The Queen's Lover by Francine du Plessix Gray

My dear friends, have any of you heard of this new book C'est un roman. To quote:

Citation :

http://www.passagestothepast.com/2011/11/2012-release-queens-lover-by-francine.html

The Queen's Lover
by Francine du Plessix Gray

Release Date: June 14, 2012

SYNOPSIS

The Queen’s Lover begins at a masquerade ball in Paris in 1774, when the dashing Swedish nobleman Count Axel von Fersen first meets the mesmerizing nineteen-year-old Dauphine, Marie Antoinette, wife of the shy, reclusive prince who will soon become Louis XVI. This electric encounter launches a lifelong romance that will span the course of the French Revolution.

The affair begins in friendship, however, and Fersen quickly becomes a devoted companion to the entire royal family. As he roams the halls of Versailles and visits the private haven of Le Petit Trianon, Fersen discovers the deepest secrets of the court, even learning the startling, erotic details of Marie Antoinette’s marriage to Louis XVI. But the events of the American Revolution tear Fersen away. Moved by the cause, he joins French troops in the fight for American independence. When he returns, he finds France on the brink of disintegration. After the Revolution of 1789 the royal family is moved from Versailles to the Tuileries. Fersen devises an escape for the family and their young children (Marie-Thérèse and the Dauphin—whom many suspect is in fact Fersen’s son). The failed attempt leads to a more grueling imprisonment, and the family spends its excruciating final days captive before the King and Queen meet the guillotine.

Grieving his lost love in his native Sweden, Fersen begins to sense the effects of the French Revolution in his homeland. Royalists are now targets, and the sensuous world of his youth is fast vanishing. Fersen is incapable of realizing that centuries of tradition have disappeared, and he pays dearly for his naïveté, losing his life at the hands of a savage mob that views him as a pivotal member of the aristocracy. Scion of Sweden’s most esteemed nobility, Fersen came to be seen as an enemy of the country he loved. His fate is symbolic of the violent speed with which the events of the eighteenth century transformed European culture. Expertly researched and deeply imagined, The Queen’s Lover is a fresh vision of the French Revolution and the French royal family as told through the love story that was at its center.

Why is the furniture knocked over? :cyclops:

Here is some information about the author, Mrs. Gray. Apparently she is known for writing about the Marquis de Sade.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francine_du_Plessix_Gray

http://www.style.com/beauty/icon/051105ICON

She is a literary critic who won a Pulitzer prize.

Here is her review of Antonia Fraser's biography:

http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/23/books/review/23GRAYTTw.html?pagewanted=all

Hello, Elena Maria ! Happy to read you !

No, I never heard about this novel, which really seems highly uninteresting : the masquerade, Louis Charles son of Fersen, his deep sorrow back to Sweden... the whole thing is in this book, isn't it ? With a little detail : it is the first time that I see Marie Antoinette's marriage called "erotic".

Seems this book is more commercial than historical... once again !

Thanks for advertising us however, dear Elena Maria. Let's hope this girlish novel won't be translated in French.

(Non, je n'ai jamais entendu parler de ce roman, qui semble hautement inintéressant : la mascarade, Louis Charles fils de Fersen, son grand chagrin rentré en Suède... tout le machin se trouve dans ce livre, n'est-ce pas ? Avec un petit détail : c'est la première fois que je vois le mariage de Marie Antoinette appelé "érotique".

On dirait bien que ce livre est plus commercial qu'historique... encore une fois !

Merci de nous avertir, cependant, chère Elena Maria. Espérons que ce roman pour fifilles ne sera pas traduit en français).

Le peu que j'avais survolé du résumé m'avait conduit aux mêmes conclusions.

C'est très curieux... Il semble que dans les contrées d'expression anglaise, l'affaire Fersen ait pris le pas sur tout le reste, dans la vie de Marie Antoinette.

pimprenelle a écrit:

Hello, Elena Maria ! Happy to read you !

No, I never heard about this novel, which really seems highly uninteresting : the masquerade, Louis Charles son of Fersen, his deep sorrow back to Sweden... the whole thing is in this book, isn't it ? With a little detail : it is the first time that I see Marie Antoinette's marriage called "erotic".

Seems this book is more commercial than historical... once again !

Thanks for advertising us however, dear Elena Maria. Let's hope this girlish novel won't be translated in French.

(Non, je n'ai jamais entendu parler de ce roman, qui semble hautement inintéressant : la mascarade, Louis Charles fils de Fersen, son grand chagrin rentré en Suède... tout le machin se trouve dans ce livre, n'est-ce pas ? Avec un petit détail : c'est la première fois que je vois le mariage de Marie Antoinette appelé "érotique".

On dirait bien que ce livre est plus commercial qu'historique... encore une fois !

Merci de nous avertir, cependant, chère Elena Maria. Espérons que ce roman pour fifilles ne sera pas traduit en français).

Yes, it all sounds uninteresting to me, too. The same old stuff. I wonder if it includes the phimosis theory as well? Erotic? I think not. And Fersen is at the center of her life? Oh, please.

olivia a écrit:

Le peu que j'avais survolé du résumé m'avait conduit aux mêmes conclusions.

Oui, c'est terrible.

elena maria vidal a écrit:

Yes, it all sounds uninteresting to me, too. The same old stuff. I wonder if it includes the phimosis theory as well? Erotic? I think not. And Fersen is at the center of her life? Oh, please.

You said it, my dear... The same old stuff... Routine...

I also see no eroticism in Marie Antoinette and Louis' efforts to produce an heir. Rather pain, guiltiness and suffering. But the audience needs sex, so...

pimprenelle a écrit:

elena maria vidal a écrit:

Yes, it all sounds uninteresting to me, too. The same old stuff. I wonder if it includes the phimosis theory as well? Erotic? I think not. And Fersen is at the center of her life? Oh, please.

You said it, my dear... The same old stuff... Routine...

I also see no eroticism in Marie Antoinette and Louis' efforts to produce an heir. Rather pain, guiltiness and suffering. But the audience needs sex, so...

Il est clair que le terme d'érotique n'est pas celui auquel on pense quand on se penche sur leurs ébats difficiles.

Euh... non. Faut vraiment être tordu pour voir dans cette épreuve de l'érotisme. Mais, bon... L'écrivain est spécialiste de Sade. Ceci explique peut-être cela.

Concerning the German, they just don't care about Maria Antonia and Co, or at least for the major part of them don't know.

I once spoke about that with a studient in sandinavian studies, including history of Sweden, but he didn't event knew the name of Fersen... which is not, forunaltely, a matter of life or death !

pimprenelle a écrit:

Euh... non. Faut vraiment être tordu pour voir dans cette épreuve de l'érotisme. Mais, bon... L'écrivain est spécialiste de Sade. Ceci explique peut-être cela.

Oui.

Lucius a écrit:

Concerning the German, they just don't care about Maria Antonia and Co, or at least for the major part of them don't know.

I once spoke about that with a studient in sandinavian studies, including history of Sweden, but he didn't event knew the name of Fersen... which is not, forunaltely, a matter of life or death !

Well... It depends... I once had contacts on a forum with a Swedish girl who said that Fersen was generally considered Marie Antoinette's lover in Sweden.

Also, there was this guy on the same board who said that Fersen was hated in Sweden.

Of course, the way people feel about historical figures depends on their personal backgrounds and cultures.

pimprenelle a écrit:

Also, there was this guy on the same board who said that Fersen was hated in Sweden.

I'm not surprised, concidering his death.

pimprenelle a écrit:

Of course, the way people feel about historical figures depends on their personal backgrounds and cultures.

This is a truth universally aknowledged !

Of course, but it is always surprising to see how true it is.

Sounds like Gone with the Wind

pimprenelle a écrit:

Of course, but it is always surprising to see how true it is.

That's exactly what I meant, Pim dear!

Please, call me pimy...

pimprenelle a écrit:

Please, call me pimy...

With pleasure, pimy! How charming you are!

Oh... You make me blush...

diphildor a écrit:

pimprenelle a écrit:

Please, call me pimy...

With pleasure, pimy! How charming you are!

It is a truth universally acknowledged!

pimprenelle a écrit:

Oh... You make me blush...

You shouln't, pimy!

Diphildor, je vous adore !

... et c'est presque une rime riche !

pimprenelle a écrit:

Diphildor, je vous adore !

... et c'est presque une rime riche !

... moi aussi pimy!

...ça va ja-âââ-aser !!! ....

Quite right, pimy! Let them gossip!