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The Lost King of France: Revolution, Revenge and the Search for Louis XVII |
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Book Details |
Library |
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Author |
Deborah Cadbury |
Category |
Biography / Mystery |
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Publisher |
HarperCollins |
Printed By |
Griffin Press |
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Country |
Australia |
Personal |
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Year Published |
2002 |
Date Read |
20/09/2006 |
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ISBN |
0007148097 |
Personal Rating |
10 / 10 |
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Binding |
Trade Paperback |
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Pages |
299 |
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Overview |
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Louis-Charles, Duc de Normandie, enjoyed a charmed early childhood in the gilded palace of Versailles. At the age of four he became the Dauphin, heir to the most powerful throne in Europe. Yet within five years, he was to lose everything. Drawn into the horror of the French Revolution, his family was incarcerated and their fate thrust into the hands of the revolutionaries who wished to destroy the monarchy. In 1793, when his mother was beheaded at the guillotine, she left her adored eight-year-old son imprisoned in the Temple Tower. Far from inheriting a throne, the orphaned boy-king had to endure the hostility and abuse of a nation. Two years later, the Revolutionary Leaders declared Louis XVII dead. No grave was dug, no monument built to mark his passing. Immediately, rumours spread that the Prince had, in fact, escaped from prison and was still alive. Others believed that he had been murdered, his heart cut out and preserved as a relic. In time, his older sister, Marie-Therese, who survived the Revolution, was approached by countless 'brothers' who claimed not only his name, but also his inheritance. Several 'Prince's' were plausible, but which, if any, was the real Louis-Charles? |
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Comment |
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This book was hard to put down. The story begins with Marie-Antoinette making the journey from her native Austria to France, details of the decline of the French throne and the horrors of the Revolution, and ends with modern-day science – DNA testing to discover exactly what happened to the young prince. The idea of a nation happy to turn a child over to imprisonment and abuse is a horrible one, and the state of the prince when he finally died is heartbreaking, the audacity of each imposter who claimed to be the prince years later staggering. This book is very well written, and despite some harrowing testimony about the treatment of the royal children, I loved how rich the story was – hundreds of witness reports pain a vivid picture. |