concubine's Tale' </i>by G. G. Rowley<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">[<b>Note:</b> I originally reviewed this book in 2013 on the original <i>'Inviting History Book Reviews.' </i>This review is rewritten from the original version.]<br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">Life in early 17th century Japan could be precarious and wild, even for those who were privileged enough to live and work in the imperial palace. The wilderness of the court, however, was vastly different than the wilderness outside the protected imperial walls. To live in the imperial court was to live in service of the emperor, to pledge one's entire self to live according to the stringent rules of society. <br /><br />Men and women needed to ensure that they never overstepped the boundaries of their station and prescribed roles at court. Violating these boundaries risked punishment which could range banishment or confinement, even to execution; the cruelty and severity of the punishment often rested on the good will and mercy of the emperor.<br /><b><i><br />An Imperial Concubine: Scandal, Shipwreck and Salvation in Seventeenth-Century Japan </i></b>by G. G. Rowley is a painstakingly researched examination of the life of a remarkable woman who lived in 17th-century Japan, and whose involvement in a great imperial court scandal would change the course of her life forever. <br /><br />Nakanoin Nakako was a noblewoman who entered into the service of the imperial court when she was around 11 years old. The Imperial Daily Records of January 19th, 1601 mark her entry into this vast and complicated world simply: âThe young lady, daughter of the Nakanoin, entered [the palace]; she was received in the anteroom with congratulatory cups of sake and strips of kelp."<br /><br />The life the young Nakako entered was one solely centered on the emperor. When she became of age, she might fulfill duties such as serving meals to the emperor, bathing and clothing him, presented his gifts and providing entertainment. Women of age might also attend to that duty inherent to the role of an imperial concubine, but these duties were not recorded in the otherwise meticulous Daily Records.<br /><br />Nakako's rigid yet luxurious life as an imperial concubine was altered forever by what would eventually be known as the "Dragon Scandal." In the 6th month of 1609, a series of hurried, almost frantic entries in the diaries of courtiers record the growing rumors circulating about "lax behavior" on part of the imperial palace attendants. <br /><br />By the end of that month, the imperial concubines were forbidden to leave their apartments due to the beginnings of an investigation. At the beginning of the 7th month, the entries in the Daily Records mark an ominous note: "1st day: ⦠His Majesty took his morning cup of sake. No meal was served because no one could be found."<br /><br />Three days later, the Dragon Scandal finally broke. Five women, including Nakako, were sent into the custody of their families to await further instructions from the emperor. The women were accused of "lax behavior." The nature of these accusations varied from source to source, but the broad accusations included: leaving the imperial palace to attend private parties in the homes of male courtiers; attending kabuki dances outside of the palace; and, most damaging of all, possibly having sexual relationships with men who were not the emperor.<br /><br />Whether or not Nakako or any of the people accused were guilty is unknown and legitimately irrelevant: they were punished, regardless. The initial punishment set for this behavior was execution for all parties involved, men and women alike. However, the emperor was persuaded to only execute two men of a lower rank, while the rest of the accused--including Nakako--were sent into exile.<br /><br />Nakako was banished to the island of Nijima, but she would never make it there. The boat transporting her to her new home shipwrecked in the harbor of Nagatsuro, at the tip of the Izu Peninusula. A village nearby would become her home for the next 14 years. Information about Nakako's life there is scarce but invaluable. Rowley was able to find contemporary accounts that describe a relatively peaceful life: Nakako directing the dancing for harvest festivals and on some occasions, dancing in the festivals herself. She was known in the village as Nakako-hime--or princess Nakako.<br /><br />In 1623, Nakako and the other women punished in the Dragon Scandal were pardoned and allowed to return to the capital. Nakako was a young women of 18 or 19 when she was exiled; by the time she was pardoned, she was in her early 30s. Her life after her pardon is something of a mystery: she drops off official records, and nothing is known about where she lived or what she did. Rowley believes it is likely that she lived quietly with at her family home. <br /><br />In 1641, Nakako again appears in the records: Eighteen years after she was pardoned for her apparent role in the Dragon Scandal, she joined an aristocratic convent. She would become an abbess of this same convent. She died in 1671, around the age of eighty, outliving the rest of her family.<br /><br />Nakako is an elusive figure. She did not leave behind extensive written records. She did not play a drastic, country-altering history that often leads historians to treasure troves of information. Yet she did exist. And Rowley has managed to uncover her story through scraps of contemporary records: notes in the Daily Records about her entry into the imperial court and subsequent banishment; poetry; diaries mentioning the tumultuous events of the court; local records and in some cases, local legends passed down for generations about "princess Nakako" and her journey. The end result is a shining light, however incomplete, on a figure who otherwise may have been lost to history.<br /><br />Rowley takes on the remarkable task of not only telling Nakako's story, but fleshing out her world by researching the lives of her contemporaries in order to provide a glimpse of what her life would have been like. Readers may be left wishing that there was something in Nakako's own hand to take in, something written by this woman whose life ebbed and flowed on the whim of the imperial court and the emperor's wishes. Yet the wispy traces of Nakako, a young woman in the prime of life banished from all she has ever known and torn from her family, make her more enigmatic than ever.<br /><br />This poem, composed by Nakako's father after he received a letter from his daughter, explaining her banishment, records the despair at Nakako's parting from her family and former life:<br />&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><blockquote><i><span style="font-size: medium;">Could even the<br />Expected eternal parting<br />Compare with this?<br />I wonder at such a moment<br />Coming in my own lifetime.</span></i></blockquote><p></p><p style="text-align: left;">I highly recommend <i><b>An Imperial Concubine's Tale: Scandal, Shipwreck, and Salvation in Seventeenth-Century Japan</b></i> by G.G. Rowley for readers interested in 17th century history, Japanese history, or women's history.<br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><i>[I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for a review]</i></p></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.invitinghistory.com/feeds/6963556256923389563/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.invitinghistory.com/2021/05/book-review-imperial-concubines-tale.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/1655932075959811304/posts/default/6963556256923389563'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/1655932075959811304/posts/default/6963556256923389563'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://www.invitinghistory.com/2021/05/book-review-imperial-concubines-tale.html' title=' Book Review: An Imperial Concubine's Tale: Scandal, Shipwreck, and Salvation in Seventeenth-Century Japan by G.G. Rowley'/><author><name>Anna Gibson</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/05396224945159965618</uri><email>[email protected]</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author>
366<media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSS2xe5IQUTfY9KVFgiJiSBStXtreqRT337CpUBmNPQxk7cn8MQHmAHITlaztvL0buJGUbwThsvOUug74jDG5eUirNjab1cY9Xd-rUD-AEJAq-xYSYKprJQNBk4iUl95rk12Khn01FrO4/s72-c/9780231158541.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655932075959811304.post-7840693371597465355</id><published>2021-05-26T13:00:00.001-04:00</published><updated>2021-05-26T13:00:00.228-04:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="book quotes"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="french history. quotes"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="marie antoinette"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="prince de ligne"/><title type='text'>The prince de Ligne on Marie Antoinette: "She laughed and sang and danced until she was twenty five years old..." </title><content type='html'><p style="text-align: center;">&nbsp;</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDjF28SZI-V40EmymIeAHHecsYJZIRa9oK9s496z8RgRZAbMWnjzrE2a28FB6NEAKCy1V4ciDQ7RnhotgxovHPyq-bWr389X0KAkp5xwK_BctNV3C_LNtFZjaugyhdDI2_ajcGwCi_ERk/s801/index.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="801" data-original-width="681" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDjF28SZI-V40EmymIeAHHecsYJZIRa9oK9s496z8RgRZAbMWnjzrE2a28FB6NEAKCy1V4ciDQ7RnhotgxovHPyq-bWr389X0KAkp5xwK_BctNV3C_LNtFZjaugyhdDI2_ajcGwCi_ERk/w544-h640/index.png" width="544" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">image: A portrait of Charles Joseph Lamoral de Ligne by Charles Leclerq, 1780. <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Charles-Joseph_de_Ligne.jpg">Original</a> black and white image colorized using DeOldify and Photoshop.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">&nbsp;</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">&nbsp;</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">&nbsp;</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">&nbsp;</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br />Charles-Joseph Lamoral, the prince de Ligne (or Fürst von Ligne) was an important diplomat, writer, military marshal, and intellectual whose personal connection to Marie Antoinette provides an invaluable look at how the queen was perceived by someone who was allowed access into her familiar circles.&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align: left;">Charles-Joseph was 20 years her senior, and was notably described by Stefan Zweig as being "the most refined of the whole [Trianon] band ... the only one who did not feather his nest while at the Trianon, and also the only one to preserve respectful memories of the Queen, as shown by what he wrote about her in his memoirs published in his old age." Zweig also considered de Ligne to be the "solitary exception" as an intelligent man in the queen's closer circle.</p><p style="text-align: left;">This particular passage quoted below stands out for its biting, fairly sarcastic rundown of the negative reputation that Marie Antoinette earned for almost entirely innocuous acts.&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align: left;">Of course, his words should be taken in the context of both his status as a former companion of the queen and s
366omeone writing about her years after the fact, tinged with sadness for her ultimate fate.</p><p style="text-align: left;">For instance, de Ligne dismisses Marie Antoinette's gambling problem as being something she disliked and was merely "compelled to play," when it is known that Marie Antoinette did not just play the requisite court card games but illegal, high-stakes games for hours upon&nbsp; hours; games which thrilled her and provided her with an escape from the stress of her personal life. While her gambling problem did gradually die off, the excuse de Ligne gives echoes the excuses Marie Antoinette wrote to her own mother, who heard through the spy-network-grapevine about the stunning losses at these types of games. <br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">He also dismisses the 6 million livres purchase of the chateau de Saint-Cloud, solely because its purchase was related to Marie Antoinette wanting her children to have access to its fresher air. But it <i>was</i> an extravagant purchase, despite the lowered costs due to it being bought in the queen's name; particularly considering that it came shortly before the explosion of the Diamond Necklace Affair, which added to this aspect of the queen's reputation.</p><p style="text-align: left;">But despite the excuses de Ligne makes for certain aspects of Marie Antoinette's behavior, it's easy to understand his frustration with the negative reputation she earned for harmless things such as giggling as a teenager being teased by her ladies; having close friends; enjoying walks on the terrace; or--heaven forbid--walking on foot to the apartments of her companions. <br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">From</span> <span style="font-size: large;"><i><b>The Prince de Ligne: His memoirs, letters, and miscellaneous papers </b>[translated by Katharine Prescott Wormeley]</i></span><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><blockquote><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">As for the queen, the radiance of her presence harmed her. The jealousy of the women whom she crushed by the beauty of her complexion and the carriage of her head, ever seeking to harm her as a woman, harmed her also as a queen. Frédégonde and Brunehaut, Catherine and Marie de Medici, Anne and Theresa of Austria never laughed; Marie Antoinette when she was fifteen laughed much; therefore she was declared "satirical."<br /><br />She defended herself against the intrigues of two parties, each of whom wanted to give her a lover; on which they declared her "inimical to Frenchmen"; and all the more because she was friendly with foreigners, from whom she had neither traps nor importunity to fear.<br /><br />An unfortunate dispute about a visit between her brother the Elector of Cologne and the princes of the blood, of which she was wholly ignorant, offended the etiquette of the Court, which then called her "proud."<br /><br />She dines with one friend, and sometimes goes to see another friend, after supper, and they say she is "familiar." That is not what the few persons who lived in her familiarity would say. Her delicate, sure sense of the becoming awed them as much as her majesty. It was as impossible to for get it as it was to forget one's self. <br /><br />She is sensible of the friendship of certain persons who are the most devoted to her; then she is declared to be "amorous" of them. Sometimes she requires too much for their families; then she is âunreasonable.â <br /><br />She gives little fêtes, and works herself at her Trianon: that is called âbourgeoise.â She buys Saint-Cloud for the health of her children and to take them from the malaria of Versailles: they pronounce her âextravagant." <br /><br />Her promenades in the evening on the terrace, or on horseback in the Bois de Boulogne, or sometimes on foot roun
366d the music in the Orangery "seem suspicious." Her most innocent pleasures are thought criminal; her general loving kindness is âcoquettish.â She fears to win at cards, at which she is compelled to play, and they say she âwastes the money of the State."<br /><br />She laughed and sang and danced until she was twenty five years old: they declared her âfrivolous." The affairs of the kingdom became embroiled, the spirit of party arose and divided society; she would take no side, and they called her âungrateful.â<br /><br />She no longer amused herself; she foresaw misfortunes: they declared her âintriguing.â She dropped certain little requests or recommendations she had made to the king or the ministers as soon as she feared they were troublesome, and then she was âfickle."<br /><br />With so many crimes to her charge, and all so well-proved, did she not deserve her misfortunes? But I see I have forgotten the greatest [crime]. <br /><br />The queen, who was almost a prisoner of State in her château of Versailles, took the liberty sometimes to go on foot, followed by a servant, through one of the galleries, to the apartments of Mme. de Lamballe or Mme . de Polignac. How shocking a scandal! The late queen [Marie Leczinska] was always carried in a sedan-chair to see her cousin, Mme . de Talmont...</span><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">&nbsp;</p></blockquote><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p style="text-align: left;">De Ligne's passage has a strikingly similar theme to a memorable quotation from 367Madame Campan's memoirs, in which she recounts the scandal of Marie 368Antoinette's preference for less formal clothing:&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>"What misconduct might not be dreaded 369 from a princess who could absolutely go out without a hoop! And who, in 370 the salons of Trianon, instead of discussing the important rights to 371 chairs and stools, good-naturedly invited everybody to be seated. "</i></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><i>&nbsp;</i></p></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.invitinghistory.com/feeds/7840693371597465355/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.invitinghistory.com/2021/05/the-prince-de-ligne-on-marie-antoinette.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/1655932075959811304/posts/default/7840693371597465355'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/1655932075959811304/posts/default/7840693371597465355'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://www.invitinghistory.com/2021/05/the-prince-de-ligne-on-marie-antoinette.html' title='The prince de Ligne on Marie Antoinette: "She laughed and sang and danced until she was twenty five years old..." '/><author><name>Anna Gibson</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/05396224945159965618</uri><email>[email protected]</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDjF28SZI-V40EmymIeAHHecsYJZIRa9oK9s496z8RgRZAbMWnjzrE2a28FB6NEAKCy1V4ciDQ7RnhotgxovHPyq-bWr389X0KAkp5xwK_BctNV3C_LNtFZjaugyhdDI2_ajcGwCi_ERk/s72-w544-h640-c/index.png" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655932075959811304.post-4187956364252208099</id><published>2021-05-18T13:18:00.006-04:00</published><updated>2021-06-14T11:36:36.263-04:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="analysis"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="and marie antoinette said"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="marie antoinette"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="rose bertin"/><title type='text'>And Marie Antoinette Said: "There is nothing new except what has been forgotten."</title><content type='html'><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> 372</div> 373<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> 374</div> 375<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> 376</div> 377<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> 378</div> 379<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> 380Marie Antoinette did not say <i>"Let them eat cake!"&nbsp;</i></div> 381<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> 382<br /></div> 383<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> 384</div> 385<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> 386Yet 387<i> "Let them eat cake!" </i>isn't the only dubious phrase frequently attributed 388 to the last queen 389 of France. A quick cursory search on Google or numerous social media 390platforms reveals many quotes supposedly said by Marie Antoinette. But 391did she really say them? Where did these quotes come from? In this post series, <b>'And Marie Antoinette Said...' </b>we 392 will be taking a closer look at some of the most famous quotes 393attributed to the queen to 394uncover their origins and hopefully, shed some light on their veracity.</div> 395<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> 396<br /></div> 397<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> 398<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbTWxTAUF8v4PxOnEwbhSRxMKL_xKYmGmuBJx9Ipbb4DQ1sRHtFV6XRPxHz1_xafQZIEO2MArDG8qnJSl6uB0N30yGtMVo8wzH61qJwShEHo6bdMxPTpQdR5-Bwn8MzEE3erf7CHe-js-Q/s1600/ec323e03016d17cc563f71c9a2629e41.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbTWxTAUF8v4PxOnEwbhSRxMKL_xKYmGmuBJx9Ipbb4DQ1sRHtFV6XRPxHz1_xafQZIEO2MArDG8qnJSl6uB0N30yGtMVo8wzH61qJwShEHo6bdMxPTpQdR5-Bwn8MzEE3erf7CHe-js-Q/s1600/ec323e03016d17cc563f71c9a2629e41.jpg" /></a></div> 399<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> 400<br /></div> 401<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> 402<span style="font-size: large;"><i>"There is nothing new except what has been forgotten."&nbsp;</i></span></div> 403<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> 404<br /></div> 405<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> 406<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">This quote is another social media favorite; although there is often not any context given, this alleged quote is sometimes connected to Marie Antoinette's passion for fashion. <br /></span></span></div> 407 408<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">This attributed quote is particularly interesting because it is only within the past few years that it has become attributed to Marie Antoinette. Until the rise of social media and its love for bite-size quotable posts, the quote was associated not with Marie Antoinette... but with <b>Rose Bertin,</b> her favored <i>marchande des modes. </i><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">This association is notable enough to have made<a href="
408https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rose_Bertin#Famous_quote"> Rose Bertin's Wikipedia </a>page, which includes the attribution under its own heading ("Famous quote"): <br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;">Bertin is said to have remarked to Marie Antoinette in 1785, when presenting her with a remodelled dress, "Il n'y a de nouveau que ce qui est oublié" ("There is nothing new except what has been forgotten."</span></blockquote><p>This association is confirmed in a varied selection of books from the 19th and 20th centuries.&nbsp; <i>Conklin's Who Said That? Being the Sources of Famous Sayings by George W. Conklin</i>, published in 1906, echoes the basic sentiment of the quote as attributed to Bertin:</p><p></p><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>"There is nothing new but that which is forgotten</b> (Il n'y a de nouveau que ce qui est oublie). <br /><br />Attributed to Mlle. Bertin, a celebrated modiste, to Marie Antoinette (1755-93), replying to the question whether the model of a costume was quite new. The motto of the Revue Retrospective (1833) was 'Il n'y a de nouveau que ce qui a vielli' ('There is nothing new but that which has become antiquated.')"</span></blockquote>In at least one book, <i>Famous Sayings and Their Authors by Edward Latham,</i> Marie Antoinette was described as having "asked whether the model of a costume was quite new, for she thought she had seen a drawing of it in some old engravings."</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><p>The biography <i>'Rose Bertin: The Creator of Fashion at the Court of Marie Antoinette"</i> by Ãmile Langlade repeats the anecdote:&nbsp;</p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;">"Indeed, nothing is new under the sun, in fashions as in other things; it is but the turn of the wheel. 'New things are only those which have been forgotten,' as Rose Bertin said very truly one day to Marie-Antoinette."</span></blockquote><p></p></span></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> 409<span style="font-size: medium;"><b><span><span>But did she actually say it?</span></span></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><span><span>&nbsp;</span></span></b></span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">First, let's take a closer look at the sources cited on Wikipedia.&nbsp;</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">&nbsp;</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">The earliest source cited on Rose Bertin's Wikipedia page in relation to this quote is the 1820 edition of <i>The Edinburgh Review, Or Critical Journal.</i></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">This volume notes:</span></span><br /><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span><span><blockquote>A 410 proverb of which no nation makes such frequent application as the 411French, and which, as history relates, was the favourite maxim of the 412most inventive and academic of dressmakers, Mademoiselle Bertin, is, <i>'Il n'y a de nouveau que ce qui est oublié;'</i> and we think the history of these didactic inventions affords a striking proof of its justice.</blockquote></span></span></span></span></div> 413<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Here, the quote is associated with Mme. Bertin's profession in the fashion industry, as well as her reputation for being inventive with her work. We can determine from this text that Mme Bertin was associated with the phrase at least by 1820. <br /></div> 414<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> 415<br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The second oldest source cited on Wikipedia,<i> The International Encyclopedia of Prose and Poetical Quotations</i>, was published in 1908 and contains this information:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_PMk6zmyH6eGiY54jYY8hdmXtxyyqWbdECDygRGVU3r18rk-J6CzWaMEuwhxMJd-uuroe63a-lMB3mxTy4Nc4giBiGPn87qOZIE4OW6XxGNjuu3DHAw9PlWGX9S25to9ccIBkFqX9yec/s426/Screenshot_2021-05-17+The+international+encyclo
415pedia+of+prose+and+poetical+quotations+from+the+literature+of+the+world%252C+inc%255B...%255D.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="197" data-original-width="426" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_PMk6zmyH6eGiY54jYY8hdmXtxyyqWbdECDygRGVU3r18rk-J6CzWaMEuwhxMJd-uuroe63a-lMB3mxTy4Nc4giBiGPn87qOZIE4OW6XxGNjuu3DHAw9PlWGX9S25to9ccIBkFqX9yec/w400-h185/Screenshot_2021-05-17+The+international+encyclopedia+of+prose+and+poetical+quotations+from+the+literature+of+the+world%252C+inc%255B...%255D.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i> The International Encyclopedia of Prose and Poetical Quotations, </i>1908<i><br /></i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This book relates a variety of quotations and while it does not provide a historical source, it does at least further confirm the association of this phrase with Rose Bertin. This particular book also considers<i> "There is nothing new except what has been forgotten"</i> to be a variation of the Old Testament proverb, <i>"There is no new thing under the sun."</i><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The second, similar phrase <i>("There is nothing new except that which has become antiquated")</i> is quoted in several volumes of the Revue Retrospective; the Revue Retrospective attributes the "antiquated" quote to Chaucer. We will return to the Chaucer further on ahead.<br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">These particular variations are older than 1908 and can be found in earlier texts such as the the 1899 text, <i>'Classical And Foreign Quotations, Laws Terms and Maxims, Proverbs, Mmottoes, Phrases and Expressions...' </i>This book also connects the quote to Rose Bertin.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJSAzlqgY52dsroONGqBUdmly8r8VuRN1jz3XycaN-oD_dYrhXdQ59IC8Ozk_zwNPTI_BaIg0lU2u54ZPO33zOe135Ileo4xddNWmoApYz8XHkHhFGfQPW-p6fdCOTP1k3iFniEr-3t_4/s1069/Screenshot_2021-05-17+Classical+and+Foreign+Quotations.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="249" data-original-width="1069" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJSAzlqgY52dsroONGqBUdmly8r8VuRN1jz3XycaN-oD_dYrhXdQ59IC8Ozk_zwNPTI_BaIg0lU2u54ZPO33zOe135Ileo4xddNWmoApYz8XHkHhFGfQPW-p6fdCOTP1k3iFniEr-3t_4/w640-h149/Screenshot_2021-05-17+Classical+and+Foreign+Quotations.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Classical And Foreign Quotations, Laws Terms and Maxims, Proverbs, Mmottoes, Phrases and Expressions (1899)<br /></i></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The same phrases can be found in books published both before and after the 1908 book cited on Wikipedia. The fact that these variations can be found sometimes word-for-word in texts from various years suggests a cyclical effect: a book is published which associates the phrase with Rose Bertin, and similar books which collect quotes and anecdotes reuse these associations, sometimes using the exact same descriptions, later on, spreading the idea further. <br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The third source cited on Wikipedia is <i>The Mirror of Laughte</i>r by Alexander Kozintsev, which notes in the preface:<br /><br /><blockquote>'<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Il n'y a de nouveau que ce qui est oublié</i></span></span></span></span>'--"There is nothing new except what has been forgotten," Marie-Antoinette's modiste Rose Bertin is said to have remarked when the queen approved an old dress Rose had refashioned for her.</blockquote></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>'The Mirror of Laughter'</i> is an examination of theories regarding the relationship of humor and laughter to human behavior. It is not really making a historical claim nor does it provide evidence that she said the phrase, as the preface is merely relating the anecdote.<br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">None of the three cited sources claim that the quote was spoken in the specific year described on Wikipedia--1785.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>What are the origins of the quote?</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">There are two consistent themes that show up time and time again in the various books which published the <i>"There is nothing new except what has been forgotten" </i>quote during the 19th and early 20th centuries.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">One, the fact that the phrase is frequently associated with a similar quote attributed to Geoffrey Chaucer and two, the fact that both of these quotes are frequently lumped together as variations on the proverb, <i>"There is nothing new under the sun,"</i> which is derived from this passage in Ecclesiastes. As written in the King James version of the text, which was collected in 1611:<br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;">"The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done, is that which shall be done; <b>and there is no new thing under the sun.</b> Is there any thing whereof it may be said, <b>See, this is new? It hath been already of old time which was before us. There is no remembrance of former things;</b> neither shall there be any remembrance of things which are to come, with those that shall come over." </span></blockquote></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">&nbsp;While researching the origins for the phrase <i>"There is nothing new under the sun,"</i> I came across a <a href="https://www.bookbrowse.com/expressions/detail/index.cfm/expression_number/241/theres-nothing-new-under-the-sun">website </a>which suggested that its first known English variation use was found in Chaucer's <i>'A Knightes Tale,</i>' but that they were unable to find a reference confirming that claim.<br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Could <i>A Knightes Tale (A Knight's Tale) </i>be the origin of the Chaucer quote? <br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In turns out: yes--with a language related caveat that because the original work was written in Middle English, the variations of it <br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />The quote, as written in the original Middle English text of <i>A Knight's Tale:</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><blockquote>With hym ther wenten knyghtes many on;<br />Som wol ben armed in an haubergeoun<br />And in a brestplate and a light gypoun<br />And som wol have a paire plates large<br />And som wol have a Pruce sheeld or a targe<br />Som wol ben armed on his legges weel<br />And have an ax, and som a mace of steel<br /><b>Ther is no newe gyse that it nas old.</b><br />Armed were they, as I have yow told,<br />Everych after his opinioun.</blockquote></span><br />The Harvard <a href="https://chaucer.fas.harvard.edu/pages/knights-tale-0">University Geoffrey Chaucer website</a> provides this modern translation for the passage:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>&nbsp;</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;">With him there went knights many a one<br />One of them will be armed in a coat of mail,<br />And in a breastplate and a light tunic<br />And one of them will have a set of plate armor<br />And one of them will have a Prussian shield or a buckler;<br />One of them will be well armed on his legs,<br />And have an axe, and one a mace of steel --<br /><b>There is no new fashion that has not been old.</b><br />They were armed, as I have told you,<br />Every one according to his preference.</span></blockquote></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">While the Chaucer quote is not an exact match for the passage derived from Ecclesiastes, it is easy to see how they can be viewed with a similar sentiment. In fact, an English 1877 edition of <i>The Knight's Tale,</i> published this telling citation for the bolded line: <i>"This line seems to mean that there is nothing 416new under the sun."</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />So how did we get from Ecclesiastes to Chaucer to Bertin? The presumed connection from the Bertin quote to Chaucer'
416s quote is compactly described in the preface for <i>Le vieux-neuf&nbsp;</i> by Edouard Fournier, published in 1859:<br /><blockquote>"There 417 is nothing new except what has become antiquated," said the old English 418 poet Chaucer; "Nothing is new but what has been forgotten," said 419Marie-Antoinette's <i>marchande de modes</i> 500 years later, 420rejuvenating indescribable ancient frills. The old word of the poet, 421refurbished by the milliner, could serve as the epigraph to the work of 422M. Fournier...</blockquote>Here, Rose Bertin is described as using the words of Chaucer for inspiration, refurbishing them for her own needs. Once again, the 423context of the phrase is Rose Bertin reworking old fashion to make 424 it new. Since the original Chaucer quote was distinctly related to fashion--more specifically, practical military attire and equipment--this may reflect an additional underlying connection between these two similar phrases that goes beyond expressing the same sentiment.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">My attempts to find a French translation of Chaucer's work with the exact phrase <i>("Il n'ya a de nouveau que ce qui a vieilli") </i>were 425 fruitless. Considering that the original work was written in Middle 426English and was frequently translated into varying forms of modern 427language over the years, it soon became clear that finding a copy with 428that exact phrasing would be improbable and turned towards reading the 429various editions to find out how they had interpreted the line.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">A<a href="https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k6470618v/f102.item.r"> French translation </a>from 1857 even omits Chaucer's line regarding "new and old" entirely.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">A ses côtés l'on vit maint Chevalier fidèle;<br />Les uns portaient plastrons, ou cuirasses de fer,<br />D'autres étaient munis d'une cotte de mailles,<br />D'écus, de boucliers, ou bien d'un tranche-entrailles,<br />D'une hache ou d'un gâte-chair ;<br />Tous instruments de mort, dont sans discourtoisie<br />Un Chevalier se fert felon sa fantaisie.<br /><br />At his side were seen many a faithful knight;<br />Some wore breastplates, or iron breastplates,<br />Others were provided with a coat of mail,<br />Of shields, shields, or even a slice of entrails,<br />An ax or a gâte-chair<br />All instruments of death, with no discourtesy<br />A Knight is born according to his fancy.&nbsp; <br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div></blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This is not an isolated incident, as some other translations (including a 1795 English "Modern Version") also omit the notion of <i>"Ther is no newe gyse that it nas old."</i><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">A later 1908 French translation, on the other hand, translates Chaucer's words with additional phrasing that provide context about what the text is referencing when it refers to "new" old things. Namely, equipment.<br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><blockquote><b>Il nây a point dâéquipement nouveau qui nâait été anciennement.</b><br />Ils étaient armés, comme vous ai conté,<br />chacun selon son idée.<br /><br /><b>There is no new equipment that was not in the past.</b><br />They were armed, as you have told,<br />each according to his own idea. </blockquote></div></div><p> 430<br /> 431<b><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Verdict:</i><br /> 432</span></b><br /> 433It is safe to say that Marie Antoinette <b>did not </b>say this quote. It was not associated with Marie Antoinette until the social media era of the 21st century, in which online posts made an incorrect attribution which connected Marie Antoinette, rather than Rose Bertin, with this particular phrase.</p><p>It is<b> uncertain but unlikely</b> that Rose Bertin said this quote. I personally believe that she did not say it based on the lack of a contemporary connection. There is no known contemporary evidence to suggest she did, such as letters or individual memoirs, anecdotal or otherwise, which claim she said it from <i>some </i>sort of contemporary source. All we have are third-party, later anecdotal connections between Bertin and the phrase. It was associated with her by1820 and continued to be passed on afterwards as an anecdote. <br /></p><p>The phrase <i>"There is nothing new except what has been forgotten" </i>should be viewed as an anecdotal, apocryphal phrase that appears to be spun from similar sayings, such as <i>"There is nothing new under the sun"</i> and Chaucer's <span style="font-size: small;"><i>"Ther is no newe gyse that it nas old." </i>Chaucer's words were </span>translated into a strikingly similar phrase in both English and France during the 19th century and were frequently connected to the quote attributed to Rose Bertin during this time period.<br /> 434<br /> 435<b>Sources and Further Reading</b><br /> 436<br /> 437</p><ul> 438<li><i><a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=7qhOAQAAMAAJ&amp;pg=PA498&amp;lpg=PA498&amp;dq=A+proverb+of+which+no+nation+makes+such+frequent+application+as+the+French,+and+which,+as+history+relates,+was+the+favourite+maxim+of+the+most+inventi&amp;source=bl&amp;ots=u0Uzp_DBjY&amp;sig=ACfU3U24lU2VIL8HH6tEoWtW2X--bClulA&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=2ahUKEwjP55Pe2tPwAhUGXc0KHYD8BmEQ6AEwAHoECAMQAw#v=onepage&amp;q=A%20proverb%20of%20which%20no%20nation%20makes%20such%20frequent%20application%20as%20the%20French%2C%20and%20which%2C%20as%20history%20relates%2C%20was%20the%20favourite%20maxim%20of%20the%20most%20inventi&amp;f=false">The Edinburgh Review</a> (1820)</i></li><li><i>&nbsp;</i><a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=8FIedJ_PUMoC&amp;pg=PA409&amp;dq=there+is+nothing+new+but+what+has+been+forgotten&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=0ahUKEwj7q83HxefPAhXD7B4KHRa5DvcQ6AEIMDAD#v=onepage&amp;
438q=there%20is%20nothing%20new%20but%20what%20has%20been%20forgotten&amp;f=false"><i>The Quarterly Review, London</i> </a>(1835) </li> 439<li><a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=3g2BCgAAQBAJ&amp;pg=PA186&amp;dq=there+is+nothing+new+but+what+is++forgotten&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=0ahUKEwjdgv_FxufPAhVDyj4KHX5GA4QQ6AEIIjAB#v=onepage&amp;q=there%20is%20nothing%20new%20but%20what%20is%20%20forgotten&amp;f=false"><i>The Multicultural Dictionary of Proverbs </i></a><i><a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=3g2BCgAAQBAJ&amp;pg=PA186&amp;dq=there+is+nothing+new+but+what+is++forgotten&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=0ahUKEwjdgv_FxufPAhVDyj4KHX5GA4QQ6AEIIjAB#v=onepage&amp;q=there%20is%20nothing%20new%20but%20what%20is%20%20forgotten&amp;f=false">(Harold V. Cordry)</a>&nbsp; (1997)</i></li><li><i><a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=7UY7AQAAMAAJ&amp;pg=PA498#v=onepage&amp;q&amp;f=false">The Edinburgh Review </a>(1820)</i></li><li><i><a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=NQ0oAAAAYAAJ&amp;newbks=1&amp;newbks_redir=0&amp;dq=there%20is%20nothing%20new%20except%20what%20has%20been%20forgotten&amp;pg=PA381#v=onepage&amp;q=there%20is%20nothing%20new%20except%20what%20has%20been%20forgotten&amp;f=false">A Polyglot of Foreign Proverbs</a> (1889)<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>&nbsp;</i></span></span></i></li><li><i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/Conklin_s_who_Said_That/7z9JAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&amp;gbpv=1&amp;dq=revue+retrospective+Il+n%27y+a+de+nouveau+que+ce+qui+a+vieilli&amp;pg=PA143&amp;printsec=frontcover">Conklin's Who Said That? Being the Sources of Famous Sayings </a>(1906)</i></span></span></i></li><li><i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=o75IAQAAMAAJ&amp;pg=PA109&amp;dq=Chaucer%27s+Knight%27s+Tale+nothing+new+under+the+sun&amp;hl=en&amp;newbks=1&amp;newbks_redir=0&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=2ahUKEwik6e6v8dHwAhXWK80KHetjD6oQ6AEwCXoECAQQAg#v=onepage&amp;q=Chaucer's%20Knight's%20Tale%20nothing%20new%20under%20the%20sun&amp;f=false">Famous Sayings and their Authors </a>(1906)</i></span></span></i></li><li><i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=hsY-AQAAMAAJ&amp;newbks=1&amp;newbks_redir=0&amp;dq=there%20is%20nothing%20new%20except%20what%20has%20been%20forgotten%20rose%20bertin&amp;pg=PA143#v=onepage&amp;q=there%20is%20nothing%20new%20except%20what%20has%20been%20forgotten%20rose%20bertin&amp;f=false">Rose Bertin: The Creator of Fashion at the Court of Marie Antoinette</a> (1913)<br /></i></span></span></i></li> 440</ul> 441<br /> 442<br /></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.invitinghistory.com/feeds/4187956364252208099/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.invitinghistory.com/2018/06/and-marie-antoinette-said-there-is.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/1655932075959811304/posts/default/4187956364252208099'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/1655932075959811304/posts/default/4187956364252208099'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://www.invitinghistory.com/2018/06/and-marie-antoinette-said-there-is.html' title='And Marie Antoinette Said: "There is nothing new except what has been forgotten."'/><author><name>Unknown</name><email>[email protected]</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author>
442<media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbTWxTAUF8v4PxOnEwbhSRxMKL_xKYmGmuBJx9Ipbb4DQ1sRHtFV6XRPxHz1_xafQZIEO2MArDG8qnJSl6uB0N30yGtMVo8wzH61qJwShEHo6bdMxPTpQdR5-Bwn8MzEE3erf7CHe-js-Q/s72-c/ec323e03016d17cc563f71c9a2629e41.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655932075959811304.post-6240908403892103104</id><published>2021-05-13T16:34:00.001-04:00</published><updated>2021-05-13T16:34:49.233-04:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="book"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="non-fiction"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="review"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="the holocaust"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="wwII"/><title type='text'>Book Review: The Ravine: A Family, a Photograph, a Holocaust Massacre Revealed by Wendy Lower</title><content type='html'><p>&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQS7no0rkRP3CUwjNbePlUE5ORBsWkwdz6yLl1GH8aJKgPasY8bGZDyN4pmeliDihnbbB__xF_hp57W5_jxft7H6klJxrOuq7OA6G0jDPZg2ucKQT9LlYnSfe_2LxFvizo3OWwZ-jL6gs/s2048/48931090.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1356" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQS7no0rkRP3CUwjNbePlUE5ORBsWkwdz6yLl1GH8aJKgPasY8bGZDyN4pmeliDihnbbB__xF_hp57W5_jxft7H6klJxrOuq7OA6G0jDPZg2ucKQT9LlYnSfe_2LxFvizo3OWwZ-jL6gs/w424-h640/48931090.jpg" width="424" /></a></div><p></p><p> 443 444 <span class="readable reviewText"> 445 446 447 448 <span id="freeTextreview3992405670"><i>"Atrocity images, 449especially the rare ones that attest to acts of genocide, the crime of 450all crimes, offend and shame us. When we turn away from them, we promote 451 ignorance. when we display them in museums without captions and 452download them from the internet without historical context, we denigrate 453 the victims. And when we stop researching them, we cease to care about 454historical justice, the threat of genocide, and the murdered missing."</i></span></span></p><p><span class="readable reviewText"><span id="freeTextreview3992405670"><span class="readable reviewText"><span id="freeTextreview3992405670">--Wendy Lower, <b><i>'The Ravine: A Family, a Photograph, a Holocaust Massacre Revealed'</i></b></span></span></span><span id="freeTextreview3992405670"><span class="readable reviewText"><span id="freeTextreview3992405670"></span></span></span><span id="freeTextreview3992405670"><span class="readable reviewText"><span id="freeTextreview3992405670">&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></p><p><span class="readable reviewText"><span id="freeTextreview3992405670"><span class="readable reviewText"><span id="freeTextreview3992405670"></span></span></span><span id="freeTextreview3992405670"><span class="readable reviewText"><span id="freeTextreview3992405670"><b><i>The Ravine: A Family, a Photograph, a Holocaust Massacre Revealed</i></b>&nbsp; is the result of years-long research that took scholar Wendy Lower across numerous countries, into archives, into trail-laden forests and even into the homes of witnesses in the hopes of finding the identities of people in an old photograph.<br /><br />The photograph in question: A black and white photograph of a woman and child being shot by men in WWII-era German and Ukrainian uniforms. At first glance, the photograph shows a woman falling forward, in the process of dying from a gunshot wound, as her hand grips a barefoot child next to her. After Wendy Lower's research, we know more: there was another child being held in the woman's lap, their only traces to us being the hint of their shins as they fell from the dying woman's embrace.<br /><br />For almost ten years, Wendy Lower worked to undercover the truth behind the photograph. In an attempt to find some justice for the murdered, her goal was to i
454dentify the victims and if possible, identify their murderers. Her work took her to the United States, Slovakia, Isreal, Germany and the Ukraine. She went into archives, into the former forests that had once been killing sites, into the homes of those who witnessed--or whose parents, or grandparents witnessed--the murders of the Jewish people who once lived in Miropol. <br /><br />The end result of Lower's research is a testament to the importance of researching the stories of Holocaust victims, of not simply consuming their misery and moving on, but striving to give the voiceless murdered back the dignity that was taken from them.<br /></span></span></span></span></p><p><span class="readable reviewText"><span id="freeTextreview3992405670"><span class="readable reviewText"><span id="freeTextreview3992405670">Despite Lower's exhaustive efforts, she was ultimately unable to confirm the identity of the woman or children murdered in the photograph. But her work was not in vain. We know what happened to the Jewish people of Miropol; we know about the rough timeline of the "actions" that took place there, with the assistance and collaboration of local Ukrainians. We know what happened to some of the murderers who participated in the slaughter of innocent men, women and children. We know what happened to some of the witnesses, those who were ordered to dig graves and those who watched--willingly or otherwise--as their neighbors were killed. We know what happened to the photographer, an anti-Nazi activist who worked with his wife in coded letters to ensure that his photographs of the massacres were preserved. We may not know all, but there is some light shone into the darkness of the more than 500,000 Ukrainian-Jewish Holocaust victims whose identities still remain unknown.<br /><br />Lower's writing is refreshingly open, laying out the details she has gleamed from years of research without veering into unnecessary imagination. Lower does not ask us to imagine what it felt like to be the woman standing at the edge of a pit, she does not ask us to imagine the blueness of the sky or crispness of the air around them; she does not ask us to imagine what must have been going through the minds of those murdering people or the minds of those who attacked and raped their Jewish neighbors before they were sent off to be killed and dumped into pits. <br /></span></span></span></span></p><p><span class="readable reviewText"><span id="freeTextreview3992405670"><span class="readable reviewText"><span id="freeTextreview3992405670"></span></span></span><span id="freeTextreview3992405670"><span class="readable reviewText"><span id="freeTextreview3992405670">Perhaps some readers might find Lower's writing unemotional due to its lack of emotional adjectives, but my opinion on this point can be&nbsp; expressed with a quote by David Aaronovitch in his review of <b><i>The Ravine </i></b>in The Times (UK): <i>"Her writing is spare, with no adjectival intrusion. I welcome it. I donât need to be told that shooting a woman and children beside a pit is brutal."</i><br /></span></span></span></span></p><p><span class="readable reviewText"><span id="freeTextreview3992405670"><span class="readable reviewText"><span id="freeTextreview3992405670"></span></span></span></span></p><p><span class="readable reviewText"><span id="freeTextreview3992405670"><span class="readable reviewText"><span id="freeTextreview3992405670">Lower focuses her research lens both small and wide, allowing viewers to learn both the micro and macro history related to the photo. Lower blows up details of the photo and analyzes each section concisely (Are there any additional witnesses hidden in the trees? What does the output of light from the sky tell us about the season, the time of day, the camera lens itself? What about the type of clothing being worn by the victims and their murderers?); she also examines the wider context of the photo. What was going on in Miropol before the photo was taken? What do witnesses say happened prior to the marching of the Jewish people of Miropol into the forests, from which only one survivor--a teenage girl, who crawled out of the moving pit of dead and dying people and took refuge nearby--was ever to return?&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></p><p><span class="readable reviewText"><span id="freeTextreview3992405670"><span class="readable reviewText"><span id="freeTextreview3992405670"><b><i>The Ravine</i></b> is not an easy read. But it is a necessary one.<br /><br />The haunting echo of the "missing missing," those lives whose identities and ultimate fate were lost when entire families, entire streets, entire towns were wiped out, continues.&nbsp;</span></span> </span></span><br /></p><p></p></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.invitinghistory.com/feeds/6240908403892103104/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.invitinghistory.com/2021/05/book-review-ravine-family-photograph.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/1655932075959811304/posts/default/6240908403892103104'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/1655932075959811304/posts/default/6240908403892103104'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://www.invitinghistory.com/2021/05/book-review-ravine-family-photograph.html' title='Book Review: The Ravine: A Family, a Photograph, a Holocaust Massacre Revealed by Wendy Lower'/><author><name>Anna Gibson</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/05396224945159965618</uri><email>[email protected]</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author>
454<media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQS7no0rkRP3CUwjNbePlUE5ORBsWkwdz6yLl1GH8aJKgPasY8bGZDyN4pmeliDihnbbB__xF_hp57W5_jxft7H6klJxrOuq7OA6G0jDPZg2ucKQT9LlYnSfe_2LxFvizo3OWwZ-jL6gs/s72-w424-h640-c/48931090.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655932075959811304.post-4710008393858110780</id><published>2021-05-07T17:05:00.006-04:00</published><updated>2021-06-05T16:29:08.801-04:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="18th century"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="analysis"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="french history"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="marie antoinette"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="mops"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="myths"/><title type='text'>The Myth of Mops: Marie Antoinette, Mistranslations and the Pug Who Wasn't There</title><content type='html'><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>The Myth of Mops: Marie Antoinette, Mistranslations and the Pug Who Wasn't There</b></span><br /></div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBg_Mt4wBZUDwNsxRJcFIr73W0lCNVfhfVNcStxLbKmSAVLY3_P8sFsWfLx1CzAmpBnjCzOuq2oFPsaTHrgHjJKJI2UY5iB-UlH2BNZTvOOeF5bpczLKiWBGZkZJS7YnnahKWmJGsYMvo/w400-h400/mink-mingle-UAsFSsMDpa0-unsplash.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">image: A photo of a modern pug by <a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/UAsFSsMDpa0">Mark Mingle</a><a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/UAsFSsMDpa0">.</a></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b> âYou can have as many French dogs as you like.â</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>--Sofia Coppola's 'Marie Antoinette'</i><br /></span></div><br />Mops. Anyone who has read a book about Marie Antoinette, fictional or otherwise, since the turn of the 21st century will likely recognize the name; or at least, they might recall the image of a round, adorable pug being ripped out of a teenage Marie Antoinetteâs arms as she was ceremoniously handed over to the French. <br /><br />Nothing of Austrian heritage, it was said, could remain as the Austrian Maria Antonia was transformed into the French Marie Antoinette; not her dress, not her undergarments, not even a little lap dog who whined as he was separated from his beloved, equally whimpering owner. However, all was not lost: thanks to some political maneuvering on the part of the comte de Mercy-Argenteau, Austrian ambassador to France, Mops was later fetched back from Austria and reunited with Marie Antoinette, now living in the lap of luxury as the dauphine of France.<br /><br />The story was immortalized in Sofia Coppolaâs <i>âMarie Antoinetteâ</i>; Mops was even used as inspiration for Lynn Cullen's delightful illustrated childrenâs book, published in 2006 as <i>âMoi and Marie Antoinette.'</i> Mopsâ tale is often mentioned in newer historical fiction revolving around Marie Antoinette, and itâs not uncommon to find mention of his brief separation from Marie Antoinette in various non-fiction books about dogs, history--or both. <br /><br />Thereâs only one problem: Mops didnât exist.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><p><span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Digging up Bones: The Truth about âMopsâ&nbsp;</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b></b></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbzvrxjvH7UnYQmN46BXa-AE5MZJ5ZOYmdhgtEDW0MOjJZ1ZdLoOVY99sONy-WXlj7eBfBM2f0Co4ABmkOLmlqpWRBKJX-ij1tT_d3sCBls9Y-m_ylCSs0Qmw9D2XdgkTrIgCZk1IdTWI/s534/Marie-Antoinette-0048.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="534" data-original-width="534" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbzvrxjvH7UnYQmN46BXa-AE5MZJ5ZOYmdhgtEDW0MOjJZ1ZdLoOVY99sONy-WXlj7eBfBM2f0Co4ABmkOLmlqpWRBKJX-ij1tT_d3sCBls9Y-m_ylCSs0Qmw9D2XdgkTrIgCZk1IdTWI/w400-h400/Marie-Antoinette-0048.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">image: a screenshot of 'Mops' from Sofia Coppola's<i> Marie Antoinette<br /></i></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><b>&nbsp;</b></span><p></p><div style="text-align: left;">The story of Marie Antoinetteâs official handover ceremony extending to her little Austrian dog can hardly be considered historically important or even dramatic, particularly in context of the events in Marie Antoinetteâs later years. <br /><br />Yet, like the early diplomatic crisis caused by a teenage Marie Antoinetteâs refusal to wear the stiff formal corsets required at Versailles, thereâs something compelling about the micro-drama story of a beloved pug being tossed aside (and later, regained) for stuffy political reasons.<br /><br />But--it is just that: a story. Mops, as he has been portrayed in Sofia Coppolaâs candy-coated film and described
454in Fraserâs biography, simply didnât exist. <br /><br />So where did the story come from? What is the truth behind Mops? To find out, we need to dig deeper into the biography which cemented the tale of Mops and Marie Antoinette in popular culture. <br /><br />The most well-known source for the Mops legend is Antonia Frasierâs 2001 biography, <i>Marie Antoinette: The Journey</i>. Fraserâs biography is the earliest biography which specifically refers to Marie Antoinette having a dog named Mops who was taken away from her during the <i>remise </i>handover<i> </i>ceremony and later returned thanks to the work of the comte de Mercy-Argenteau. <br /><br />Fraser writes: <br /><br /><div style="margin-left: 40px;">Immediately after the handover, Marie Antoinette would say goodbye to her Austrian attendants, none of whom, except Prince Starhemberg, were to travel on to Versailles. Her farewells were punctuated with tears, protestations of affection and messages to her family and friends at home. Even her beloved pug Mops was not allowed to accompany her into France. This might seem hard, except that once the ritual ceremony of de-Austrification was over, Count Mercy d'Argenteau, the Austrian ambassador, found himself negotiating for the arrival of the pug from Vienna. With others, all equally ill trained and 'dirty' Mops was soon distracting the Dauphine from life's serious purposes--at least in Mercy's opinion. (1) <br /></div><br />Fraser cites this paragraph with<i> âMarie-Antoinette: Correspondance secrète entre Marie Thérèse et le Comte de Mercy-Argenteau,</i>â page 50. This was a three-volume collection of letters that began to be published in 1874, although it should be noted that this collection is considered incomplete as the authors excised certain content related to the dauphin and dauphineâs sex life. However, the letter pertaining to Mops is there in full in the first volume.<br /><br />The letter in question was written in September, 1770. Here is the relevant section, with my bolding for emphasis:<br /><br /><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><i>Le 23, Mme l'archiduchesse, après avoir rempli les occupations ordinaires de la matinée et de l'après-midi, nommément la lecture qui a lieu depuis trois heures jusqu'à quatre, alla à la promenade en voiture. L<b>e soir, S. A. R. me dit qu'elle voudrait faire venir de Vienne un chien Mops*</b>; je répondis que la voie des courriers en fournissait un moyen. Mme la dauphine aime beaucoup les chiens ; elle en a deux qui malheureusemont sont fort malpropres, et pour peu que le nombre en soit augmenté, cet amusement, très-innocent d'ailleurs, ne serait pas tout à fait sans inconvénients. (2)</i><br /></div> <br /><br /><div style="margin-left: 40px;">On the 23rd, the archduchess, after having fulfilled the ordinarily occupations of the morning and afternoon, namely reading which takes place from 3 o'clock until 4, went for a drive. <b>In the evening. [the archduchess] told me that she would like to bring a Mops dog from Vienna</b>. I replied that the courier route provided a means. The dauphine is very fond of dogs; she has two which, unfortunately, are very unclean, and if the number is increased, this amusement, very innocent indeed, would not be entirely without drawbacks.<br /></div><br /> Note the wording Mercy uses--<b><i>a</i></b> Mops dog, not Mops, a specific dog. The word âMopsâ is footnoted in this volume by the authors with a crucial and unmistakable explanation:<br /><br /><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><i>Le mot Mops désigne en allemand une race de chiens maintenant assez rare, de couleur jaune fade, avec un museau noir et retroussé. On dit encore aujourd'hui d'une personne au nez camus Mopsig ou Mopsnase. Au dernier siècle cette race de chiens était fort recherchée pour les salons : pas de grande dame qui n'eût son Mops. Cet usage est attesté par les tableaux du temps.</i><br /></div><br /><div style="margin-left: 40px;">The word Mops designates in German a breed of dogs now quite rare, of a bland yellow color, with a black and upturned muzzle. It is still said today of a puff-nosed person 'Mopsig or Mopsnase.' In the last century this breed of dogs was in great demand for salons; no great lady who did not have her Mops. This use is attested by the paintings of the time.<br /></div><br />Furthermore, the third volume of the book includes this reference, reaffirming the footnote explanation:<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj660lMdkPeiBgEubsevbEU2faoj8Y9Yv6SbqnLO8UUYJk51ObysUR7BW8qtXar0aQcSb4i4x4ypD
454RS6q9rlkN9js2HCpuEvem7T5V5O115mxTuCmhdgiIkEgmEtB8VpQKzmr2aAs2Dzu8/s16000/mops3.png" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Mops, race (breed) of dog.<br /></i></div><br />There is nothing in the source Fraser cites for her version of events to suggest that one, Mops was a specific dog, and not a dog breed and two, that Mops was a specific dog that was taken away from her during the handover ceremony and later returned due to diplomatic maneuvering. The source only indicates that Marie Antoinette asked for a Mops dog from Vienna; and that as she already had two unkempt dogs, Mercy believed that this amusement might soon have drawbacks.<br /><br />From Mercy's correspondence, we can conclude that Marie Antoinette requested a Mops dog from Vienna; we do not know exactly when the dog arrived, the dog's name or any information other than Marie Antoinette wanted to add a Mops dog to her growing group of pets. As the book notes, this particular type of dog was exceptionally popular in the 18th century. A young Madame Elisabeth was depicted in a portrait holding a little dog which certainly fits the later 19th century description of the breed.<br /><br /><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs_3hKKWC1db-Gj9CtpArYffzqg-X_r8D7PGoMt28L4vkiqHig4iiH9Ckpbsc-HTeBjDnyyZrPemgvGOjBUuMPTbujQfUEbM3t0OjvLwAs32DGdT6iDBa6C4iW9iEAPRFegqc6vPIDeZE/s640/Joseph_Ducreux%252C_Madame_%25C3%2589lisabeth_%25281768%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs_3hKKWC1db-Gj9CtpArYffzqg-X_r8D7PGoMt28L4vkiqHig4iiH9Ckpbsc-HTeBjDnyyZrPemgvGOjBUuMPTbujQfUEbM3t0OjvLwAs32DGdT6iDBa6C4iW9iEAPRFegqc6vPIDeZE/s16000/Joseph_Ducreux%252C_Madame_%25C3%2589lisabeth_%25281768%2529.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> image: A portrait of Ãlisabeth de France Joseph Ducreaux, 1768.</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Where Did "Mops" Come From?<br /></b></span></div><br /> If evidence for Mops the specific dog cannot be found in the correspondence cited by Antonia Fraser, then where did the story of Mops come from? To answer this, we'll need to look at later historical accounts and contemporary accounts of the handover. <br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Historical Accounts of Mops</b></span><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">First, let's look at later historical accounts as they pertain to Mops. Are there any book sources prior to Antonia Fraser which describe Mops as a specific dog? Yes, technically; but not to any solid extent, and none of the sources reflect Fraserâs version of events where Mops was taken from her due to his Austrian heritage and then sent back to Versailles later on.<br /></div><br /></div>Still, we'll need to take a closer look at these other âMopsâ inclusions in order to gain a better understanding of how this version of events came to be.<br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /> The earliest text I've found which refers to Mops as a specific dog is a narrative non-fiction book published in 1933 by Pierre Nezelof, titled <i>Le Vie Joyeuse et Tragique de Marie Antoinette.</i> This book was later translated into English as<i> 'The Merry Queen.'</i><br /><br /><i>Le Vie Joyeuse et Tragique</i> de Marie Antoinette offers a brief and vague reference to Mops as the dog'
454s given name, but there is no indication that the dog is of any particular importance nor that he was taken from her and fetched from Vienna. The handover ceremony, as described by Nezelof, does not mention a dog being taken away nor is Mops referenced outside of this singular instance in the book.<br /><br /><div style="margin-left: 40px;">The priest entered, carrying a book under his arm. The little yellow dog with a black muzzle and curls up rushed in front of the visitor and frolicked around him, barking:<br /><br />Peace! Mops! cried Marie-Antoinette. Monsieur abbe, excuse him, but he is like me, very happy to see you ... precisely, as you arrived, I was writing to my mother. (3)<br /></div><br />Another potential source for the Mops mix-up is <i>âMarie Antoinette: l'impossible bonheur'</i> by Philippe Huisman and Marguerite Jallut, published in 1970 and later translated into English as <i>Marie Antoinette: A Studio Book.</i><br /><br />In the original French edition of this book, an engraving of a Mops dog is accompanied by the caption: <br /><br /><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><i>Durant les premiere mois de sa nouvelle vie en France, la jeuene Dauphine est souvent triste; elle se distrait alors avec son chien mops, qui est une sorte de boxer nain. (4)</i><br /></div><div style="margin-left: 40px;">&nbsp;</div><div style="margin-left: 40px;">During the first months of her new life in France, the young Dauphine is often sad; she then distracts herself with her mops dog, who is a kind of dwarf boxer.<br /></div>&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;">In the original French edition, Mops is not capitalized. But when the book was officially translated into English, the caption was translated to make Mops the dog's given name, rather than breed.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfSSk7ZBFzhVTSkjd5sIOtWadBSswzOREuO4-zEvP1D6Vywtmocoxu7omQUa7g4OL_eyEkfpYCI1GXG1Bl3YX7lDFN7aAmfu5qGQIUJNPio4P79OAkiOHizgT-5sLyb_Gikt0qaJi-3-I/s620/Screenshot_2021-05-02+Marie+Antoinette+Huisman%252C+Philippe+Free+Download%252C+Borrow%252C+and+Streaming+Internet+Archive.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfSSk7ZBFzhVTSkjd5sIOtWadBSswzOREuO4-zEvP1D6Vywtmocoxu7omQUa7g4OL_eyEkfpYCI1GXG1Bl3YX7lDFN7aAmfu5qGQIUJNPio4P79OAkiOHizgT-5sLyb_Gikt0qaJi-3-I/s320/Screenshot_2021-05-02+Marie+Antoinette+Huisman%252C+Philippe+Free+Download%252C+Borrow%252C+and+Streaming+Internet+Archive.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">image: the translated caption from the English edition of Huisman and Jallut's '<i>Marie Antoinette'</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />The caption in the official English translation of the book: <br /><br /><div style="margin-left: 40px;">"During the first months in France the dauphine was often depressed; at these times she would amuse herself with her dog Mops, a sort of miniature boxer." <br /></div><br />Due to the fact that this is an apparent translation error, it is not likely that Huisman and Jallut themselves were mixing up Mops the dog breed for Mops the specific dog.<br /><br />Some readers may recognize the engraving used in the Huisman and Jallut book as one that has been spread around online as depicting Mops, Marie Antoinette's beloved dog. Before we dive into that image and the wealth of information it can provide, let's take a quick final look at other instances of "Mops" in non-fiction.<br /><br />Mops is referenced in a variety of books published prior to Antonia Fraser, but it is Mops the dog breed, not Mops the specific dog which they reference. As you can see from this selection of quotes, books published prior to Antonia Fraser'
454s biography do not include the notion of Mops, the specific Austrian dog.<br /><br /><div style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;">Lillian C. Smythe<i>, 'The Guardian of Marie Antoinette, </i>1909: "She asked Mercy one evening to procure her a pug dog from Vienna, "un chien mops, le couleur jaune fade, avec un museau noir, et retrousse,' and he replied that doubtless one could be brought by the courier."<br /><br />Stefan Zweig,<i> Marie Antoinette: The Portrait of an Average Woman, </i>1933: "Her craving for amusement, and for the signs of a little tender affection, had curious results at time. On one occasion she applied to Mercy begging for him to arrange for a dog to be sent to her from Vienna, "un chien Mops" [a pug]."<br /><br />Bernardine Kielty, <i>Marie Antoinette</i>, 1955: "For lack of other madcaps the Dauphiness played with her "mops." Mops were the fashionable dogs of the day--lap dogs with snub noses..."<br /><br />Annunziata Asquith, <i>Marie Antoinette</i>, 1976: "Both Vermond and Mercy had been moved by Marie Antoinette's situation, and 'un chien mops,' a pug dog, was sent from Vienna."<br /></div><br />Finally, let's turn to Caroline Weberâs <i>âQueen of Fashion: What Marie Antoinette Wore to the Revolution,â</i> which was published in 2006. Weber repeats Fraserâs recounting of the Mops legend in her description of the handover, noting that during the journey <i>"Marie Antoinette busied herself with the little pug dog, Mops, that lay curled up in her lap"</i> and that during the ceremony "<i>They [Austrian-associated items] had to go, along with their owner's favorite nonsartorial accessory, her beloved, tawny-colored pug. Mops, Marie Antoinette's ladies informed her, would be sent back to Vienna instead of accompanying her hence; his dirty paws could simply not be trusted around a woman who, now more than ever, was going to have to look her best."</i> (5)<br /><br />In her notes for this section, Weber writes that Mops was the name commonly given to this dog, and that though sheâs read in one source that Mops was also used to designate a breed, she was unable to find evidence for this designation. As the section below will show, there is ample evidence that Mops is (and was) a breed name, rather than the name of a specific dog--but first, let's look at the source cited for Mops being the name of the dog.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />Although Weber cites a specific source (Younghusband) for Mops being the name commonly for this dog, as with Fraser's citation of the Mercy-Argenteau letter, the book that she notes as a source for Mops being the name of the dog does not actually support the claim. <br /><br />Here is the quote from Younghusbandâs <i>âMarie Antoinette, Her Early Youth (1770-1774)' </i>which Weber cites as indicating the Mops was given as the name of the dog taken during the handover ceremony:<br /><br /><div style="margin-left: 40px;">Undeterred in the smallest degree by the bad manners of her favorites, their owner airly proposed to Comte de Mercy that he should forthwith procure from Austria two or more of the then fashionable lap-dogs, called "mops," whose snub-noses figure in a large number of portraits of the time. (6)<br /></div><br />As with Fraser, with Weber's book we are left with a colorful description of the beloved Mops being taken away from the young Marie Antoinette--but without any solid evidence behind the story.<br /> <br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Contemporary Accounts<br /></b></span></div><br />We already know that Marie Antoinette desired a Mops dog from Vienna, thanks to the correspondance of the comte de Mercy-Argenteau. But what about other contemporary accounts? Are there any contemporary sources that mention a dog being taken from Marie Antoinette during the handover ceremony? Is it possible that a detail from these accounts was spun out into the Mops story that is now so familiar? <br /><br />In short: no.<br /><br />There are three sources for the events leading from Marie Antoinette's departure from Vienna to the events of the handover ceremony: Joseph Weber, the baroness d'Oberkich, and the <i>Souvenirs sur Marie Antoinette</i>, published by the baron de Lamothe-Langon. These<i> 'Souvenirs'</i> do not have a known author. As Caroline Weber notes, several historians have attributed them to the comtesse d'Adhémar, but others, such as Pierre de Nolhac, believed them to be false memoirs based on a variety of contemporary accounts rather than an account written by one specific person.</div><div style="text-align: left;">&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;">In his account, Weber does not describe the remise ceremony with any significant detail, instead mentioning only the various (often emotional) stops Marie Antoinette made on her way to Compiègne. There is no mention of a dog, Mops or otherwise, in his account of Marie Antoinette'
454s journey from Vienna to Versailles.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxUmHN_dHbgWwqn2069A_sybgOoYRs8RPFSxNJ8S5kVPV3gpLejb0bo2vk4YbYnUKvMjj3L3K0LytPmJPmXa9p6KKq5dsWLOwSdkj0f4l9Rt_o5HPP9cHlCmwU6xPvFQhdZYJ1oKuM7F8/s1306/Remini20210507145642527.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxUmHN_dHbgWwqn2069A_sybgOoYRs8RPFSxNJ8S5kVPV3gpLejb0bo2vk4YbYnUKvMjj3L3K0LytPmJPmXa9p6KKq5dsWLOwSdkj0f4l9Rt_o5HPP9cHlCmwU6xPvFQhdZYJ1oKuM7F8/w309-h400/Remini20210507145642527.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">image: a portrait of the baroness d'Oberkirch by an unknown artist, 18th century.</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The baronness d'Oberkirch, whose memoirs were published by her grandson in the 19th century but were said to have been finished in 1798, wrote a firsthand account of the handover ceremony. She did not describe any dog, but she did note Marie Antoinette's emotion at being separated from the members of her Austrian household:<br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><div style="margin-left: 40px;">The people of her household were taken from her, as is customary; she wept a lot, and loaded them with an infinity of things for the Empress, for the Archduchesses, her sisters, and for her friends in Vienna. We dressed him in the French style of the superb finery sent from Paris, she seemed a thousand times more charming. (7)<br /></div><br /><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAqSfBy1yWI_2PDG_FJtumgOCxB1spZSYXFyIiztSjHePj272uLLX-RgUWRdUkVGocX2pDm2BpDEWzsYUgvl8hPUFY2c4bxAlc1aMZXWk7L35lD55HgR1zqB7qeEV2VZs2o-yRb9TOcXA/s540/marie+antoinette_0358.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAqSfBy1yWI_2PDG_FJtumgOCxB1spZSYXFyIiztSjHePj272uLLX-RgUWRdUkVGocX2pDm2BpDEWzsYUgvl8hPUFY2c4bxAlc1aMZXWk7L35lD55HgR1zqB7qeEV2VZs2o-yRb9TOcXA/s16000/marie+antoinette_0358.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">image: a screenshot from Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette showcasing a very unmused comtesse de Noailles</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;">&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;">Finally, we have the '<i>Souvenirs</i>.' An interesting note: It is the '<i>Souvenirs</i>' which gave us the image of Marie Antoinette throwing herself weeping in the arms of a much-disturbed comtesse de Noailles, who was horrified at the unusual breech of ceremony and etiquette.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;">&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;">The <i>Souvenirs</i>, like Oberkirch, describes the emotion of the handover: </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><div style="margin-left: 40px;">This princess, accompanied by her grandmistress, and all those whom her august mother had appointed, had to overcome a strong emotion at the moment when, for ever, she separated from her family and her compatriots. She entrusted her destiny to strangers among whom she would have to seek her friends and enemies; also, a tinge of sadness pierced through her lovely smile. (8)<br /></div><br />Whether the <i>Souveniers</i> were written by the comtesse d'Adhémar or not, there is no mention of a dog, Mops or otherwise, being taken from Marie Antoinette during the ceremony.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">What Was a "Mops," Anyway?<br /></span></b></div><br /> <br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCrZtOkoKfJMuBflh_IcNaIK2BDQHjPKx_RhylC7dyt3-mtlkbKfpAZMELM53BH4vQLRLhklwMpG-DEM7eELX7hqwDyD7oLf4zws1I4LPj3j9sg9Umj82A9OerOu4Jhiw7AnbuxVBZNds/s578/image.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCrZtOkoKfJMuBflh_IcNaIK2BDQHjPKx_RhylC7dyt3-mtlkbKfpAZMELM53BH4vQLRLhklwMpG-DEM7eELX7hqwDyD7oLf4zws1I4LPj3j9sg9Umj82A9OerOu4Jhiw7AnbuxVBZNds/s16000/image.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An engraving of 'Le Doguin' from Leclerc's Histoire Naturelle, 1755.</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Remember the engraving in the Huisman and Jallut book? It's time to finally return to this engraving--and in the process, cement the fact that Mops was a breed, not a specific dog. We will also take a closer look at what a "Mops" dog was as well. <br /><br />First, a clarification on the identity of this engraving: this engraving does not depict any dog owned by Marie Antoinette. It is an engraving first printed in 1755 in an extensive natural history book series, <i>Histoire Naturelle</i>, and was not depicting anyone's specific dog. This engraving was uploaded online and given the misattribution of being "Mops," likely due to the English translation in Huisman and Jallut's book. I am among those who believed this mistaken attribution before my research and like many images that get passed around online, the description seems to have unfortunately stuck.<br /><br />But you have likely noticed something unusual in the engraving: why is it labeled <i>Le Doguin</i>, and not Mops? Does this mean they were different breeds, and the dog in the image is not a Mops at all? No. In this case, it all c
454omes down to language. <br />&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;">In 1755, George Louis Leclerc, the comte de Buffon, published a 5th volume of his immensely popular <i>Histoire Naturelle </i>series. This volume contained a wealth of information about dog breeds in addition to over 50 engravings, including Le Doguin above. <i>Histoire Naturelle</i> describes the breed thusly:<br /><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir8RQiyRaGWrP_m7KkoWvxczQCWCj3NHOs1Ysxnth4-9qVUQRNMXkEn3Xywv1Y70Y8l66iUwVQ_3qrXmABJbdrFG66FjBWj5zN914vWJ8xI-p7K3BtSeZFpnwmGKF1Gy60v72ZwGwe75g/s856/Screenshot_2021-05-07+HISTOIRE+NATURELLE%252C+G%25C3%2589N%25C3%2589RALE+ET+PARTICULI%25C3%2589RE%25281%2529.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir8RQiyRaGWrP_m7KkoWvxczQCWCj3NHOs1Ysxnth4-9qVUQRNMXkEn3Xywv1Y70Y8l66iUwVQ_3qrXmABJbdrFG66FjBWj5zN914vWJ8xI-p7K3BtSeZFpnwmGKF1Gy60v72ZwGwe75g/w640-h310/Screenshot_2021-05-07+HISTOIRE+NATURELLE%252C+G%25C3%2589N%25C3%2589RALE+ET+PARTICULI%25C3%2589RE%25281%2529.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A screenshot of a paragraph from Histoire Naturelle. Translation below.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Translated:&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;">&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="margin-left: 40px;">Dogs of this breed are also known as Mastiffs, German Mastiffs &amp; Mopses; they differ from the real mastiff only in that they are shorter, that they are smaller, the lips thinner &amp; shorter, and the muzzle narrower &amp; less curled up: besides, they look a lot like him, as much for the figure of the body, as for the length &amp; the color of hair; also these dogs come from mastiffs, of which they degenerate by mixtures in the mating. <br /></div><br />Mops, or Mopses, was used interchangeably by Leclerc with "Doguin," along with a handful of other names. This does make it a bit difficult to pin down any sort of exact breed for a Mops dog.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;">However, English to German dictionaries, translated French natural histories, and similar texts all connect Mops and its various names to the English word "pug." Today, "Mops" is still the German word for the English "pug." This connection (Mops to the English word "pug") is not remotely modern and dates back to at least the 1780s.<br /><br />The 18th-century descriptions of Doguins and Mops dogs line up with their depiction in <a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">various portraits from the 18th-century</a>, though it should be noted that the size of a Mops seems to have varied from a small lap dog to a larger (though certainly not enormous) companion dog.<br /><br />In the 19th century, one early confirmation of the usage of Mops both as the breed and as the word for "pug" in English is the 1809 <i>German to English Dictionary, New and Complete Dictionary of the German Language for Englishmen; According to the German Dictionary of Mr. J.C. Adelung.</i><br /><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmgOt9D3-bW6dTFA5p7EvmNGuJGeW38go0Vx_AjBL1FZYuTuNMKrPbSfmRMdQtQE6fQYRQL815p4zCOCiSghtu5PiRGxHRwttVCJ3a-W06sJ3TwYabF2ueDNIIMCYVMCuxrqV_qlKbaBU/s606/Screenshot_2021-05-07+H+-+R.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmgOt9D3-bW6dTFA5p7EvmNGuJGeW38go0Vx_AjBL1FZYuTuNMKrPbSfmRMdQtQE6fQYRQL815p4zCOCiSghtu5PiRGxHRwttVCJ3a-W06sJ3TwYabF2ueDNIIMCYVMCuxrqV_qlKbaBU/s16000/Screenshot_2021-05-07+H+-+R.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A screenshot of a paragraph from an 1809 English to German dictionary, describing the translation and definition of Mops.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The usage of "pug" for "Mops" dates even earlier than the 19th century. In 1788, Rabenhorst'
454s Dictionary of the German and English Languages in Two Parts notes that a "Pug" or "Puggy" is a Pug-Dog, a Mops.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIViUvurmb3ZmNi51FpoaVU2uxRm0DQMgX6mCfPu_W-FSALkP6bM8XIF5Jv-aiqv1DoJCPkPMK1gTq5HoG3E4E-_xlYREunJWiXXqZ4Exlhr1TmWeoKu-Cm3NaYcHVwYF2e8446ZESSEI/s604/Screenshot_2021-05-07+A+Compleat+English+Dictionary.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIViUvurmb3ZmNi51FpoaVU2uxRm0DQMgX6mCfPu_W-FSALkP6bM8XIF5Jv-aiqv1DoJCPkPMK1gTq5HoG3E4E-_xlYREunJWiXXqZ4Exlhr1TmWeoKu-Cm3NaYcHVwYF2e8446ZESSEI/s16000/Screenshot_2021-05-07+A+Compleat+English+Dictionary.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">image: A screenshot of a paragraph from Rabenhorst's Dictionary of the German and English Languages in Two Parts, describing the translation for Pug in German.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Conclusion: Farewell, Vienna<br /></b></span></div><br /> <br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSlicSyfewD4Rfp0XkYb9pYhPXAk38liu3mEI-HmZI_9fM2OtB2ePsvrz-QUZ5LluhlMrSMQM2mbIbvFfXnq30Sgokh-aWHDcsThNb-qzXS9QrRN0U9c8eH7lJP6AV4riEYGppT1Fe9B4/s607/%25D0%259B%25D1%2583%25D0%25B8_%25D0%259C%25D0%25B8%25D1%2588%25D0%25B5%25D0%25BB%25D1%258C_%25D0%2592%25D0%25B0%25D0%25BD_%25D0%259B%25D0%25BE%25D0%25BE._%25D0%259F%25D0%25BE%25D1%2580%25D1%2582%25D1%2580%25D0%25B5%25D1%2582_%25D0%25BA%25D0%25BD%25D1%258F%25D0%25B3%25D0%25B8%25D0%25BD%25D0%25B8_%25D0%2595.%25D0%2594.%25D0%2593%25D0%25BE%25D0%25BB%25D0%25B8%25D1%2586%25D1%258B%25D0%25BD%25D0%25BE%25D0%25B9.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSlicSyfewD4Rfp0XkYb9pYhPXAk38liu3mEI-HmZI_9fM2OtB2ePsvrz-QUZ5LluhlMrSMQM2mbIbvFfXnq30Sgokh-aWHDcsThNb-qzXS9QrRN0U9c8eH7lJP6AV4riEYGppT1Fe9B4/w400-h280/%25D0%259B%25D1%2583%25D0%25B8_%25D0%259C%25D0%25B8%25D1%2588%25D0%25B5%25D0%25BB%25D1%258C_%25D0%2592%25D0%25B0%25D0%25BD_%25D0%259B%25D0%25BE%25D0%25BE._%25D0%259F%25D0%25BE%25D1%2580%25D1%2582%25D1%2580%25D0%25B5%25D1%2582_%25D0%25BA%25D0%25BD%25D1%258F%25D0%25B3%25D0%25B8%25D0%25BD%25D0%25B8_%25D0%2595.%25D0%2594.%25D0%2593%25D0%25BE%25D0%25BB%25D0%25B8%25D1%2586%25D1%258B%25D0%25BD%25D0%25BE%25D0%25B9.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Detail from a portrait of Princess Ekaterina Dmitrievna Golitsyna by Louis-Michel van Loo, 1759. </td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Mops, the adorable round pug who was taken from Marie Antoinette because of his Austrian origin, did not exist. There is no contemporary evidence for this story and it is not supported by historical context or documentation.</div><div style="text-align: left;">&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;">Mops instead refers to a breed of dog, known then and today as a pug dog. Marie Antoinette did ask for a Mops dog to be sent from Vienna, but it was not a specific dog that was separated from her during her official handover to the French. Instead, she asked for a particular type of dog, a popular "lap breed" which was a common choice as a companion for many European girls and women. </div><div style="text-align: left;">&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;">Yet the poignancy of Marie Antoinette's request should still be considered. When Marie Antoinette requested a Mops dog, she was still 14 years old, and had only been living at Versailles for several months. The court of Versailles was strict, decadent and filled with stressful pitfalls, particularly for an Austrian-born dauphine. As the correspondence of Mercy-Argenteau and the abbe de Vermond attest, during these early months Marie Antoinette struggled with feelings of loneliness, boredom and sadness at the separation from her family and childhood home.</div><div style="text-align: left;">&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;">These dogs were certainly not scarce in France, as one can see from the abundance of portraits of French women holding them in their laps. The young Marie Antoinette could have easily--to paraphrase the Sofia Coppola film--have had as many French Mops' as she liked, should she desire to add one to her growing retinue of pets. <br /><br />Instead, the homesick Marie Antoinette, struggling with the trauma of being separated from her family and now living in a foreign land, asked
454specifically for a dog from her beloved Vienna.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Marie Antoinette may not have been separated from a little pug during her ritualistic handover to France--but she did seek out a comfort from home in the form of a little lap dog, sent by special courier to her apartments at Versailles.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Notes:</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>&nbsp;</i></div><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><i>Fraser, A. (2002). Marie Antoinette: The Journey. Anchor.</i></li><li><i>&nbsp;(Geffroy, M. A., &amp; Arneth, A. (1874). orrespondance secrète entre Marie-Thérèse et le comtede Mercy-Argenteau, avec les lettres de Marie-Thérèse et de Marie-Antoinette (Vol. 1). Firmin-Didot.</i></li><li><i>&nbsp;Nezelof, P. (2015). La Vie Joyeuse et Tragique de Marie-Antoinette (French Edition). Frédérique Patat.</i></li><li><i>Huisman, P., &amp; Jallut, M. (1970). Marie Antoinette: l'impossible bonheur. Laussane.</i></li><li><i>&nbsp;Weber, C. (2007). Queen of Fashion: What Marie Antoinette Wore to the Revolution (PICADOR) (1st ed.). Picador.</i></li><li><i>Younghusband, H. A. M. (1912). Marie-Antoinette, Her Early Youth (1770â1774). Nabu Press.</i></li><li><i>Oberkirch, H. L. V. W. (1853). Mémoire de la baronne dâOberkirch Volume 1 (French Edition). Charpentier.</i><i>&nbsp;</i></li><li><i>&nbsp;Lamothe-Langon, Ã. L. D. (1836). Souvenirs sur Marie Antoinette, Archiduchesse dâAutriche, Reine de France, Et sur la Cour de Versailles (Classic Reprint) (French Edition). L. Mame.</i></li></ol><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.invitinghistory.com/feeds/4710008393858110780/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.invitinghistory.com/2021/05/the-myth-of-mops-marie-antoinette.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/1655932075959811304/posts/default/4710008393858110780'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/1655932075959811304/posts/default/4710008393858110780'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://www.invitinghistory.com/2021/05/the-myth-of-mops-marie-antoinette.html' title='The Myth of Mops: Marie Antoinette, Mistranslations and the Pug Who Wasn't There'/><author><name>Anna Gibson</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/05396224945159965618</uri><email>[email protected]</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBg_Mt4wBZUDwNsxRJcFIr73W0lCNVfhfVNcStxLbKmSAVLY3_P8sFsWfLx1CzAmpBnjCzOuq2oFPsaTHrgHjJKJI2UY5iB-UlH2BNZTvOOeF5bpczLKiWBGZkZJS7YnnahKWmJGsYMvo/s72-w400-h400-c/mink-mingle-UAsFSsMDpa0-unsplash.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655932075959811304.post-5580437540348312898</id><published>2021-05-07T10:00:00.010-04:00</published><updated>2021-07-23T10:43:46.422-04:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="announcement"/><title type='text'>Reading Treasure is now Inviting History! What's Changing? </title><content type='html'><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrLFSYmcUAv-kmBZijJLy233LSIwFyayWWBO1pRJIgkHXSA19PnwP_Y-Oq-89fKd_zwb2JzNdApCno02yLyrhn_LFu99mr9vrcZ0KQd9o5r1wIwOy2UY175ppha0-KRjmzBesrGYx8dU0/s1920/fleur-de-lys-background-pattern.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1920" data-original-width="1920" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrLFSYmcUAv-kmBZijJLy233LSIwFyayWWBO1pRJIgkHXSA19PnwP_Y-Oq-89fKd_zwb2JzNdApCno02yLyrhn_LFu99mr9vrcZ0KQd9o5r1wIwOy2UY175ppha0-KRjmzBesrGYx8dU0/w400-h400/fleur-de-lys-background-pattern.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>&nbsp;<p></p><p>As you no doubt noticed when the blogspot URL for Reading Treasure redirected you here, there are some big changes! Namely... <b><i>Reading Treasure: A Retreat for Everything Marie Antoinette</i></b> is now <b><i>Inviting History: Marie Antoinette and More. </i></b></p><p><i>Reading Treasure</i> was my first foray into non-microblog style blogging and I couldn't be more excited to expand it into something bigger and hopefully, better. <br /></p><p>I have been debating on a name change for <i>Reading Treasure </i>for years now, namely because that name was created for the very early version of this blog, which was originally meant to only be a longform guide to Marie Antoinette books. The concept for this blog has greatly expanded since I first made it, and the title simply hasn't reflected the nature of the blog for a long time.</p><p>Where did the name <b><i>'Inviting History' </i></b>come from? Several years ago, I started a history book blog called <i>Inviting History, </i>
454which focused on history books related to lesser-known (or at least, not widely publicized) areas and subjects of history. I was unable to keep up with <i>'Inviting History'</i> due to personal reasons, and while I attempted to revive it several times, I realized that it would be much more effective to integrate <i>Inviting History </i>with my expanded vision for a renamed <i>Reading Treasure.</i></p><p>Plus, let's be honest:<i> Inviting History</i> just sounds better, doesn't it?&nbsp;</p><p>Without further delay, let's get into the changes. <br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">What's Changing?</span><br /></b><br />Truthfully... not<i> too</i> much! If you've been a loyal reader of Reading Treasure, don't worry: Marie Antoinette is my primary historical passion and you will still see all the regular posts related to Marie Antoinette and her world. I will not be posting less frequently about Marie Antoinette, and you can expect to see what has been a mainstay of this blog for years: book reviews, thoughts on a variety of Marie Antoinette topics, etc. <br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">Aside from the name and blog URL (which will redirect you from the old Reading Treasure blog posts) you will see the following changes:</p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><b>A new site theme and banner + logo!</b> The gorgeous illustration used in the new site banner and my 'About Me' page is by <a href="https://www.fiverr.com/bogoface/unique-illustrations-for-books">Bogoface</a>, an artist working on Fiverr. (Edit: I have reverted to a simpler site theme while I attempt to work out the bugs in the other one!)<br /></li><li><b>A new contact email!</b> I still have the old contact email and will forward messages to the new one so there is no gap in communication, but if you'd like to contact me in the future, please use the new one.<b>&nbsp;</b></li><li><b>There will be a wider variety of historical topics covered!</b> The main emphasis will still be Marie Antoinette, French Revolution, and 18th-century France--but expect to see other areas of history, such as Titanic, WW2, Tudor, and more.</li><li><b>There will be an emphasis on longer posts and analysis</b>, rather than microblogging images or quotes; these will still be around but with less frequency.&nbsp;</li><li><b>Updates to themed posts that I have neglected</b>, such as the Marie Antoinette 1938 Costume Guide; 'And Marie Antoinette Said,' a series looking at the veracity of various Marie Antoinette quotes; and more.<br /></li><li><b>More book reviews</b>, including book reviews outside the 18th-century France, Marie Antoinette and Versailles sphere previously featured here. I will be bringing over some reviews from the previous incarnation of Inviting History, which was a book review blog.</li><li><b>More pieces from my personal collection</b>; I have been wanting to scan and share pieces from my personal Marie Antoinette and adjacent collection, and what better time to start than with a refresh of this blog?<br /></li></ul><p><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Ironing Out the Issues...</b></span><br /></p><p>&nbsp;While I'm still ironing out the new site, you may notice a few things:</p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>&nbsp;<b>Older posts being revamped.</b> Many of the old posts and reviews on this blog are years old and I would like them to better reflect current information or simply be rewritten for improved clarity and style. </li><li><strike><b>A few website theme hiccups are being still worked out,</b> including additions to the 'categories' bar on the top. You may notice some menu links do not lead anywhere right now--I am still working on creating defined categories for popular types of content, such as book reviews, long-form posts, and so on. There is also an issue with some posts not showing up on the main page but I'm working on getting this bug fixed ASAP.&nbsp; </strike>I have reverted to a different theme while working out the issues with the other one!</li></ul><p></p><br />&nbsp;<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ99sv0uaNk1qkvkETfQrR7fVhEK8eSqU7l9-aMyxRxrztUQnkI6DfRi4qM5m10hP6dJCic3jx1j06rJpMb5MggEwHrNiYRAh_plrMeEMJnn7wBMEuqcmgtt0XqJEsL8vZdHeNvbL4fjU/s1040/header1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="291" data-original-width="1040" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ99sv0uaNk1qkvkETfQrR7fVhEK8eSqU7l9-aMyxRxrztUQnkI6DfRi4qM5m10hP6dJCic3jx1j06rJpMb5MggEwHrNiYRAh_plrMeEMJnn7wBMEuqcmgtt0XqJEsL8vZdHeNvbL4fjU/s16000/header1.jpg" /></a></div><br /></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.invitinghistory.com/feeds/5580437540348312898/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.invitinghistory.com/2021/05/reading-treasure-is-now-inviting.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/1655932075959811304/posts/default/5580437540348312898'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/1655932075959811304/posts/default/5580437540348312898'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://www.invitinghistory.com/2021/05/reading-treasure-is-now-inviting.html' title='Reading Treasure is now Inviting History! What's Changing? '/><author><name>Anna Gibson</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/05396224945159965618</uri><email>[email protected]</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author>
454<media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrLFSYmcUAv-kmBZijJLy233LSIwFyayWWBO1pRJIgkHXSA19PnwP_Y-Oq-89fKd_zwb2JzNdApCno02yLyrhn_LFu99mr9vrcZ0KQd9o5r1wIwOy2UY175ppha0-KRjmzBesrGYx8dU0/s72-w400-h400-c/fleur-de-lys-background-pattern.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655932075959811304.post-4914772193975465785</id><published>2021-04-21T19:41:00.002-04:00</published><updated>2021-05-06T23:28:16.484-04:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="announcement"/><title type='text'>Coming Soon...</title><content type='html'><p>It's been quiet on this end of Reading Treasure since the end of March, but don't worry: activity (and some big changes!) are coming soon. I'm very excited to share a new direction and a lot of new content with you!<br /></p></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.invitinghistory.com/feeds/4914772193975465785/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.invitinghistory.com/2021/04/coming-soon.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/1655932075959811304/posts/default/4914772193975465785'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/1655932075959811304/posts/default/4914772193975465785'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://www.invitinghistory.com/2021/04/coming-soon.html' title='Coming Soon...'/><author><name>Unknown</name><email>[email protected]</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655932075959811304.post-3267589886648786525</id><published>2021-03-31T12:00:00.001-04:00</published><updated>2021-03-31T12:00:06.927-04:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="book quotes"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="women's history month"/><title type='text'>"The action of women in France during the eighteenth century will not soon be forgotten."</title><content type='html'><p><i><b>Women's History Month: </b></i>A month celebrating women of 455history! I will be posting media and book recommendations, highlighting 456women from (mostly) the 18th century, and otherwise sharing content with 457 an emphasis on women in history.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">"For those who know how to look beyond the mere surface of history, the action of women in France during the eighteenth century will not soon be forgotten. She appears in that age--the most remarkable since that of the Reformation--connected with every important question. We behold her giving a stronger impulse to literature, aiding the development of philosophy and thought; and, like many, earnestly seeking, through all the mists and errors of human knowledge, to solve the great social and political problems which still agitate us in our day: the legacy of the past to the future.</span><br /><br />--Julie Kavanagh,<b><i> 'Women in France in the Eighteenth-Century' </i></b><br /></p></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.invitinghistory.com/feeds/3267589886648786525/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.invitinghistory.com/2021/03/the-action-of-women-in-france-during.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/1655932075959811304/posts/default/3267589886648786525'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/1655932075959811304/posts/default/3267589886648786525'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://www.invitinghistory.com/2021/03/the-action-of-women-in-france-during.html' title='"The action of women in France during the eighteenth century will not soon be forgotten."'/><author><name>Unknown</name><email>[email protected]</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655932075959811304.post-2602102500222326936</id><published>2021-03-29T12:00:00.018-04:00</published><updated>2021-03-29T12:00:00.412-04:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="18th century"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="women's history month"/><title type='text'>Dorothea Erxleben (1715-1762): The First Woman to Earn a Medical Doctorate</title><content type='html'><p><i><b>Women's History Month: </b></i>A month celebrating women of 458history! I will be posting media and book recommendations, highlighting 459women from (mostly) the 18th century, and otherwise sharing content with 460 an emphasis on women in history.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglPQLP1r2aAGhNwU0Ael0cBo6EVjgDWrHhb9NY7OJrj4nMUrurXasnFHUVl-38NwQO8PPQ9gUVdEXdR05imbSI4uUAIY3R5enCiIfP3xWyA
460N2-k4N3CLa5jTP8-Lxvhv4WG-Lqj6I7xGoO/s1342/Dorothea_Erxleben.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1342" data-original-width="1003" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglPQLP1r2aAGhNwU0Ael0cBo6EVjgDWrHhb9NY7OJrj4nMUrurXasnFHUVl-38NwQO8PPQ9gUVdEXdR05imbSI4uUAIY3R5enCiIfP3xWyAN2-k4N3CLa5jTP8-Lxvhv4WG-Lqj6I7xGoO/w478-h640/Dorothea_Erxleben.jpg" width="478" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A portrait of Dorothea Erxleben</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: left;">Dorothea Christiane Erxleben born in 1715; several decades later, she would become the first woman known to earn a medical degree and become a practicing licensed physician. Although woman often worked in medical fields as midwives, nurses and unofficial practitioners, women in Europe were not allowed to hold medical degrees or practice as doctors. <br /><br />Dorothea's father, Christian Leporin, was a physician; he taught both his son Christian and his daughter Dorothea medicine in addition to Latin and other scholarly pursuits.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Women were not allowed to become licensed physicians. This did not stop Dorothea from petitioning to study at the University of Halle, where her brother Christian planned to attend. Frederick II approved the petition, and Dorothea was allowed to study.<br /><br />Her acceptance into the university was met with a contrast of support and anger. Johann Rhetius argued that since she could not practice medicine, there was no point to her graduating with a degree she could not use. Dorothea, for her part, gathered her thoughts in notes which would later be published as<i> 'A Thorough Inquiry into the Causes Preventing the Female Sex from Studying'</i>" In this work, Dorothea explored the fact that women were often burdened with children and housework and other gender-based expectations, making it impossible for them to engage in studies. <br /><br />Although she was accepted to Halle in 1742, she was unable to attend the university as planned. She would later write that 'Providence' had other plans fo rher. She married, had several children, and dealt with frequent, ongoing family obligations which made studying at Halle (far away from her hometown) an impossible choice. In addition to her own children, she raised the 5 children of her cousin, Sophie, and tended to her ailing and dying father.</p><p style="text-align: left;">As the years went on, she began to practice medicine in her local town of Quedlinburg, despite her lack of official degree. In some cases, she was treating patients that her father was no longer able to treat due to his illness and, after 1747, his death.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The three doctors in Quendlinburg filed a lawsuit against her, charging her with "medical quackery" under the form of three specific charges: <i>that she allowed herself to be called Frau Doctorin, that she often visited patients, and that she sometimes accepted money for her services. </i>She answered all three charges in a 16 page letter, ending it with the bold defense that she would take her medical examinations, only if her accusers would take them at the same time.<br /><br />The trio of physicians were outraged by her response, and derogatorily called her a "dear lady [who] considers herself a doctor, only by virtue of the fact that she can toss around some broken Latin and French." They even accused her of being a witch, saying she had treated a patient she didn't meet in person.<br /><br />Frederick II intervened in 1754, ordering that Erxleben would need to take her medical examination and submit a dissertation to the University of Halle. Johann Junker, the rector at Halle, was sympathetic to Dorothea and argued that it was an "inexcusable injustice" to exclude women from the medical field or studies.<br /><br />
460Dorothea submitted her dissertation, called <i>'Concerning the Swift and Pleasant but for that Reason less than Full Cure of Illnesses,'</i> in which she argued (among other things) that many illnesses would be better treated with slower interventions and treatments, contrasted to the expectation from both physicians and patients that immediate interventions would be used. She was unanimously approved by the medical board, who noted that she could not have answered better than the most skilled physicians. Her dissertation became so popular that Erxleben had it translated into German and reprinted the following year.</p><p style="text-align: left;">On June 12th, 1754, Erxleben was awarded her medical doctorate. She practiced medicine until her death in 1762. <br /></p></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.invitinghistory.com/feeds/2602102500222326936/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.invitinghistory.com/2021/03/dorothea-erxleben-1715-1762-first-woman.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/1655932075959811304/posts/default/2602102500222326936'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/1655932075959811304/posts/default/2602102500222326936'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://www.invitinghistory.com/2021/03/dorothea-erxleben-1715-1762-first-woman.html' title='Dorothea Erxleben (1715-1762): The First Woman to Earn a Medical Doctorate'/><author><name>Unknown</name><email>[email protected]</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglPQLP1r2aAGhNwU0Ael0cBo6EVjgDWrHhb9NY7OJrj4nMUrurXasnFHUVl-38NwQO8PPQ9gUVdEXdR05imbSI4uUAIY3R5enCiIfP3xWyAN2-k4N3CLa5jTP8-Lxvhv4WG-Lqj6I7xGoO/s72-w478-h640-c/Dorothea_Erxleben.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655932075959811304.post-539048041933787162</id><published>2021-03-25T12:00:00.001-04:00</published><updated>2021-03-25T12:00:02.885-04:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="18th century"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="paintings"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="women artists"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="women's history month"/><title type='text'>Self-portrait by Faronne Marie Madaleine Ollivier (1716-unknown)</title><content type='html'><p><i><b>Women's History Month: </b></i>A month celebrating women of 461history! I will be posting media and book recommendations, highlighting 462women from (mostly) the 18th century, and otherwise sharing content with 463 an emphasis on women in history.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy-1x7LihbYUjCvYfFmpVHJvgl5iwrWafOjuz-BiTMZMGsap41828SmdsrbDVSXKepMsS_oQhlwLXNOiCF62f1oN1VS6TFe3zwhByBhN50PAhxUe3yFAWYeKc6KdpzpVGdQZjy0GuRe_DO/s1050/Faraona_olivieri-autorretrato-acad.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1050" data-original-width="863" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy-1x7LihbYUjCvYfFmpVHJvgl5iwrWafOjuz-BiTMZMGsap41828SmdsrbDVSXKepMsS_oQhlwLXNOiCF62f1oN1VS6TFe3zwhByBhN50PAhxUe3yFAWYeKc6KdpzpVGdQZjy0GuRe_DO/w526-h640/Faraona_olivieri-autorretrato-acad.JPG" width="526" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
463A self-portrait by Faraona Olivieri (1730-unknown death date).<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></p><p style="text-align: left;">Faronne Marie Madaleine Ollivier was born in Paris in 1716 to a French father and mother of unknown name and origin. There is little documentation about Faronne's early life, but it is presumed she studied art. In 1750, she married artist Michel-Barthélémy Ollivier; the couple moved to Spain where both worked as artists. It was not unusual for French artists to take up residency in Spain, Faronne applied to the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando in 1759 and was unaminously accepted; she was the first woman to ever be admitted to the academy and her entry saw a rise in female successful female applicants. Her death date is unknown; however, the last known work she produced is dated to 1759.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The above pastel self-portrait is held in the collection of the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando. <br /></p></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.invitinghistory.com/feeds/539048041933787162/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.invitinghistory.com/2021/03/self-portrait-by-faronne-marie.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/1655932075959811304/posts/default/539048041933787162'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/1655932075959811304/posts/default/539048041933787162'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://www.invitinghistory.com/2021/03/self-portrait-by-faronne-marie.html' title='Self-portrait by Faronne Marie Madaleine Ollivier (1716-unknown)'/><author><name>Unknown</name><email>[email protected]</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy-1x7LihbYUjCvYfFmpVHJvgl5iwrWafOjuz-BiTMZMGsap41828SmdsrbDVSXKepMsS_oQhlwLXNOiCF62f1oN1VS6TFe3zwhByBhN50PAhxUe3yFAWYeKc6KdpzpVGdQZjy0GuRe_DO/s72-w526-h640-c/Faraona_olivieri-autorretrato-acad.JPG" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655932075959811304.post-6178325329203933715</id><published>2021-03-22T12:30:00.002-04:00</published><updated>2021-03-24T14:06:22.164-04:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="18th century"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="18th century music"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="women's history month"/><title type='text'>Concerto per il cembalo; composed by Maria Teresa Agnesi (1720-1795)</title><content type='html'><p><i><b>Women's History Month: </b></i>A month celebrating women of 464history! I will be posting media and book recommendations, highlighting 465women from (mostly) the 18th century, and otherwise sharing content with 466 an emphasis on women in history.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/EWbvFDhZ2xI" width="320" youtube-src-id="EWbvFDhZ2xI"></iframe></div><br /><p style="text-align: left;">Maria Teresa Agnesi Pinottini was an Italian composer and singer born in Milan to Pietro Agnesi. Her sister, known as Maria Gaetana Agnesi, was a noted mathematician and philosopher. Not much is known about Maria Teresa's personal life. In 1752, she married Pier Antonio Pinottini, but he died not very long after their marriage. Maria Teresa was a fairly prolific composer, but most of her compositions were lost to time. Her performances were more often praised outside her home town, with many foreign audiences praising her work; she was even able to count Empress Maria Theresa as one of her patrons.<br /><br />She died in 1795 at age 75. </p><p style="text-align: left;">The above piece, Concerto per il cembalo, is one of her more well-known works.<br /></p></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.invitinghistory.com/feeds/6178325329203933715/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.invitinghistory.com/2021/03/concerto-per-il-cembalo-composed-by.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/1655932075959811304/posts/default/6178325329203933715'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/1655932075959811304/posts/default/6178325329203933715'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://www.invitinghistory.com/2021/03/concerto-per-il-cembalo-composed-by.html' title='Concerto per il cembalo; composed by Maria Teresa Agnesi (1720-1795)'/><author><name>Unknown</name><email>[email protected]</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author>
466<media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/EWbvFDhZ2xI/default.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655932075959811304.post-8570158954801379065</id><published>2021-03-18T12:30:00.003-04:00</published><updated>2021-03-18T12:30:00.255-04:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="18th century"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="poetry"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="women's history month"/><title type='text'>'On An Unsociable Family' by Elizabeth Hands</title><content type='html'><p><i><b>Women's History Month: </b></i>A month celebrating women of 467history! I will be posting media and book recommendations, highlighting 468women from (mostly) the 18th century, and otherwise sharing content with 469 an emphasis on women in history.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf6K-EKLqNHThgtGIzfg2OPSwBLaFps2Q4w6EhMMvlvAjuE7LHgLW-Syp7SJPW0l5zvbcmlqoxSTKcHPupTH6ax8jTdPTcUb5PGHl-6WOBLm7tIvnjRvmzifKCFDrm2l5dffU0_iLgxBXa/s545/ba-obj-407-0004-pub-large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="464" data-original-width="545" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf6K-EKLqNHThgtGIzfg2OPSwBLaFps2Q4w6EhMMvlvAjuE7LHgLW-Syp7SJPW0l5zvbcmlqoxSTKcHPupTH6ax8jTdPTcUb5PGHl-6WOBLm7tIvnjRvmzifKCFDrm2l5dffU0_iLgxBXa/s16000/ba-obj-407-0004-pub-large.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Detail from a portrait of an unidentified family by William Hogarth, 18th century.</td></tr></tbody></table></p><p>Elizabeth Hands was born in 1746 to parents Henry and Ann Herbert, who worked at unknown occupations; she had two siblings, including a sister who died at less than one year of age. Elizabeth, who w
469orked as a domestic servant, married William Hands in 1784; the couple had two children, daughters Elizabeth and Ann. <br /><br />It is unknown exactly when Hands began writing poetry, but the advertisement taken out for a subscription to her works noted that she began reading poetry while working in a variety of households, where she would find and read available literature. Support for Hands' work in the local community was instrumental in the works being published. In 1788, the rector of Birdingbury wrote to Reverend Richard Blisse Riland in an attempt to drum up financial support for the publication of Hands' poetry; and the assistant headmaster at Rugby School, Philip Homer, manage to convince the school's various masters of the poems quality, thereafter the school agreed to put out a subscription notice for her works.&nbsp;</p><p>The collection was published through subscription in 1789 under the title<i> The Death of Amnon: a Poem with an Appendix, Containing Pastorals and Other Poetical Pieces.</i> It achieved at least 1,200 subscribers, which was referred to by a contemporary critic as an 'uncommonly numerous list of subscribers." <br /><br />The poems were generally well reviewed, with the titular poem receiving the most praise.&nbsp;</p><p>I've singled out this particular poem by Hands because of its striking modernity. I imagine that many readers today can identify to some degree with the awkward situation described in the poem. <br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">&nbsp;On an UNSOCIABLE FAMILY.</span></b><i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span style="font-size: large;">by Elizabeth Hands</span></span></span><b><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></b></i><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-size: large;">O What a strange parcel of creatures are we,<br />Scarce ever to quarrel, or ever agree;<br />We all are alone, though at home altogether,<br />Except to the fire constrain'd by the weather;<br />Then one says, 'tis cold, which we all of us know,<br />And with unanimity answer, 'tis so:<br />With shrugs and with shivers all look at the fire,<br />And shuffle ourselves and our chairs a bit nigher;<br />Then quickly, preceded by silence profound,<br />A yawn epidemical catches around:<br />Like social companions we never fall out,<br />Nor ever care what one another's about;<br />To comfort each other is never our plan,<br />For to please ourselves, truly, is more than we can. </span></blockquote><br /><p></p></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.invitinghistory.com/feeds/8570158954801379065/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.invitinghistory.com/2021/03/on-unsociable-family-by-elizabeth-hands.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/1655932075959811304/posts/default/8570158954801379065'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/1655932075959811304/posts/default/8570158954801379065'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://www.invitinghistory.com/2021/03/on-unsociable-family-by-elizabeth-hands.html' title=''On An Unsociable Family' by Elizabeth Hands'/><author><name>Unknown</name><email>[email protected]</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf6K-EKLqNHThgtGIzfg2OPSwBLaFps2Q4w6EhMMvlvAjuE7LHgLW-Syp7SJPW0l5zvbcmlqoxSTKcHPupTH6ax8jTdPTcUb5PGHl-6WOBLm7tIvnjRvmzifKCFDrm2l5dffU0_iLgxBXa/s72-c/ba-obj-407-0004-pub-large.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655932075959811304.post-4480980556078160165</id><published>2021-03-15T12:00:00.001-04:00</published><updated>2021-03-15T12:00:02.731-04:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="18th century"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="paintings"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="self-portraits"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="women artists"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="women's history month"/><title type='text'>Three Self-Portraits by 18th-Century Women Artists</title><content type='html'><p>&nbsp;<i><b>Women's History Month: </b></i>A month celebrating women of 470history! I will be posting media and book recommendations, highlighting 471women from (mostly) the 18th century, and otherwise sharing content with 472 an emphasis on women in history.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Three Self-Portraits by 18th-Century Women Artists</b> </span><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBI7svOz3E2lQt4VdXqWeO6TOXGkYzh2py58fhgC-Ua4DOqwAWZ7ctWwIZL_AXXAPWWvYB5n-pIpTvsX8Vbr2dCKoIlxZKb0GthmIQVMws31LUuwG4z68TZGP_6Eb0OuWJOlA6G_tSSOpH/s767/603px-Ludovike_Simanowiz_-_Selbstbildnis_mit_wehendem_Haar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="767" data-original-width="603" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBI7svOz3E2lQt4VdXqWeO6TOXGkYzh2py58fhgC-Ua4DOqwAWZ7ctWwIZL_AXXAPWWvYB5n-pIpTvsX8Vbr2dCKoIlxZKb0GthmIQVMws31LUuwG4z68TZGP_6Eb0OuWJOlA6G_tSSOpH/w504-h640/603px-Ludovike_Simanowiz_-_Selbstbildnis_mit_wehendem_Haar.jpg" width="504" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="
472_2m1qj"><p>A self-portrait by Ludovike Simanowiz (1759-1827); 1791.</p></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTNAenCZpY2_5mgWnhH8cLsu4Zuv4ZKYD5pN9R6YBxMTqWenAov9JFMgTaJBi7igFmzL8UE3S1t2ViPWh4fxtHoYMJeETWBLEF5lXHGXpKR8meUOHeNxlL8_RfV628FewEbAO_4DpJXtkH/s800/Anna_Bacherini_Piattoli_-_Self-portrait_in_Uffizi_Gallery.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="622" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTNAenCZpY2_5mgWnhH8cLsu4Zuv4ZKYD5pN9R6YBxMTqWenAov9JFMgTaJBi7igFmzL8UE3S1t2ViPWh4fxtHoYMJeETWBLEF5lXHGXpKR8meUOHeNxlL8_RfV628FewEbAO_4DpJXtkH/s16000/Anna_Bacherini_Piattoli_-_Self-portrait_in_Uffizi_Gallery.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="_2m1qj"><p>A self-portrait by Anna Bacherini Piattoli (1720â1788)</p><p>&nbsp;</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAICt6qBI7Mf4Re7k4-wNRJQq30qRqvDTajBUCvXFDK-h5cTW1aEfTx1K6m1n9SIbAnYljN4qVPXRP3-QoA_jayn0MhjNaGwCHl9Jw7SAsc3VMpLOKyQbAHvm3lrw4MJctIHV6X_4lHxip/s900/735px-Caroline_Louise%252C_Margravine_of_Baden_-_Self-Portrait_-_Kunsthalle_Karlsruhe.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="735" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAICt6qBI7Mf4Re7k4-wNRJQq30qRqvDTajBUCvXFDK-h5cTW1aEfTx1K6m1n9SIbAnYljN4qVPXRP3-QoA_jayn0MhjNaGwCHl9Jw7SAsc3VMpLOKyQbAHvm3lrw4MJctIHV6X_4lHxip/w522-h640/735px-Caroline_Louise%252C_Margravine_of_Baden_-_Self-Portrait_-_Kunsthalle_Karlsruhe.png" width="522" /></a></div><p></p>A self-portrait by Caroline Louise of Hesse-Darmstadt, circa 1745.<p><br />&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;</p></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.invitinghistory.com/feeds/4480980556078160165/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.invitinghistory.com/2021/03/three-self-portraits-by-18th-century.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/1655932075959811304/posts/default/4480980556078160165'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/1655932075959811304/posts/default/4480980556078160165'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://www.invitinghistory.com/2021/03/three-self-portraits-by-18th-century.html' title='Three Self-Portraits by 18th-Century Women Artists'/><author><name>Unknown</name><email>[email protected]</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBI7svOz3E2lQt4VdXqWeO6TOXGkYzh2py58fhgC-Ua4DOqwAWZ7ctWwIZL_AXXAPWWvYB5n-pIpTvsX8Vbr2dCKoIlxZKb0GthmIQVMws31LUuwG4z68TZGP_6Eb0OuWJOlA6G_tSSOpH/s72-w504-h640-c/603px-Ludovike_Simanowiz_-_Selbstbildnis_mit_wehendem_Haar.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655932075959811304.post-7695632947923690694</id><published>2021-03-11T12:00:00.000-05:00</published><updated>
4722021-03-11T12:00:05.778-05:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="17th century"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="18th century"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="astronomy"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="women's history month"/><title type='text'>Two moon phrase drawings by German astronomer and artist, Maria Clara Eimmart (1676-1707)</title><content type='html'><p>&nbsp;<i><b>Women's History Month: </b></i>A month celebrating women of 473history! I will be posting media and book recommendations, highlighting 474women from (mostly) the 18th century, and otherwise sharing content with 475 an emphasis on women in history.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3bGlNg0tuwv3R6NJgX1SBuISt982jYIWPmEdgaEGmFN1ASsZaQ9p7_-0i98C4HGPTJH_wNjnB0CxeZPgMSyHJBHQ6fovaK1z3Vj9480oi05hTIBzQhPLw6rozZX4QINwS_63ned7kzW8K/s499/Phase_of_the_Moon_Observed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="392" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3bGlNg0tuwv3R6NJgX1SBuISt982jYIWPmEdgaEGmFN1ASsZaQ9p7_-0i98C4HGPTJH_wNjnB0CxeZPgMSyHJBHQ6fovaK1z3Vj9480oi05hTIBzQhPLw6rozZX4QINwS_63ned7kzW8K/s16000/Phase_of_the_Moon_Observed.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A pastel drawing of a moon phase by Maria Clara Eimmart. Circa 1693-1698.<br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">&nbsp;</td></tr></tbody></table>&nbsp;</p><p>Maria Clara Eimmart (1676-1707) was an astronomer and engraver born in Germany. Maria was the daughter--and eventually, assistant--to George Christoph Einmmart, an amateur astronomer whose own father was an engraver and painter. Maria's father trained her as an apprentice to his astronomy studies and ensured she had an education which reflected her broad interests. Maria Clara Eimmart learned mathematics, astronomy, French and Latin in addition to drawing and engraving. <br /><br />In 1706, she married a fellow pupil of her father, Johann Henrich Muller. Muller, who taught physics, was inspired by his wife and father-in-law's passion for astronomy and would become an amateur astronomer himself in time. <br /><br />Unfortunately, Maria Clara Eimmart died during childbirth just one year after her marriage. She left behind an array of illustrations, including her notable drawings of moon phases and other astronomical bodies. Her highly detailed astronomical works were typically done using pastels on dark blue cardboard material. By the year 1700, she had amassed a total of over 350 drawings of the phrase of the moon, although only a handful survive today.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv5FlgETv_FmKhwAXbYNJe8RDqBmJ_z6AWqT5IiAn1r7HvExa0lrfMrxlFGSSKyzRRq2-S-3tdxwZNkClTjp_pFHVsYRkKX_nFbMY99NZe1TWdnfCufYKfYpdAj_T5rgPXsoWFGnkfp_cq/s451/mariaclaraeimmart_moon4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="451" data-original-width="327" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv5FlgETv_FmKhwAXbYNJe8RDqBmJ_z6AWqT5IiAn1r7HvExa0lrfMrxlFGSSKyzRRq2-S-3tdxwZNkClTjp_pFHVsYRkKX_nFbMY99NZe1TWdnfCufYKfYpdAj_T5rgPXsoWFGnkfp_cq/w464-h640/mariaclaraeimmart_moon4.jpg" width="464" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
475A pastel drawing of a moon phase by Maria Clara Eimmart. Circa 1693-1698.</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.invitinghistory.com/feeds/7695632947923690694/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.invitinghistory.com/2021/03/two-moon-phrase-drawings-by-german.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/1655932075959811304/posts/default/7695632947923690694'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/1655932075959811304/posts/default/7695632947923690694'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://www.invitinghistory.com/2021/03/two-moon-phrase-drawings-by-german.html' title='Two moon phrase drawings by German astronomer and artist, Maria Clara Eimmart (1676-1707)'/><author><name>Unknown</name><email>[email protected]</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3bGlNg0tuwv3R6NJgX1SBuISt982jYIWPmEdgaEGmFN1ASsZaQ9p7_-0i98C4HGPTJH_wNjnB0CxeZPgMSyHJBHQ6fovaK1z3Vj9480oi05hTIBzQhPLw6rozZX4QINwS_63ned7kzW8K/s72-c/Phase_of_the_Moon_Observed.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655932075959811304.post-6225087531220655944</id><published>2021-03-08T12:30:00.001-05:00</published><updated>2021-03-08T12:30:06.230-05:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="books"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="historical fiction"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="lists"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="women's history month"/><title type='text'>Even (Three) More Novels Inspired by Real 18th-Century Women</title><content type='html'><p>&nbsp;<i><b>Women's History Month: </b></i>A month celebrating women of 476history! I will be posting media and book recommendations, highlighting 477women from (mostly) the 18th century, and otherwise sharing content with 478 an emphasis on women in history.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Even (Three) More Novels Inspired by Real 18th-Century Women</span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">&nbsp;</span></b> Looking for a good book? If you're looking to dive into novels about real 18th-century women, you're in luck: this list is now my third list on novels inspired by the lives and times of real women living in the 18th century. If you've already checked out lists <a href="http://vivelaqueen.blogspot.com/2018/03/5-fiction-novels-inspired-by-real-18th.html">one</a> and <a href="http://vivelaqueen.blogspot.com/2020/03/4-more-novels-inspired-by-real-18th.html">two</a>, take a look at the list below for something else to add to your to-read pile!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQAydu16LyU6vyFFN0wIuu4R1SFhOZLG3oRnamvaqz16GhkVu8ghiYpDytJdieT3-3kWfJSFL1cvn_Opb1w5qtzFFgcT6fH_oFYhFMTPILRnoSwDh9zrQmx3_uK3A-Uyf1K4kUyRLXVcjz/s500/5112q0tCLAL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="338" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQAydu16LyU6vyFFN0wIuu4R1SFhOZLG3oRnamvaqz16GhkVu8ghiYpDytJdieT3-3kWfJSFL1cvn_Opb1w5qtzFFgcT6fH_oFYhFMTPILRnoSwDh9zrQmx3_uK3A-Uyf1K4kUyRLXVcjz/s16000/5112q0tCLAL.jpg" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><b>The Doctor's Wife</b></i> by Sawako Ariyoshi <br /><i>Inspiration: Kae SeishÅ« (1760â1827)</i></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><i>The Doctor's Wife</i> focuses on <span style="font-size: small;">Kae SeishÅ«, the wife of</span> Hanaoka SeishÅ«, an 18th-century Japanese surgeon whose experiments with surgery and anesthesia led him to eventually become the first known physician in the world to perform breast cancer surgery using a general anesthetic. Kae's mother-in-law also plays a role, and although the novel does introduce a fictional conflict between the two women, its emphasis on their role--and sacrifice--in SeishÅ«'s work is a core theme of the work.</p><p style="text-align: center;">&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWOMbkebW-QZDhQIhuzh6Gq80Yp5zH8EkAlfPW8lNqlWsR3A4wAyDyQIFXoTlWRTv2ohLZpgYWFV67fhEfhanjQQtltRnh8y9ZKTTVH7qsGRKqcxqmBwCNop1PDkr5niHJVFKbshyphenhyphenhXed7/s475/2437748.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWOMbkebW-QZDhQIhuzh6Gq80Yp5zH8EkAlfPW8lNqlWsR3A4wAyDyQIFXoTlWRTv2ohLZpgYWFV67fhEfhanjQQtltRnh8y9ZKTTVH7qsGRKqcxqmBwCNop1PDkr5niHJVFKbshyphenhyphenhXed7/s16000/2437748.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><i>In Mozart's Shadow: Nannerl's Story</i> by Carolyn Meyer<br />Inspiration: Maria Anna Mozart (1751-1829)<br /></span><br /><i>In Mozart's Shadow: Nannerl's Story</i> explores the overlooked story of Maria Anna Mozart, the "other Mozart; her own musical skills and eventually her entire life were forever overshadowed by her prolific brother's work and lasting impact on the world.&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibfFzopXshLUArrzkpc5fpKLFz9UXsqeSDgVC_QQp2tecY97q8oa_OJJO6LVo3bRYH_YDWz1a6mxOHFnoCUQa9X5AhlkE2VAt27OMORL5DejCzt62Nc5Onwe3hYB9kGlzFgL0rGA3nXB8c/s2048/91r6NIWzLdL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1356" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibfFzopXshLUArrzkpc5fpKLFz9UXsqeSDgVC_QQp2tecY97q8oa_OJJO6LVo3bRYH_YDWz1a6mxOHFnoCUQa9X5AhlkE2VAt27OMORL5DejCzt62Nc5Onwe3hYB9kGlzFgL0rGA3nXB8c/w424-h640/91r6NIWzLdL.jpg" width="424" /></a></div><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>The Game of Hope</i></b> by Sandra Gulland<br /><i>Inspiration: Hortense de Beauharnais (1783-1837)</i></span><br /><br />Set at the end of the 18th century, <i>'The Game of Hope' </i>focuses on the life of the teenage Hortense de Beauharnais--daughter of Josephine de Beauharnais and stepdaughter of Napoleon Bonaparte--as she navigates an uncertain future. <br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.invitinghistory.com/feeds/6225087531220655944/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.invitinghistory.com/2021/03/even-three-more-novels-inspired-by-real.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/1655932075959811304/posts/default/6225087531220655944'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/1655932075959811304/posts/default/6225087531220655944'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://www.invitinghistory.com/2021/03/even-three-more-novels-inspired-by-real.html' title='Even (Three) More Novels Inspired by Real 18th-Century Women'/><author><name>Unknown</name><email>[email protected]</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author>
478<media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQAydu16LyU6vyFFN0wIuu4R1SFhOZLG3oRnamvaqz16GhkVu8ghiYpDytJdieT3-3kWfJSFL1cvn_Opb1w5qtzFFgcT6fH_oFYhFMTPILRnoSwDh9zrQmx3_uK3A-Uyf1K4kUyRLXVcjz/s72-c/5112q0tCLAL.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry></feed>
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