#Madame de Murat

[oldtvandcomics]

Frankly, if you like classic literature and/or fairy tales (and speak well enough French), then this book is a Must. It collects four stories written by Henriette-Julie de Castelnau de Murat, one of the 17th century noble ladies who were writing fairy tales in France. They used those stories to engage with their lived realities, for example, speaking up against arrange marriages was a recurring theme.

Anyway, one of them was a lesbian. That is Madame de Murat. The stories in this book are not explicitly queer, for the obvious reason of being written in the 17TH CENTURY, but the subtext is definitely there, plus you get a biography of the author.

It is a short book, interesting read, and I love it SO MUCH to see one of the conteuses get some recognition. It is beyond time that we start reprinting the stories of these women.

[usergreenpixel]

JACOBIN FICTION CONVENTION MEETING 36: THE GAME OF HOPE (2018)

1. The Introduction

Well, hello there, Citizens and Neighbors! I’m alive and back with a review, as promised. (Very happy about it too because I missed you!)

Now, to cut to the chase, @josefavomjaaga was the first person who told me about the novel’s existence, which had me a bit intrigued already due to my constant search for new media to consume and review.

However, my dear friend @tairin helped seal the deal and officially put this particular piece onto my review bucket list, as a physical copy of the book (in Russian) was her present for my birthday last year. I read the book back then but, due to all the other reviews and personal life stuff, kept putting away this particular review.

Fortunately, I finally found free time to catch up on the piece and post it, so here we go.

Before we proceed, here’s a link for anyone who wants to download the book in English. As mentioned, it’s available in Russian too, but Russian-speaking members of my audience will need to purchase the epub or a physical copy to be able to read it. I’m not sure if it’s available in any other languages.

Also, this review is dedicated to @josefavomjaaga , @tairin and @frevandrest ! Okay, let’s. Fucking. Begin.

2. The Summary

“The Game of Hope” tells the story of Hortense de Beauharnais, Napoleon’s stepdaughter, and her coming of age journey, including crushes, rivalries, and her life at Madame Campan’s boarding school for girls.

Although I loathe Hortense with a passion, review material is review material and I was still intrigued by the premise, so let’s see how this premise plays out in the book!

3. The Story

Generally, I enjoy coming of age stories and YA novels and, luckily, this one is no exception. It is melodramatic, but it’s justified because Hortense is a teenager and a dramatic person, so her POV having melodrama is expected.

It’s a slice of life kind of story and most political events happen in the background but still realistically affect the characters, which is realistic and very neat!

Also, this is by far the only book where anti-Frev sentiments don’t give me an urge to flip the fuck out, since Hortense lost her father and almost lost her mother during Frev and is far too naive and young to understand politics! Of course she will think Frev is evil and of course she will believe that being noble would be enough to have her executed!

The pacing is great too. There are some time skips but the author clearly knew when to do them and when to slow down. Now complaints here.

If you are craving a story with typical teenage melodrama involving historical figures, then I guess it’s a book for you.

4. The Characters

I don’t like Hortense as a person here, but as a character she’s realistic and nuanced. She has the selfish and bratty nature that would stick way into adulthood, but she genuinely loves Eugene and her friends at the boarding school. Also her resentment towards her stepfather and the Bonaparte siblings is quite realistic, as from her point of view they’re just asses towards her mother for no reason.

Caroline Bonaparte starts off as a rude bitch (also thanks to Hortense incorporating her own bias), but luckily she becomes more and more nuanced along the way and becomes sort of a frenemy to Hortense. Caroline clearly doesn’t enjoy studying under Madame Campan and wants out of there. Perhaps due to my bias, or because we don’t see her POV, Caroline grew on me more than Hortense.

Eugene (I HAVE to mention him) appears later on in the story and, as expected, is an absolute cinnamon roll.

Josephine is idealized in the story by Hortense, but she isn’t flawless and keeps trying to find Hortense a husband in the beginning. However, she also helps Caroline and Joachim marry, which makes their treatment of her later on a fucking dick move.

Émilie, Hortense’s cousin and close friend, is slightly older and already married (not that unheard of back then), but is still a teenager going through the typical motions common for that age. She is more mature than Hortense and feels trapped in a loveless marriage with Captain Lavalette (no idea who that is).

Campan is very strict but genuinely cares about her students. I liked the part where she has The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen attached to the back of a portrait of Marie-Antoinette and flips the portrait when inspection arrives. Simple, but quite clever!

5. The Setting

No complaints here! Gorgeous descriptions that are very much historically accurate, and Hortense’s POV is conveyed masterfully, which aids the story greatly.

6. The Writing

Simple yet beautiful, without diving too much into purple prose territory and doesn’t shy away from mentioning or implying normal things like periods or sex. I can sense some pearl clutching might happen, but personally I think these topics should be normalized so I don’t complain. Also, my copy graciously included translations of Italian phrases, which is doubly awesome!

7. The Conclusion

Overall, an excellent, overall accurate and believable story! I highly recommend it to anyone interested in learning more about Hortense or just looking for a Frev/Napoleonic coming of age story without too much action.

Alright, on this note, I’m concluding today’s meeting of Jacobin Fiction Convention. Stay tuned for updates, guys!

Love,

Citizen Green Pixel

[yaggy031910]

@flowwochair, @gabrielferaud, @a-system-of-nerds, @captainknell, @patheticnapoleonicfanggirl0521 and I, we came to the conclusion:

The most famous person: Napoléon

The person who absolutely everybody hates: Marmont

The person who everyone decided is a perfect angel: Duroc (and Mortier c:)

The local girlboss: Queen Luise of Prussia

The hoe(s): Metternich (and the Murats and the Junots, oh and Masséna)

The petty bitch: Madame Potocka

The person who is mostly just famous for their death: Desaix, Lannes (we all love him and know that he is so much more than his death but media likes to mention him mostly surrounding his death) OR Louis Antoine de Bourbon, Duke of Enghien

The person who had nothing to do with the events but made up some really awful propaganda: Laure Junot (We all know about her memoirs...)

With every single historical era or event you have:

the most famous person

the person who absolutely everyone hates

the person who everyone has decided was a perfect angel

the local girlboss

the hoe(s)

the petty bitch

the person who is mostly just famous for their death

the person who had nothing to do with the events but made up some really awful propaganda

[empirearchives]

Costumes of Napoleonic figures at the Devonshire House Ball of 1897

1. Aileen May (née Wyndham-Quin), Countess of Meath as Hortense de Beauharnais, Queen of Holland

2. Princess of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg (née Countess Josephine Kinsky) as Princess Pauline Bonaparte Borghese

3. Thérèse (née Kinsky), Countess Clary-Aldringen as Caroline Bonaparte Murat, Queen of Naples

4. Florence Anne (née Cole), Lady Delamere as Hortense de Beauharnais

5. Sir Charles Edward Cradock-Hartopp, 5th Bt as Napoleon I; Millicent Florence Eleanor (née Wilson), Lady Cradock-Hartopp (later Countess Cowley and Mrs Duberly) as the Empress Josephine

6. Lord Arthur Vincent Hay; William George Montagu Hay, 11th Marquess of Tweeddale; Candida Louise, Marchioness of Tweeddale as the Empress Josephine

7. Kathleen (née Douglas-Pennant), Viscountess Falmouth as Madame Recamier

8. Maria Henrietta Sophia Chaine (née Phipps) as Madame Sans Gêne

9. Henry Chaplin, 1st Viscount Chaplin as Marshal Lefevre

10. Catherine Dorothea Mary Grosvenor (née Simeon) as Marie Louise

[empiredesimparte]

Live broadcast of ‘Le Sacre de Napoléon V’ on the national channel Francesim 2, hosted by Stéphane Bernard

(Another journalist) The procession ascends the cathedral and reaches the choir. (Stéphane Bernard) Indeed, at the head of the procession, you'll notice the palace usher. He's closely followed by the heralds-at-arms, the Master of Ceremonies, the Grand Marshal, and most notably, by Prince Murat, who carries the Empress's crown.

(Stéphane Bernard) Here comes the Empress's procession, following behind the crown. She is surrounded by the women of the imperial family: Madame Mère, Madame Hortense, and the daughters of Prince Imperial Henri. In addition to the imperial mantle, the Empress wears the crown of Marie-Louise of Austria. (Another journalist) Why is the Empress already wearing a crown? (Stéphane Bernard) It's truly unprecedented, yes. During the ceremony, there's a moment dedicated to what we call the "regalia"… In truth, I'll tell you, this term wasn't really used back then. We talked more about ornaments or royal insignia. Deciphering all these symbols live… It's not easy, but… I would say that the Empress seems to be indicating that it's through her marriage that she acquired imperial dignity. As a result, today, she receives another crown: that of Francesim.

(Stéphane Bernard) His Holiness, Pope Gregorius XIX, takes his place near the imperial canopy, facing Their Majesties.

(Stéphane Bernard) And here comes the imperial procession advancing to the majestic sound of trumpets! Leading the way is the Grand Chamberlain, accompanied by the marshals of Francesim. He bears the cruciferous orb.

(Stéphane Bernard) Behind the Orb, Emperor Napoleon V advances in his Grand Habit de Sacre: a purple coat adorned with ermine fur. The laurel wreath of the Roman emperors rests on his head. The Emperor holds in his hands the scepters of Justice and of Charles V, and at his waist, rests the sword of Charlemagne, known as Joyeuse.

(Stéphane Bernard) His Majesty is surrounded by Their Imperial Highnesses, Prince Imperial Henri, and his son, Prince Philippe of Francesim. The procession is closed by the State counselors and members of the government.

⚜ Le Sacre de Napoléon V | N°9 | Francesim, Paris, 28 Thermidor An 230

The coronation ceremony begins in the choir of Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral. It was broadcast live on television by Stéphane Bernard, the famous journalist for the crowned heads in Francesim.

Beginning ▬ Previous ▬ Next

⚜ Traduction française

(Autre journaliste) Le cortège de l'Empereur remonte la cathédrale et rejoint le chœur. (Stéphane Bernard) Effectivement, en tête de cortège, vous remarquez l'huissier du palais. Il est suivi de près par les hérauts d'armes, le Maître de Cérémonie, le Grand Maréchal, et surtout, par le prince Murat qui porte la couronne de l'Impératrice. Car il s'agit aussi du sacre de l'impératrice.

(Stéphane Bernard) Voici le cortège de l'Impératrice, qui marche derrière la couronne. Elle est entourée des femmes de la famille impériale : Madame Mère, Madame Hortense, et les filles du prince impérial Henri. En plus du manteau impérial, l'impératrice porte la couronne de Marie-Louise d'Autriche. (Autre journaliste) Pourquoi l'impératrice porte-t-elle déjà une couronne ? (Stéphane Bernard) C'est vraiment inédit oui. Pendant la cérémonie, il y a un moment dédié à ce qu'on appelle les "regalia"... En vérité, je vous le dis, ce terme n'était pas vraiment utilisé à l'époque. On parlait plutôt d'ornements ou d'insignes royaux. Décrypter tous ces symboles en direct... N'est pas facile, mais... Je dirais que l'impératrice semble signifier que c'est par son mariage qu'elle a acquis la dignité impériale. De ce fait, aujourd'hui, elle reçoit une autre couronne : celle de Francesim.

(Stéphane Bernard) Sa Sainteté, le Pape Gregorius XIX, prend place près du dais impérial, en face de Leurs Majestés.

(Stéphane Bernard) Et voici le cortège impérial qui avance au son majestueux des trompettes ! En tête, le Grand Chambellan, accompagné des maréchaux de Francesim. Il porte l'orbe crucigère. Derrière l'Orbe, l'Empereur Napoléon V avançant dans son Grand Habit de Sacre : un manteau pourpre orné de fourrure d'hermine. La couronne de lauriers des empereurs romains repose sur sa tête. L'Empereur tient dans ses mains les sceptres de la Justice et de Charles V, et à sa taille, repose l'épée de Charlemagne, nommée Joyeuse.

(Stéphane Bernard) Sa Majesté est entouré par Leurs Altesses Impériales, le prince impérial Henri, et son fils, le prince Philippe de Francesim. Le cortège est fermé par les conseillers d'Etat et les membres du gouvernement.

[thepaleys]

It was now painfully clear that Paul and Olga must make their home permanently in Paris; but they needed a far more imposing residence and initially looked for somewhere near Versailles. Finally, they found the perfect home at L’Hôtel Youssoupoff at 2 avenue Victor Hugo, Boulogne-sur-Seine, in the 16th arrondissement. It had been built in 1860–61 for Princess Zinaida Naryshkina, widow of Prince Boris Yusupov, when she had remarried to Comte Charles de Chaveau and settled in Paris. When the princess died in 1893, Prince Nikolay Yusupov in St. Petersburg inherited the mansion, but it had been empty for more than ten years when Paul and Olga found it.

Olga at last had a project into which she could throw all her energies and bring to life the rarefied style of Belle Époque living and entertaining to which she aspired. In many ways the couple were archetypal Proustian figures: and indeed the Countess von Hohenfelsen gets a passing mention in the great French classic À la recherche du temps perdu (In Search of Lost Time), in which Marcel Proust’s fictional character Madame de Guermantes is described as having offended Grand Duchess Vladimir by making the social faux pas of wrongly referring to Countess von Hohenfelsen as “Grande-Duchesse Paul.” Paul gets a mention too, as the “good Grand Duke,” as do the high society personalities with whom he and Olga regularly associated: Prince and Princess Murat, the Comtesse de Portales, Lady de Gray, Vera de Talleyrand-Perigord, Prince and Princess Baryatinsky, Madame de Chevigné, the Comtesse de Greffulhe, and the poet Robert de Montesquiou—who appears in Proust as the “Baron de Charlus.” Despite the pain of separation from Russia and Paul’s children, as well as their son Vladimir—who had returned to St. Petersburg to train at the elite military school the Corps des Pages—Paul and Olga enjoyed a gilded exile with their two daughters, in a home created together that was “worthy of a Pompadour or a Du Barry

"After the Romanovs" - Helen Rappaport

[joachimnapoleon]

By “play the courtier,” I believe Josephine means Murat is being sycophantic to Napoleon. Elsewhere around this time I remember seeing Josephine complain about Murat “wheedling” Napoleon to get whatever he wanted from him.

Anyway, I hope you don’t mind me dredging up your notes:

While I’m still not sure when exactly the falling out occurred between the Murats and the Beauharnais, by this point the hostility was pretty open, Murat was extremely displeased with Eugène having been named Viceroy of Italy, and Hortense’s self-serving memoirs notwithstanding, I do think there was a certain rivalry between Caroline and Hortense, and Caroline was as jealous of Napoleon’s attachment to the latter as Murat was of the elevation of Eugène. And both Caroline and Murat had come to see Josephine as an enemy, and this was the time when they were both acting as glorified pimps setting Napoleon up with various mistresses in hopes he’d soon prove it was Josephine’s fault they didn’t have an heir yet.

Which brings us to Mme Duchâtel, of the notoriously pointy bones. I don’t know anything about a supposed incident between Eugène and Napoleon and the Murats involving her, other than that apparently both Eugène and Murat were attracted to her, but so was Napoleon, so Murat set about trying to make the necessary arrangements. For what it’s worth, here’s what Hortense has to say about it:

Madame Duchatel had just been appointed lady in waiting at the palace. When she was at a ball Prince Murat never left her side, but his wife did not seem disturbed. My brother told me one day that the Emperor was in love with this lady. Duroc had mentioned to him that my stepfather was not attending to affairs of state as assiduously as he had done previously, but talked about her all the time. He added that Murat’s constant attendance on her was not in his own behalf. We all of us feared the Empress might notice what was going on. Had she done so, it would have wounded her cruelly. We all swore to help one another keep her in ignorance of it.

Josephine didn’t remain in ignorance for long, and Hortense claims she (Hortense) called Murat out over it once the Empress found out:

In the meantime my mother’s grief, which was affecting her health, brought me to the point of speaking to Prince Murat. “You care for the Emperor,” I said to him, “therefore you ought to be careful of his family life. Instead of that, you are perhaps to blame for the fact that he and his wife are no longer on good terms. By repeating the remarks you hear made by people about the palace you irritate him. His nervousness leads to renewed quarrels. This union, which till now has been so tender and close, is being broken up.” Murat defended his conduct awkwardly. His only reply was that his devotion to the Emperor was boundless. The next day while they were out hunting he repeated our conversation to my stepfather, probably changing it to create the impression he wished.

She goes on to detail the argument she supposedly had with Napoleon about it afterwards, I won’t bother posting it here. But I will post one last tidbit—Hortense’s description of Duroc’s part in the affair.

In order to be able to see Madame Duchatel and not arouse the suspicions of her husband, the Emperor for several evenings went out on foot alone with Duroc. Once he was taking a walk with her at Villiers, the estate belonging to the Murats, when they heard a noise. Afraid of being discovered, the Emperor leaped over a high wall at the risk of hurting himself. Duroc, not so excited, did not dare to imitate him. Constantly terrified to see him exposing himself in this way, Duroc was delighted when the liaison came to an end.

Letter from Josephine to Eugène

Translated from “Les Beauharnais et l’empereur”, edited and published by Jean Hanoteau, containing letters written by Josephine and Hortense to Eugène while the latter was in Italy. This is in fact the very first of those letters.

Plombières, 18 Thermidor [an XIII = August 6, 1805]

No, my dear Eugene, I have not forgotten you […]

Should be the standard introduction for any of Josephine’s letters, considering how long it took her to write.

[…] for I am constantly occupied with you, with what you are doing, with your pleasures, but above all with your sorrows, and I assure you that when I learn that you are suffering some vexation, I am more affected than you are. The Emperor always seemed to me to be pleased with you; he was only a little annoyed that you had sent for a man who had made false statements. He said - and rightly so - that you should have had him reprimanded by the Minister of Police and that it was not in keeping with your dignity to have him come to you. But he said that this was coming from a young man and a young man with honour. It would be curious to know from whom he heard this.

Fortunately, Her Majesty’s curiosity can easily be satisfied: The guy chatting so unwisely was a certain Prince Eugène, Viceroy of Italy, who still believed he had to dutifully account to his stepfather for every move he made. But he will soon receive a letter from Duroc with some advice between the lines: Just don’t tell him everything, dimwit.

Besides, he knows your devotion to him and your attachment to him and he loves you dearly. The same is not true of his family. They saw with the greatest sorrow your nomination. Murat always plays the courtier. His wife has been ill. It seems so, because she is quite changed. She has retained that air which she calls dignity (which I call composure) which does not suit her at all. It’s wrong for all these people not to like us. If they wanted to be good people, they could not have better friends than us.

Sounds like all bridges have already been burned between the Beauharnais and the Murat side of the family. Unfortunately, we do not get to know what “playing the courtier” means and if it is related to the “Duchatel” affair that allegedly caused Eugène some brief disgrace. Josephine does sound somewhat jealous of Murat’s influence in these letters.

The Emperor is always very kind to me. I also do whatever it depends on me to do to please him. No more jealousy, my dear Eugene, and what I am saying to you is quite true. This way, he is happier and I am happier. I cannot tell you anything about the political news, it is a mystery which the Emperor never lets you in on. He is at this moment in Boulogne. All I know is that he has been waiting for eight days for a letter which was to decide his departure. You probably know that the Prince of Baden’s marriage has fallen through, which gives great hope for the person you know.

Yes, that person would be a certain princesse Auguste. Though, in her opinion (and in that of the whole Bavarian court) the marriage to Karl von Baden was still happening. Of course it would be happening!

I have seen her portrait. She is as beautiful as can be. Your sister is well, as are the children. I had the second child with me at Saint-Cloud, and he is very beautiful. Louis is still in the same state. I am looking forward, my dear Eugène, to midwinter. That is the time when you promised to come and see me. How happy your mother will be! You will know, my dear son, that I grieve every day at being separated from you and that my eyes are always filled with tears whenever I think of you or am spoken to about you. If I have not written to you since my arrival, it is because I have been very tired and tormented by visits. Besides, there was nothing new; I shall write to you every week from now on.

Eugène: Sure, mum… (It took her another month until she sent of her next letter.)

I have agreed with Lavallette to send him my letters. Goodbye, my good Eugene, the most tender of sons. Your mother embraces you with all her heart and loves you madly.

A thousand kind things to Mme Litta and Méjan.

[microcosme11]

Augustus Foster To Lady Elizabeth Foster. Paris, April 19, 1802.

 I saw Massena and M‘Donald. The last resembles Lord Morpeth, I think; he is fair faced and gentlemanlike-looking. Massena is black-faced and seems a scoundrel. Buonaparte I still admire. His face was perfectly grave during the whole ceremony. After it was over he pleased everybody by his condescension in speaking to them. What was rather mockery, I think—I did not see it myself—but Camille Jourdan told me that he crossed himself several times as well as Cambaceres. That was trop fort for one once a professed Turc. Madame Buonaparte dresses very lightly; seems to have been pretty; she, with Madame Joseph, I think her daughter, and Madame Murat, her sister-in-law, and Louis Buonaparte with several ladies, was placed in a gallery a little above the altar on the left; she only came with two horses to her carriage.

Frederick Foster To (his son) Augustus Foster. Marseilles, Dec. 27, 1814. 

My dearest Augustus. . . . We have seen Massena. He is, I believe, stingy, but very civil, and very interesting to see. Bonaparte on embarking for Elba sent him his amities, c'est un brave homme je l'aime fort—but Massena says he, Bonaparte, loves nobody; that once when he was ill, Bonaparte never took the least notice of him, never even sent to enquire, and that at another time, when he was also unwell, and that Bonaparte had need of his services, he used to come and see him three or four times a day. He thinks he was a man de grandes conceptions, particularly when things went on well, but that in adverse fortune he failed....yet Massena seemed to have a kind of liking for him; said that it was him who had named him I'enfant de la Victoire, and pointing to his great coat said he was happier when he bought that, it was at Vienna...Massena is much broken and altered from what I remember him at the peace of Amiens. He and Wellington met at Paris, and after a stare Massena said, "Milord, vous m’avez fait bien penser.” "Et vous, monsieur le Maréchal, vous m’avez souvent empêché de dormir." [Milord, you really made me think. And you, M. le Marechal, you often made me lose sleep.]

The two duchesses, Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, Elizabeth, Duchess of Devonshire, 1898 

[adarkrainbow]

A brief talk about Fables and LGBT

When it comes to works dealing with oe re-creating fairy tales, I always like to take a look at any possible LGBT representation. After all, fairytales became such a monolithic symbol of a heterosexual world with no place for queer people that taking a look at non "orthodox" orientations is always one of the easiest but also deepest subversions of the genre. (There's a whole thing to say about the very strong queerness of literary fairytales from madame de Murat and the knight of Mailly to Andersen and Oscar Wilde, but we'll keep this for later - let us focus on the "popular opinion" and "random Joe or Joane" knowledge that "fairytales are for heteros only").

As such, I had to take a look at the LGBT representations in the comic book "Fables". Being one of the big names and great example of fairytale media, building an entire franchise on reinventing fairytales into a modern fantasy and marking the first American entries into the urban-fantasy fairytale world... And it is very interesting because in recent years "Fables" has come under heavy criticism precisely because of a lack of LGBT representation. You have this numerous series, that spawned numerous spin-offs, and co-existed with other great Vertigo titles filled with queerness (Neil Gaiman's Sandman to take an example)... And yet all people remember of it are "heteros everywhere". Is it true? Is Fables truly as queer-unfriendly as we recall?

This post originally began last year as a catalogue of all the queer characters in Fables... But I stopped halfway, realizing I was exhausting myself by just dissecting every little part of the comic. Not that I do not enjoy it - but I have better things to do on my free time. So instead of making a full and exhaustive list of every mention of non-hetero things, I will rather make some broad and general observations based on my knowledge and reading of this franchise.

If we look at the main series, we can only confirm this popular opinion: homosexual characters are neither primary nor secondary - they are tertiary at most. The only character I remember to have been truly confirmed as homosexual was Moss Waterhouse from "Jack Be Nimble". A very cool character - an intelligent, ambitious, charismatic, slightly morally ambiguous Black, gay and Jewish man who knows he is every minority the old world hates and doesn't hesitate to use it as a weapon, and ultimately gets the fame, the wealth and the power. A very cool character... that lasts a few issues and disappears completely. Beyond that... What do we have? Rose-Red says she had "experiences" with women before - but it is a detail thrown hastily in a dialogue of "Animal Farm", and it is unclear if she is truly bisexual, simply "experimented" in her past, or purposefully had lesbian relationships in her conscious and intense effort to break all the social taboos of the Fables community... I did notice a hairdresser that seems to be a "gay hairdresser" stereotype in "The Sons of the Empire", but after that, the series is a desert.

So, while Bill Willingham recognizes gay people exist, he clearly doesn't want to focus on them or talk about gayness in his plots. In fact, he seems to have been thinking more about them in the beginning of his comic (all the mentions above are from the first third or so of the series), before completely focusing on something else. There is not a refusal of depicting homosexuals, no, there is simply no desire to focus on them or push them forward or tell stories about them (except for Moss Waterhouse, who is a focus-character and one of the main characters of the Jack Be Nimble arc - but a tertiary character in Fables as a whole). [Note: I am only looking at here through the lense of inside the comic, but it doesn't help that Willingham is in real-life an openly Christian and old-fashioned author with some... specific ideas that do not really fit with modern sensibilities, resulting in some of the series' primary controversies, like the handling of abortion.]

HOWEVER! To say Fables is not a gay comic FRANCHISE would be a big mistake. Because while the main series is a desert with one oasis, the spin-offs are BURSTING with gay characters! Well, it isn't a Pride Parade still, but we have prominent, important, front-stage homosexual characters, and gay romances are part of the plots and character growths!

"Fairest" is probably the most gay of all the spin-offs : in "The Hidden Kingdom", Rapunzel is confirmed to be bisexual and a key part of the plot is her romance with a female kitsune. In "The Return of the Maharaja" Prince Charming is revealed to be bisexual and Nathoo (of The Jungle Book) to be gay. And in "Clamour for Glamour" Mary is in an homosexual relationship too... Not only are homosexual relationships openly depicted and primary characters confirmed as queer, but the topic of accepting these relationships is also heavily talked about - from Rapunzel facing the rejecting of a feudal Japan moral system, to Nathoo being afraid of his own feelings and Charming having to explain to him they are normal. What is especially interesting about "Fairest" is that the series seems to go at counter-flow against the main series. For example, Prince Charming is confirmed to be bisexual and to have loved at least a man before... But if I recall well, in the beginning of "Fables" Charming made clear he was NOT into guys, only girls. Another case could be brought up - Crispin, whose "gay-coding" was massively amplified in "Of Men and Mice" - in fact, it is very obviously and strongly suggested by the story that Crispin and the Huntsman are more than friends, given how the Huntsman rushes by his side and refuses to leave his hospital bed after the explosion... It is not openly said, leading to Wikipedia articles to go with the usual routine of "They're just good friends", but the way it is framed and having this "very strong same-sex devotional friendship" sandwiched between openly gay romances, it all VERY strongly implies some homoromantic feelings...

Another spin-off that deserves a good place on this list, but that is not well known (because A- it is the last of the spin-offs and B- it got cancelled due to low sales) is "Everafter", which explicitely confirms that Connor Wolf, one of the children of Snow and Bigsby, is not just homosexual, not just bisexual, but PANSEXUAL thanks to his extensive shapeshifting abilities allowing him to turn into all kinds of sexes, genders and species. And this isn't just told to us by dialogue, but also explicitely proven and shown by having Connor enter an homosexual relationship with one of his male colleagues, Tom Swift (from the Tom Swift novels).

So, what made this "queer boom" in the spin-offs? Was it because Willingham was less present, if not completely absent, allowing other voices to write and speak? Was it because it was "side-stories" that could be split from the "main stuff", and thus there could be more experiments? Was it because these series were made and written in the late 2000s and early 2010s rather than the late 90s, and so these subjcts were more on people's minds? Probably a mix of all that - after all, one thing well known is that the spin-offs were places of free experiments and competitive alternatives, resulting in contradicting plotlines that made the series semi-canons compared to Willingham's main continuity (see the dual Sleeping Beauty origin backstory).

The Fables franchise is not "anti-gay", far from it - I do hold the idea that fairytales are an inherently queer genre and so every work dealing with them for too long ends up showing queer themes at one point or another - even though it is true that the Fables SERIES is very, if not almost exclusively, heterosexual-driven. But the very open and normalized homosexuality, bisexuality and pansexuality of the spin-offs help balance this in the scope of a franchise.

Now, you might say: "Hey, you spoke of queerness at the beginning of your post, but now you're all rambling about sexualities! Where's the transgenders at?". And believe me, it was deliberate! Here is the thing - when it comes to trans folks, Fables becomes a whole other lot of complex topic. I do not know what Willingham's personal opinions of trans people are, and it doesn't really matter here because am looking at the actual created work as it can be received from someone with no knowledge of the author. Here's the thing: while the Fables main series is a desert of gayness, it develops a very strong transgender esotericism through focus on specific fairytale topics, reversal of fairytale tropes, and discussion of motifs that truly work as gender-breaking occultism. This is why anyone who reads some arcs of the main series can easily believe Willingham is trans-friendly (again I don't know if he actually IS, and from the rumors I vaguely heard, he might not be fully okay with trans people, but his work speaks a different language). If Willingham truly is against trans people, than this proves my point above: anyone dealing too much or for too long with fairytales in their work will grow queer-messages and queer-themes, that they want it or not.

On one side, you have numerous shapeshifters in this story who explicitely keep altering and changing their appearances and identities, which brings forward questions of "living into two worlds" (like the cubs, halfway between humans and wolves) or having to choose one identity other another. When this gets mingled with inhuman, cosmic entities and personified natural powers this results to some very interesting gender issues - most famous being the North Wind case. When there is talks of the North Wind getting an heir among his grandchildren, there is a whole discussion about how the North Wind will always be King of the North and of Winter... even if the new North Wind is a girl. Which, as the North Wind attendants say, lets the heir choose if they want to become male to match the title, or stay female while being called "King" - because ultimately the North Wind, being a seasonal and weather power, is above and beyond these gender considerations, and mostly uses them as attributes and titles more than anything of real substance.

On the other side, the topic of names is truly fascinating... Fables being iconic characters of popular stories, feeding off their fame and celebrity to gain power, means that they are deeply attached to their names, that their names are their essence and their being, and that these same names will keep haunting them. And yet... in the second half of the comic, we have numerous characters changing their names. Changes that not only mark deep personal growths and dvelopments, but also are accepted by others and change the perceptions of who the character is. When Flycatcher stops being a low janitor in deny, and decides to become a brave, powerful, messianic king, he returns to his original name of "Ambrose". Similarly, Frau Totenkinder when returning to her true self, abandoning the nicknames and disguises, gains a new identity so that the other Fables do not recognize her and mistake her for another person. And of course, there is how Stinky - who got a name he hated, not by choice - becomes Brock Blueheart, though this is here meant to be more of a religious allegory than anything else. But still - for anyone aware of his transgenderism works, to see this importance and focus on the power of names, of names as defining an identity, and of the changing of names to change who you are... It is hard not to see some trans motifs in the second part of the Fables comics.

But even more relevant, even more obvious, even more trans-coded, was the story of Rodney and June. This arc was the definitive proof that no matter what Willingham's personal opinions might be, Fables was a trans-friendly comic, even if maybe against the author's own intentions, or by accident. [Or again, purposefully if Willingham turns out to be cool with transgenders people, I don't know the guy]. Rodney and June, wood-soldiers, born out of trees, made of wood, part of an entire elite nation and civilization of wooden people... Are fascinated by people of flesh, dream of becoming flesh people, even if others see them as weird freaks and advise them to "keep all this hidden" not to compromise their reputation ; and their story is fully developed and fleshed out (no pun intended) from awkward and failed attempts at imitating and understanding the behavior of flesh-people (things like eating or kissing), to them openly and bravely undergoing a quest to demand that their creator grants their wish of becoming people of flesh, and be recognized as such by the empire they live in... When you read this story, it seems massively obvious that this is a barely-veiled plot for anyone dealing with identity issues and trying to change who they currently are to be true to who they want to be - and more importantly who they feel they have to be. You can't do more trans than that - from the whole "don't tell, keep it hidden" behavior of the awkward friends around you to the secret experiments and roleplayings in the privacy of the bedroom...

In conclusion: Next time someone says Fables is homophobic, point out to them that the comics themselves are not. The main series might not have prominent gay stories or characters, but it has some very strong transgender motifs and characters (accidental or not, they're here, they're queer and people have to deal with it) ; while the spin-offs are bursting with unashamed gay romances and explicit lesbian sex. It is definitively not the greatest franchise when it comes to gay representation, but it cannot be said it isn't a queer comic in its whole.

[dutch-and-flemish-painters]

Jacques-Albert Senave - Sales rooms at the Elysée Palace in Paris in 1797 - 1797

The Élysée Palace (French: Palais de l'Élysée) is the official residence of the President of the French Republic. Completed in 1722, it was built for nobleman and army officer Louis Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne, who had been appointed Governor of Île-de-France in 1719. It is located on the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré near the Champs-Élysées in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, the name Élysée deriving from the Elysian Fields, the place of the blessed dead in Greek mythology. Important foreign visitors are hosted at the nearby Hôtel de Marigny, a palatial residence.

The palace has been the home of personalities such as Madame de Pompadour (1721–1764), Nicolas Beaujon (1718–1786), Bathilde d'Orléans (1750–1822), Joachim Murat (1767–1815), and Charles Ferdinand, Duke of Berry (1778–1820). On 12 December 1848 under the Second Republic the French Parliament passed a law declaring the building the official residence of the President of France. The Élysée Palace, which contains the presidential office and residency, is also the meeting place of the Council of Ministers, the weekly meeting of the Government of France presided over by the President of the Republic.

Jacques-Albert Senave (1758–1823) was a Flemish painter mainly active in Paris during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He is known for his genre scenes, history paintings, landscapes, city views, market scenes and portraits.

[gabrielferaud]

French Grande Armee Playing Cards with art and text by Patrice Louis

[Open images for better quality/readable text]

♣️ Dragon de l’ Impatrice, Pauline Bonaparte, Marshal Poniatowski, Marshal Ney

♠️ Officer Des Guides, Madame Lefebvre, General Cambrone, Marshal Berthier

♥️ Mamluk, Josephine, Marshal Lannes, Marshal Murat

♦️ Grenadier a Pied, Marie Walewska, Marshal Soult, Marshal Davout

I can’t find any other information about the artist except that he’s also illustrated other historical cards sets in the 1970s. I like how it’s a Grande Armee set with no Napoleon, and the people within the suits seem to have no particular connection to one another. It’s like the guy who made these was just choosing people that he liked.

[oldtvandcomics]

Catching up on Book Reviews #3: Contes de Fées Queer by Madame de Murat

Madame Henriette-Julie de Murat était une des femmes qui écrivaient des contes de fées vers la fin du 17ᵉ siècle. Elle était aussi une lesbienne. Dans cette édition de poche sont repris quatre de ses contes avec un sous texte queer fort. Étant donné l’époque quand elle écrivait, on ne peut demander rien de plus.

Je suis extrêmement contente que ce livre existe. Les conteuses ont été oubliées par la culture populaire, et il est bien temps de les redécouvrir. Il est aussi bien temps de redécouvrir les vieux écrivains queer, et ce qu’ils peuvent apporter aux membres de la communauté, aussi bien que toute autre personne intéressée à la littérature. Ainsi, ce livre sert aussi bien comme introduction à une autrice bien douée, comme il nous sauve l’effort de lire toutes ses histoires à la recherche d’un sous texte queer.

C’est un livre fort intéressant pour les fans de littérature classique, de contes de fées, aussi bien que les membres de la communauté, et j’aimerais bien remercier tous ceux qui ont travaillé pour nous le donner.

[nesiacha]

My reaction to the fact that Letizia Bonaparte reprimanded Caroline Bonaparte for her betrayal towards her brother

(This is not a very serious post, so if you’re looking for real historical analysis, run away.)

Here’s what the mother supposedly said to the daughter for the betrayal Murat and she committed against Napoleon: "If you couldn’t influence him, you should have at least opposed him. But what kind of opposition did you put up? Was any blood spilled? Only over your dead body should your husband have struck your brother, your benefactor, your master!"

My reaction: Well, madam, now you should have given this speech to your son, who betrayed the Jacobins by deporting many of them, and especially the Republic, without which he never would have risen to power. Or when he committed so many heinous acts worthy of a traitor, like the execution of Giuseppe Ceracchi in 1801—ironically, the same man who made a bust of Bonaparte in Milan in 1796. It seems that the poor man was tortured, as were most of the Jacobins executed (about ten of them) after a parody of justice even worse than that of 1793–1794. If only that was the only betrayal he committed... Anyway, I’ve already said in many posts why I hate Bonaparte. In any case, we can say that Caroline, in this instance, is truly her brother’s sister. XD She just gave him a taste of his own medicine.

However, it’s quite astonishing to see that Caroline Bonaparte is one of the most demonized members of the Bonaparte family, while the reality is much more complex than the "evil sister" often portrayed in many films. In truth, she was a friend of Hortense de Beauharnais, despite what the latter claims in her memoirs, if I’m not mistaken.

P.S. Don’t think I have any sympathy for Caroline, because I have none at all. I’m just forced to acknowledge that in films, she’s wrongly depicted as one of the "villains."

[miffy-junot]

Laure Junot's account of the dramatic end of the affair between Junot and Caroline

Now this is where things get exciting - we have reached the point in the book 'La Generale Junot' by Joseph Turquan where excerpts are included from Laure Junot's 'journal intime' where she describes the various details of her and Junot's affairs. The incomplete manuscript was given to Turquan by Georges Aubert, Junot's grandson.

However, the manuscript only included pages labelled 45 to 129, and Aubert requested for 'too intimate details' to be removed, and so the 'journal intime' published in Turquan's book is not the full work.

It goes without saying that in this excerpt Laure wishes to portray Caroline Murat as a villainous temptress, so please be aware that Laure's commentary is heavily biased.

“…General Junot had been invited to come and dine at L.L. A.A. I.I. the same day; the note added that the princess was very keen that my condition* allowed me to accept. She knew very well that I didn't go by carriage because of my condition. The general went there and in the evening, at half past eight, he was already home. His expression was agitated. I feared the misfortunes that could happen at any hour of the day. I ventured to speak to him. But he replied in a very open manner that he was going to change into another outfit and end his evening with me. In my living room there were Cardinal Maury, Baron de Breteuil, M. de Narbonne, M. de Valence and some of our female friends. At nine o'clock, in fact, he goes to his house to change clothes and take off his uniform. An hour passes, he doesn't come back. I go to his house, no one! I ring the bell: his trusted valet arrives.

-"Where is the general?" -"Madame, he went out." -"By carriage?" -"No, Madame, on foot." -"It's okay, go." When he was gone, I sank into a chair, completely devastated: it was only too clear to me that it was an appointment. And he had to leave at seven in the morning!**

I returned to the salon and said to excuse him that orders from the Emperor had called him to the chateau. Soon everyone left, with the exception of the Count of Narbonne and Mme de Noailles, my childhood friend. They both knew my position. So I could cry in front of them. They both stayed until one in the morning. I didn't know what mood he would be in and I urged them to leave before his arrival, especially since Mélanie was furious and wanted to shame him, she said, of his behavior.

When I was alone, I gave in to all my despair. I had wanted to exonerate Alexandre*** in the eyes of my friends, but in mine his behaviour was no less painful and offensive. Leaving me at the moment of moving away from me for an indefinite period of time, leaving me at the moment of being a mother, without spending the last moments of his stay near me, and for whom? For a woman who I myself knew was unworthy of him.

Sitting on a couch in the darkest corner of my bedroom, I had just counted three hours on my clock. Then my agitation redoubled and changed object. All that sinister worry has for a beloved object crowded around my mind. The day was about to dawn. It was impossible for the general to be so imprudent as not to warn him. — I imagined that Murat, suspecting that this last night would have been given to love, had surprised them; that Junot had perhaps perished in a tragic way…

The more the hour went on, the more my ideas became confused. My pulse beat with frightening speed and inequality. I heard extraordinary noises. I saw strange shapes wandering around me, in short I was in a complete state of madness, but my heart understood. Oh, how much I suffered, that cruel night of August 27 to 28! What a memory! Today, when a slightly severe pain makes me believe that I am suffering, I put my thoughts back to it and the present pain is no longer anything but illusory.

At four o'clock, it was impossible for me to resist what I was feeling. I crossed the small salon which serves as a communication between the two apartments and I rang the bell for his valet. This man, who had been in his service for many years and who loved him in adoration, was also very attached to me. I knew he had all the confidence of his master. So, without stopping at the reserve that I usually used with servants, I told him of my fears, and they became much more acute when I saw that he shared them. He told me, without me asking, that the general had come to undress, that after rereading a very short note that he had noticed very well, the general had hit his head several times, had loaded his pistols, had put on a coat, then left through the door of the small hotel which overlooks the rue Saint-Honoré. All this taught me nothing and yet these details redoubled my tears and my worries. I dismissed Heldt - and I remained in this room. I looked at this bed and I shuddered to think that its owner was perhaps going to come and die there barely in the spring of his life, for a woman who had never been able to appreciate either his heart or all that it was worth.

I was no longer crying: my eyes no longer had tears. Five o'clock had just struck. Daylight had broken and peeked through the thick curtains that hid the windows. Destroyed by my worry, I was only informed of my existence by a feeling of acute pain which made me suffer so much that I am surprised myself that I was able to resist it. My poor child sometimes called me back to life with his gentle twitches, when I came back completely from the unexpected sight of his father.

He entered through the back door of the hôtel, crossed the stable yard and, taking a small hidden doorway, arrived without noise. When I saw him, I was so happy, my heart was so flooded with happiness, that I could not reproach him. I threw myself around his neck and, wrapping my arms around him, I covered him with kisses and kisses. His eyes, his hair, his clothes, everything about him was the object of a new attention… I held him against me, our mouths met. One of those kisses of fire which always gives the first happiness when we love each other, reminded me of my sad pain. He wanted… Ah! my God, how quickly I rushed away from him! He himself did not try to hold me back.

"Why did you stay up so late?" he asked me with pain; "what imprudence! How pale and changed you are!" Indeed, my face was upset. He told me some rather poorly plotted tale that I just didn't want to listen to. - "But why not take care of yourself?" And he took my hand. I resisted. -"Why?" he said to me gently; "no, don't fear me. I promise you," he added, seeing that I was still hesitating. -"Oh!" I said to him, "your heart finally understands me?" He blushed and, drawing me even closer to him, he put his hand on my breast to feel movement from his child. The poor little one seemed to thank his father's hand. "His poor little heart already seems to hear me," he said with a sad smile. -"Yes," I said to him, "because it is close to mine, and mine has always been yours. He will love you as you love his mother."

He looked at me with eyes full of tears. -"Laure," he said to me, "you deserved a better fate." I laid my head on his chest and there I cried with less bitterness. That last word almost killed me. "Hey! What," I cried, "is my fate unhappy for ever?" "No, no, no," he replied forcefully, "but can the damage that has been done be repaired?" -"The heart repairs everything, my Alexandre; mine is already happy with what you just said." And I was happy, I found this sweet regard, this penetrating smile, I found it whole. -"My friend, how happy I am!" -"Really?" -"Oh! yes." -"Prove to me that you forgive me." -"I really want to".

He drew me to him and again wanted… This time I moved away less abruptly, but no less resolutely. He again felt his wrongdoing, and hit his head hard. He stopped in front of me, stared at me for a long time, then said: -"I don't want to leave!" -"You don't want to leave?" -"No!" -"But the emperor?" -"He won't know." -"What? What are you saying?" -"That I won't leave until tomorrow; that now we are going to leave for Raincy where you must establish after my departure. My men will leave, but I will stay until tomorrow at this time. Listen," he added, "I can't leave without having had an explanation which is important to our future happiness. Yes, our happiness," he continued, seeing my astonished look. "Go rest for a few hours, then we'll leave."

I threw myself on my bed without finding any sleep. But I found there a kind of calm that had been unknown to me for a long time. At noon we got into a closed carriage and, having arrived at Raincy, Alexandre put the horses in a small carriage which had been made in our happy days to wander in the beautiful woods without being followed, and we spoke of everything alone.

Alexandre was deeply moved. His emotion was far from calming down when he spoke to me about what was bothering him. Approaching this subject with noble confidence, he denied none of the sorrows he had given me; he even accused himself of cruelty. He agreed with everything. But he gave me evidence and written proof of the persecution he had endured and to which an angel would have finally succumbed. “Yes, I loved [Caroline Murat],” he said to me; "but my heart never beat for her. She is pretty, she is a princess, sister of my master… All this prestige seduced me. My head turned and I caused your misfortune and perhaps mine. Yesterday, in what state I found you! And for whom was I thus exposing my wife, my child… Because my death, I know, would have led to yours at that moment." -"Your death!" I cried, turning pale with terror… He said nothing, but taking a note from his bosom, he gave it to me to read. I saw, written without spelling, in its usual way, and in the hand of the princess, these remarkable words:

"I cannot bring myself to think that you are going to leave without a final meeting having taken place between us. When you get home, you will have to put up with screaming and whining. Leave all that and come to your Caroline. Come by the ordinary route. Everything will be open. But above all, and don't forget, come armed and well armed. You understand why."

What I felt when reading the last lines of this note, disgusting by its common twist and the entirely material feeling that it seemed to express, what I felt cannot be conveyed. So a woman could, to satisfy carried away senses, expose at the same moment the life of her husband, the father of her children, the life of the lover she claims to love!… The memory of this moment makes me shiver again. Alexandre took my hand. -"I can imagine how much your heart is suffering," he said to me, "but judge what mine must have felt when I read this infernal note." -"However, you went to this meeting." -"Could I dispense with it? This was impossible for me. I owed it to you, my poor Laure. This woman is a Messalina. But don't complain about the meeting: it opened my eyes forever."

I then learned from Alexandre that as soon as she entered her room she herself had examined whether the pistols were in good condition, and her pretty hand had from its holster a superb Turkish kanjar, which Alexandre always carried on his errands nocturnal, and had tried if the tip was sharp enough; then she closed the doors herself and joked about the resistance that could be put up if Murat wanted to enter. Alexandre told me that this behaviour, combined with this note, had produced such an effect on him that his senses, usually so fiery around her, were completely mute. Unaccustomed to such treatment, instead of understanding the cause of such a state, she made it even more humiliating for her charms by the fury in which she abandoned herself.

-"You went back to that woman!" she shouted with rage; "you returned to her! You didn't expect that I would have the courage to see you tonight." “No,” he replied coldly, "because she wouldn’t have wanted it. Besides, let's not mention her name, I've already asked you not to." This was how the first hour of this unfortunate meeting passed. She used all the art of seduction to bring back a love that was casting its last glow. But the blindfold had been untied, the prestige had fled, and Alexandre told me that seeing this woman consume herself in powerless and lazy efforts, and playing the role of a prostitute, the effect she had produced on him was to nullify it. Her rage then knew no bounds. The most violent threats against me especially had escaped her, and he told me that at that moment she had horrified him. -"Oh ! my God," she cried, "it’s finally daylight! I can hope that Murat will see you out and that you will only return home deprived of your life." “Shut up!” Alexandre said to her violently, jumping out of bed; "shut up! Now you inspire nothing but disgust in me; now you horrify me! But listen carefully: if I ever learn that you have interfered in any way with my wife's rest, I will unmask you. In my turn I threaten you and I will keep my word. I will not take revenge in the shadows, but France, the whole of Europe will know your conduct and especially that of this night. Take care of it." She calmed down, she cried, knelt down, asked for and obtained his forgiveness, blamed everything on the violence of her passion and, through her gentle manners, she obtained from Junot a reconciliation which was to be the last sigh of this unhappy affair.

Junot did not hide his concern for me in relation to her. “She hates you,” he said to me; "your wit, your talents, your reputation as a fashionable woman that she cannot usurp despite being a princess, all this embitters and irritates her. Be careful with her, and be on your guard."

We returned to the castle. We were entirely alone. This magnificent home was especially enchanting at this time of year. The park is that of Armide. We left the little rotunda when the moon rose, to sink into its beautiful shade. We were both in a state of sweet languor, of voluptuousness, a thousand times preferable to that passion of the senses which so many people regard as the first merit of love, and which I would like to exclude. When we are truly alarmed, the feeling of the hand of the one we love, their hair touching ours, a simple kiss, — a kiss, the most ravishing charm of love! A kiss given and received by two burning souls is Heaven, it is voluptuousness itself, the last enjoyment of love; we share it with all other beings. But these enjoyments of which I speak, they belong only to humans, it belongs to humans alone to feel them. “We indulged in it with a charm all the greater because our two hearts had suffered so much. I forgave. Alexandre was eager for forgiveness. He looked at me, stopped, held me against him, and placing his hand on my breast, I saw tears moisten his eyes as I felt his son kick. We left the castle at nine o'clock; we only returned at two o'clock in the morning, happy, me to have forgiven and to have found my friend, and he to no longer be guilty or exposed to being so. He left at five o’clock and I stayed at Raincy, until the time of my confinement which was to arrive three months later. Now a new era begins for me."

*At the time, Laure was pregnant with her and Junot's third child.

**Junot was due to leave for Lisbon.

***The name by which Laure called her husband.

[josefavomjaaga]

The Metternichs about Junot

Metternich to Mme Metternich, 14 February 1810 It is with true sorrow that I take up my quill today. Your letter of 26 January contains one of the scenes that show us the people of 1792 and 1793 exposed and naked. Place a being like J[unot] in a very high position, he will drink blood without letting any misgivings stop him.

That’s Metternich reacting to the news of the scandal Junot had caused after having discovered the correspondence between his wife Laure and Metternich, proving they had had an affair. Metternich himself was not in Paris at the time but had left some time after the war of 1809 between France and Austria had begun, and in the meantime had taken over the ministry of foreign affairs in Austria. However, Lorel Metternich with the kids had stayed in Paris, and Junot had dragged her right in the middle of a scene of severe domestic violence that she immediately informed her husband of, with the help of a secret agent Metternich had in Paris, Benoit des Androuins.

Interestingly, Lorel Metternich at first does not mention any involvement of Caroline Murat in this event, she only lists her as one of the people gossipping about it.

Other than that, Lorel apparently behaved as prudently as she could once she had entered Junot’s house. According to the letter by Androuins, Junot had forced Laure to write a message to Lorel, urgently inviting her over. On entering, Lorel found Laure Junot crying on the sofa, hiding her face in both hands. - According to Laure’s own journal intime, the last hours had been a nightmare for her, including attempted rape and attempted murder. - Once Lorel Metternich was in the room, Junot locked the door behind both women and started to rage against Metternich, demanding Lorel take revenge upon him etc. The only thing Lorel answered was: "But you are mistaken, Monsieur le Duc. This is not my husband’s handwriting." - Despite the fact she had obviously recognized it. Again, according to Laure’s journal intime, she at some point managed to silently ask Laure if she could do something for her.

Despite Lorel’s calm reaction, the scene must have scared her a lot. At least she seems rather relieved to learn that the Junots were to leave the capital, when she writes to her husband:

Bluebeard has finally left with his amazon and, as I am assured, probably never to return.

"Bluebeard" obviously referring to Junot.

Edit: Forgot to add the source for the two letters: Conti, "Metternich und die Frauen", Vol. 1 - The description of what may (or not) have happened during the night when Laure was alone with Junot are a brief summary of the excerpts from Laure's "journal intime" quoted in Toussaint du Wast, "Laure Junot". It is to be noted that this "journal intime" may have been written years after the event for Balzac, and that it is per se unverifiable.

However, Lorel Metternich calling Junot "Bluebeard" at least strongly hints at her, too, being convinced that Junot had physically abused and possibly tried to murder Laure.

Edit II: On second reading, I added an "attempted" to the accusation of rape. Of course, by the reasoning of the law at the time, rape in the judicial sense would not even have been possible between spouses. Obeying to the husband's needs was the wife's job. - As to Laure's "journal intime", she describes that Junot tried to force himself on her, but claims that she managed to make him stop. (I am not sure I fully believe her.) Junot then at some point attacked her with a pair of scissors, wounding her, before trying to strangle her. He only stopped when Laure was close to loosing consciousness and when he literally saw her blood on his hands. That's how Madame Metternich found Laure on entering.

[usergreenpixel]

MALMAISON MEDIA SALON SOIRÉE 21: THE ACADÉMIE (2012)

1. The Introduction

Welcome, welcome, welcome! Did you miss me?! I missed you too!

Life has been hectic, but I’m back with a review of a book I came across by accident while browsing Goodreads. The setting of Madame Campan’s school isn’t used that much and has a potential, so of course I was interested.

The book itself is seemingly only available for purchase so far. On websites like Amazon that is. I couldn’t find it in the database of archive.org at least. But perhaps someone will upload it in the future.

Anyway, I’m always a sucker for more obscure media, so let’s proceed with the review already!

(Dedicated to @pobodleru and @josefavomjaaga )

2. The Summary

“Eliza Monroe, daughter of a wealthy Virginia lawyer, is sent to France by her family to get a better education fit for a lady.

At the school, she is quickly roped into manipulation games between two bitter enemies: Hortense de Beauharnais and Caroline Bonaparte.

Each of the girls will also experience love, betrayal and many other aspects of growing up.”

Coming of age stories are a classic for a reason, so let’s see how this concept is executed!

(Trigger warning for mentions of physical abuse, murder and suicide.)

3. The Story

First of all, there are too many POVs. Eliza, Caroline and Hortense EACH have their own POV chapters, where they narrate their side of the story in first person.

While this concept of switching between POVs could potentially work, the problem here is that there is too much switching, which gets very annoying and confusing. Basically, too damn much of a good writing device.

Secondly, for a fairly interesting premise, the story doesn’t do squat with it for two thirds of the book. Eliza doesn’t pick sides, characters don’t develop properly and the love subplots don’t get resolved.

For two. Fucking. THIRDS. Of the book!

The conflicts only get sort of resolved in the final third of the book, which, as you can probably imagine, just isn’t enough time to do it properly. And guess what! The author DROPS THE BALL WITH THE RESOLUTION and, as a result, nothing makes sense like she pulled the resolution out of her ass.

Another side effect is that the characters barely change at all over the course of the story, when growing up after facing adversity is the entire point of a coming of age story!

Which brings us to…

4. The Characters

I don’t like Eliza Monroe. The problem isn’t that she is a bratty teenager, by the way. The problem is that she doesn’t change over the course of the story and barely has agency, especially in the beginning.

Hortense and Caroline just play her like a fiddle most of the time, while Eliza herself just waits for something juicy to happen so she can gossip with her mother via letters.

Eliza is just a character blander than unseasoned oatmeal.

Caroline Bonaparte, as usual, is the bad guy. She is a selfish, manipulative cunt who only cares about herself and MAYBE Murat. Then she suddenly speed runs a sort of a redemption arc in the end, and even then it’s ambiguous if it was genuine or not.

Hortense de Beauharnais is supposed to be the good character, depicted by the narrative as better than Caroline in every way and almost beatified by the story.

Unfortunately, this makes her lack depth too and makes it very jarring when she does really shitty things, like trying to drive a wedge between Eugéne and his love interest due to believing that said love interest is unworthy of her brother and should know her place.

She never gets called out on her bullshit either! Our saintly Hortense, Neighbors! Oh, and she has an inappropriate relationship with her stepfather! Or well, implications of such a tryst.

Eugéne is a cinnamon roll personified. At least, until her accidentally kills his love interest, Madeleine. Supposedly, this happens because Madeleine is unstable due to enduring abuse and pining for Eugéne, yet all that happens is that she gets conveniently killed off by Eugéne and we never get to see if she truly was unstable or not. We are TOLD this, but not shown evidence.

By the way, Madeleine had the most potential out of all the important characters. An aspiring biracial actress horribly abused by her jealous, drug-addicted mother and pining for Eugéne, hoping to be rescued like in a fairy tale.

Madeleine is depicted fairly realistically, in my opinion, but then she is suddenly killed off to conveniently resolve the conflict of Josephine not accepting her as a match for Eugéne. No buildup, no significant consequences, ZILCH! Only Eugéne seems shaken by her death, but we aren’t really shown much of this either, merely TOLD.

Josephine, while definitely capable of kindness, has her own selfish bitchy moments, like not giving a fuck that Madeleine died or that Eugéne is shaken up by accidentally killing her. Her own past as a slave owner is also mostly conveniently omitted and she isn’t shown as being called out for it, unlike Eliza, who IS called out for thinking slavery is normal.

Letizia Bonaparte is a scheming snake just like Caroline, almost to cartoonish levels.

Napoleon Bonaparte is a stereotypical shortie, and also almost being a pervert to his stepdaughter. Ewww…

Madame Campan is a stereotypical kind and strict mentor.

So yeah. Most characters don’t feel interesting at all.

5. The Setting

The setting is mostly just mediocre, with occasional common cliches like claiming Robespierre REIGNED in France or that nobility during Frev was automatically in danger. But these are far from the worst offenders, so eh.

The descriptions are surprisingly good though, in that they are integrated into the book in a balanced way, so here at least one win for the author!

6. The Writing

Problems with the writing start WITH THE TITLE. More specifically, combining French spelling of a noun with an English article. “THE ACADÉMIE”, “THE TERREUR”, etc.

It’s unjustified and clunky at best. At worst, it looks like the author is just throwing in French words because the book is set in France. I would understand if it was a foreign character trying to show off and making these weird mistakes, but ALL CHARACTERS speak like that!

It’s… definitely an odd choice.

Other than that, however, a bit of props to the author for at least trying to write realistic bratty teenagers.

7. The Conclusion

Honestly, this book isn’t the worst I’ve ever seen. Not by a long shot. However, I would still recommend to give it a hard pass. It’s not bad. Not even so bad that it’s funny. And not even rage inducing.

Just… meh. Bland. Nothing to write home about.

On that note, I declare this Soirée at the Malmaison Media Salon as finished. Hope you stay tuned for more future reviews though!

Love,

Citizen Green Pixel