About
I am an art history graduate, writer of terrible historical fiction, committed Francophile, history geek and Versailles obsessive. I am also a middle class housewife and mother of two, living on the razor wire between slummy and yummy mummy depending on whether I have had time to apply mascara in the morning. I probably won’t talk much about my children as there are a million blogs out there about that sort of thing and to be honest I really don’t think that the world needs another one. Although whether the world really needs another Marie Antoinette worshipping art history blog is another matter and one that I will be willfully closing my eyes to.
This blog is intended to be a research blog for my writing projects but will probably end up being a total mess like all of my other blogs! I do hope not though! There doesn’t seem to be a cohesive theme as such, at least not so far – unless you consider ostentatious art history geeking a theme, which it probably is.
I have had several people say that they want to leave comments but feel too intimidated as the blog is so ‘art history’. I hope that doesn’t really mean that you all think it is pretentious as hell, but c’est la vie. Anyway, I just wanted to say that comments are ALWAYS welcome and no matter how short or trite or silly you might think they are, I will treasure them all like the PEARLS that they undoubtedly are.
Anyway, it is a lonely business this blogging lark so it is always nice if someone says hello on their way past.
thought you might find my paintings interesting as I found your blog interesting=many thanks Daisy=
Hello Daisy. :)
Thank you so much for sharing your art with me – I love your paintings and drawings! I really admire their dreamy quality – they remind me of the first time I read Picnic at Hanging Rock, probably because of the atmosphere of innocence meeting its downfall. :)
Thank you!
Melanie x
Hi,
I have just found your blog whilst in the process researching one of my antique embroidered textiles. The 17th century shoes are to die for! I am an antique dealer from glorious Gloucestershire with an on line antique shop. Your blog is totally addictive and your passion for history radiates through the entire blog. I love art (the Flemish primitives are my fave), historical novels, medieval tales and antique textiles, particularly 17th & 18th century ones. I like the way you blow the cobwebs away from history and make it come alive. I try to do this with my antiques as many shoppers are put off by the stuffy, old school brigade that can permeate the trade. Just like history, art and theatre, antiques should be accessible to anyone with an interest in them.
I have saved your blog to favourites and will place a link to it on my shop homepage.
If you ever get a spare minute you can find my shop called Trinity Antiques on facebook or at http://www.rubylane.com/shop/trinityantiques.
We are a friendly shop and always give new customers a warm welcome.
Keep up the good work and best of luck with the writing.
Many thanks
Victoria
Trinity Antiques
I am on facebook and
http://www.myartspace.com/viewer/gallery/
http://fineartamerica.com
http://geraldineliquidano.blogspot.com/.
http://www.nyaxe.com/geraldineliquidano
just wante d to tell you how much I enjoyed your blog, I wish I had much more time to read all!! I was looking for an image of the Duchess of Devonshire to paint and somehow I got your blog, Love it love it thanks. Geraldine ( I can not write good English)
Hello! Thank you so much! Your English is perfect! x
Pretentious Blog? Definitely not, but a very beautiful one, and as a fellow Historical Fiction Author I love the fabulous images of the people I am trying to write about. I shall stop by often.
Aw, thank you so much! I love your blog too and will add it to my reading list! :)
Melanie xxx
Hi from California. Your blog is quite elegant – and I’m noticing that you and MA look rather similar…looking forward to reading more here!
Thank you! That is a very kind thing to say. :)
Magnifique! What an awesome blog…found you before four a.m., thanks for the wake up…keep doing what you’re doing, it’s very beautiful and informative!
Dthanja
Thank you very much! :)
Hello Melanie
I was delighted to come across your blog. A fellow MA worshipper since the age of 10 when I found a book about her in the library, I too am an ardent lover of Versailles and all things french of the dix-huitieme siecle. Your self description gives me the courage to acknowledge that I too am a middle class mummy and, even worse, I live in Surrey. My husband and I sell paintings and have had some fab 18th c french portraits over the years. Unfortunately my husband keeps selling them…….
We have just bought a share in an apartment in the Marais on the very site of the La Force prison where the Princesse de Lamballe met her horrific end. No ghost seen yet, but I am hoping!
Kind regards
Helen
Ooh, hello! :)
I am so jealous of the paintings! Oh, I couldn’t bear to part with them! I am terribly jealous of the apartment as well – I took a photo of the site of La Force, which I posted on here on a post about the Princesse. I feel like a bit of a stalker now! ;D
Melanie
Have just looked at your Princesse de Lamballe post. Fantastic collection of images. I will sit and devour them this afternoon after all the boring bits of the day are over. It would have been lovely to have kept the portraits but finances dictated otherwise, unfortunately! I have squirreled away a small one of Madame de Maintenon. Will send you an image.
Have just checked “squirreled” to see if it has one L or two but Chambers Eng Dic doesn’t have it as a verb. Terrible omission.
In view of the fascinating subject matter, I can’t see anything amiss with a bit of stalking! The apartment has fab caves which long pre date the building above and were, presumably, the basement of La Force.
There is a walled up tunnel which led to the Bastille.
It really makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up when I go down there – maybe it is just be the damp chill…….
Have a good Sunday.
Helen
I hope you enjoyed the paintings! I love that sort of thing! :)
I would LOVE to see the painting of Madame de Maintenon! She was rather fierce wasn’t she?
That sounds absolutely amazing about the caves and tunnel! Wow! I am so jealous!
I feel as though we may relate on a certain level. I have taken quite a few art history classes in my university years although I chose to major in poli sci I did claim a minor in European history. As you an I both know art history and ‘regular’ history are definitely closely intertwined and I could even argue art history students may know more about the history of certain regions than actual history students do considering on top of all the back story details you get symbology lessons as well.
I too am a bit of a Francophile however I think I could just be considered a culturephile to be honest haha. I have actually been looking at a temporary job in Paris and the idea of being able to visit Versailles on weekends is pretty much enough to make me dead set on making sure I land the job!
Anyhow! I definitely enjoy your blog and purpose =)
Hello! Oh yes, I totally agree! When at university, I often felt like I knew more about history than the history students (I started out as one but then switched) just because we were being taught it at a whole different, rather more nit picky and social, level. :)
I really hope you get the job! That would be amazing!
Many thanks! xxx
Melanie,
I spent the evening reading your blogposts and admiring the paintings. I love that era p.e. the rococo; the pastels, the dresses, the richness of the colours and surroundings. I am from Holland so its a little bit hard for me to express my thoughts in English but I hope you understood it! Oh I love the history story’s of the Royals and Lady’s of Europe. So your blog & detailled info made me smile… Thank you.
Au revoir,
Annemiek
Aw, thank you so much! :)
I understood perfectly; thank you for your kind words! I’m really glad that you are enjoying my blog! :)
Happy new year to you in beautiful Holland!
Melanie xx
Hello Melanie,
I’m an art graduate too! But I didn’t study much about art history, I’m not really good in history ><
Despite that, I'm very interested in French history at 18th century, especially at the Marie Antoinette time. Actually, I'm doing some research about l'école royale du génie de Mézières, or any other royal military schools of France (of course at 18th century), but there's nearly nothing on Google…I wonder if you can help me little bit?
Best regard
Mia
Hello Mia!
Sorry for not getting back to you straight away; it’s been a bit hectic here!
I don’t know anything about royal military schools, I’m afraid but I think that I would start with the memoirs of famous soldiers of the time. I’m sure you have already thought of that though! :)
Good luck with your research and if I come across anything, I will come back and let you know!
Happy new year! x
I fell into the blog and am absolutely enchanted! It may amuse you to know that I am a lacemaker and was originally looking for references to Oud Duchesse which is a form of Duchesse bobbin lace that I have only seen a few examples of. (Also typing singlehandedly (lefty) after a fall prevented me from ringing bells in the bell choir at Christmas.) So I much appreciate the amusement factor of you historical romances.
Be assured your blog is securely bookmarked.
Patty
Aw, thank you so much! That is incredible – you must be terribly talented and patient to do something so intricate! I am in awe! :)
I hope that you have fully recovered from your fall! Poor you. :(
Hope to speak again soon!
Melanie xxx
Having fun and enjoying life. Isn’t that all it’s about here. It’s not pretentious. Enjoy your fantasy so that we can all share and savor it.
PS. I posted your quote about red heads on my son’s FB. Thought it was appropriate (He’s my magic leprechaun)
That is ABSOLUTELY what it is about! Thank you! :D
x
Heh, I have a redheaded boy as well – I am SO proud of him! :)
What a great Blog.
I need some inspiration because we are going to create a room in boudoir style for an event. It is not easy to find furniture or to create a scenery with little money.
I hope I will succeed. At least I found some nice pictures that can help me :-)
divine sis
Thank you so much and am so glad that I was able to help! :D
O about red hair…even blonds knows what trouble is :-)
Mine is blond, but i also adore red. And a mix with green eyes and a white skin…amazing to see.
I hope i will find enough time to read your blog.
Keep up the good work.
divine sis
Aw, thank you! :)
Grand intentions for a productive day are dashed now that I’ve stumbled across your blog. It’s fantastic! I’m going to indulge in it all day long. Can’t wait. Thanks for all the time and work you’ve obviously put into it. I bet it’s been pretty fun for you, too!
Aw, thank you! I am so glad that you are enjoying it! I am having so much fun putting this together and it is always thrilling to hear that someone else appreciates it! :)
x
A friend linked me to your post about Les Merveilleuses today, and I loved it! Your blog is very interesting, and I’ll certainly be following along. Merci!
Thank you! :D
x
And something else: you need an email address somewhere conspicuous in your sidebar. What if a blog reader wants to reach you privately, without leaving a comment everyone will see?
And maybe be less self-deprecating? :)
Thank you so much for the advice! I’m very shy and a bit retiring so while I love sharing things with everyone, I’m also a bit reticent about it as well. :)
I will definitely put an email address on the sidebar and get my husband to help me prettify it all a bit! :)
Melanie,
Truly enjoy your blog!
I am a writer with my own time-line obsession, 17th century. Throw in some poison, a cardinal or two and I am happy to stir the pot and see what happens.
I love the art on your blog and that is what inspired me to start a blog about art, history and miscellaneous things.
http://thiswritelife.wordpress.com/
You rock!
Thank you so much! The seventeenth century is so fascinating isn’t it? Are you interested in the French court or the Civil War or something else totally different? :)
Ooh, your blog looks interesting! :)
At the risk of sounding like a stalker, you and I could be twins! I am serious. I majored in history, love art, have been obsessed with Marie Antoinette since I was a child, write historical fiction and historical romance (five novels completed, one wretched one published years ago by a house that now produces vanity work…lovely), and try to visit Paris as often as my budget will allow.
I promise I am not trying to shamlessly plug my blog, but if you were to go there and scroll down to Am I Related To Marie Antoinette or scroll over and look at My Recent Images, you would see we have A LOT in common.
I would love to chat with you sometime about la belle France or writing…
leahmariebrown.blogspot.com
Aw, thank you for your comments! I am so flattered! You sound ace and just my sort of person! I wish I could finish books but I am currently struggling through book number two and daydreaming about all the books that I would much rather be writing! ;)
I have just added your blog to my Reader so that I can keep up! I love it! In fact I was going to post about Marie Antoinette’s pistole chocolates this week sometime, which is a bit weird! :)
Please do keep commenting as I love talking about Marie Antoinette! :D
Melanie xxx
hi from Makassar, Indonesia..
wonderful blog u have here.. everything in ur blog are amazing.. i love it.. keep good work back there.. :)
btw, I’m really curious with ur book “The Secret Diary of a Princess”… since i can’t find it in any book stores at my place.. :(
Aw, thanks! :)
The book is only available online from Lulu right now. :)
Dear Madam,
I am artist from Croatia.I would like to contact you about your surrname.If you think that sound interesting,
you may contact myself on this email.
Thank you very much
Hi, did you ever come accross a mention of a lady in waiting called Hannah? I am researching family history and have a canadian newspaper cutting which says my ancester was this lady,born within the court circle, married to a man called Thompson in the Plenipotenciery in Paris who was later shot in an argument after they lost all their money. she must have come back to england as my GGG grandmother was her daughter and married in London in 1805 and she is on the cert as witness. I would love to find something of her but hard to know where to start. Hope you can help. Thank you.
Hello Simone,
Sorry for not replying sooner but I have been quite ill lately! I haven’t come across a lady in waiting called Hannah, I am afraid. It is possible that she was connected with the court in some way but Hannah would be quite an unusual name at the time in France, especially as it had quite Puritan overtones in the 18th century. If I find anything out, I will let you know! :)
I am glad I found your site as a link from enchantedbyjosephine. Little tidbits of history and the personal lives of those long gone from this world are always of interest.
Don’t worry about the mascara. It really does help, but if only the kids will see it, they don’t care.
I hope the box below for site updates will subscribe me to your blog posts.
Thanks so much! :)
I love all the little details as well! :)
xxx
Just beautiful what you have done here!
Thank you! I’ve got lots more art history posts coming up this week! :)
Melanie,
How’s book number 2 coming alone? Hope the words are flying out of your fingertips :)
I have almost finished the second to last chapter, but am having trouble finding time to write as I’ve been ill and oh, life. :)
xx
Hello just thought i would comment as i was passing by, being a portrait painter naturally made me curious, even more so my love for Gainsborough, i went to the Tate Gallery with a Lord whom iam going to paint soon and i saw many works by Gainsborough and was amazed by the textual quality of his works, people comment on my paintings saying they look like Gainsborough
good blog =)
Hello! Thank you for the compliment. :)
I love the Gainsborough paintings that they have in the Tate – they are so lush and vibrant and beautiful! I really love the way that Gainsborough handled oil paints as though they were watercolours. I’d love to see your paintings if you have a link to any? :)
Mon dieu J’adore ton page! I am also a devoted francophile and artist with an extreme love for both 18th century Rocco style paintings and La Revolution I shall have to read your book as I am most delighted by Historical fiction :D
Bonjour et merci! :)
Sounds like we like all the same things! Let me know what you think if you read my books! :)
xx
Where is Athenais herself? You have her sisters, her daughters, but where is Louis’ main squeeze — that taroteer herself?
thanks Maeve
I have made a couple of posts about portraits of Athénaïs but the blog is a work in progress so there will be fuller posts about her later on. Maybe after I get back from Paris. :)
Hi Melanie
I am super-excited to have just found your blog, doing a google search for Camille Desmoulins portraits no less! This must tell you enough about me – we have many common interests and I am so looking forward to exploring your blog. I must say that I love the beautiful paintings, I could scroll up and down for hours admiring those portraits. However, I am also quite interested in its content, so you’ll hear from me soon.
bisous,
a fellow francophile from Athens, Greece
Hello there!
Thanks so much for your comment! I am so fascinated by Camille and Lucile Desmoulins and have been doing loads of research about them lately. :)
I really look forward to your comments – it’s always a joy to hear from fellow enthusaists. :)
x
“When the great queen knows that she is lost,
Will demonstrate an excess of masculine courage.
She will pass over the river, pulled by a horse, shabby.
Then, die by the sword, and the faith will be outraged.”
I sent you an email, with a couple of questions… I don’t know how often you check it… So I thought I’d let you know via post, too. Thx
I love your blog, so quirky and different! And it looks like you’re having loads of fun :-) I’ll be linking to you!
Hello! Thank you! It is a lot of fun to research and write this stuff – I really enjoy it and am always thrilled when other people do as well! :)
I have been reading your blog this morning and really looking forward to seeing where your travels take you! I love the photographs! :)
Melanie xxx
First of all I would like to say that I really enjoy your blog – even though my favourite historical period is definitely the Victorian Era ;) I love especially all those paintings which I didn’t see before and information you gave (I was looking for something about Thomas Graham’s wife and I found it here :)).
But I have one small question about the painting just above responses here: who is the author of this and who is the lady?
Greetings from Poland
Julia
Thank you so much and I’m really glad that I was able to help you out! :)
The portrait of a lady in oyster silk is the Comtesse de Cluzel, painted in around 1789 by Danloux. :)
Thanks again,
Melanie x
Hi – Stumbled acros this blog whilst looking for images of Rossetti.
Did you know that as well as Sandro being besotted by Simonetta that also Giuliano De Medici was also madly in love with her – Giuliano and Sandro were close friends. Giuliano and Sandro conspired together when Giuliano jousted wearing secrete emblems of Venus which Sandro painted. Giuliano was assasinated aged 23
Hello! :)
Yes, I had read this – it seems like there were all sorts of stories about Simonetta and the Medici brothers, probably because she was so beautiful and everyone wanted to be with her. I wonder what she was really like?
Just to say I do love the look of your blog and especially like the main picture. Don’t think it’s pretentious – everybody should write about whatever they want. I agree that there are thousands upon thousands of mummy and child type blogs – not to say thats a bad thing but not sure how many more we can read! I look forward to reading more on here. Hope your course goes well.
Thank you so much! :)
I feel a bit out of place with the mummy bloggers to be honest. I feel like I should be one because I have children but really I don’t want to blog about being a parent or my children or anything like that. :)
Thank you! x
Dear Melanie,
What a visually delicious website! I happened upon it because I had been writing about the guillotine for my blog, and Google directed me here. And you quote from Anne of Green Gables! (I’m Canadian and it always amazes me that anyone outside Canada knows who she is.) I once wrote a blog (for someone else) called “Gigi meets Anne of Green Gables” to highlight some French-North American differences. Now I am blogging for myself (if you think writing a blog is lonely, try writing on behalf of someone else) and I love to look at other people’s blogs for inspiration and encouragement. Yours is quite wonderful. Anyway, just following your instructions to say hello on the way by.
All the best from Toronto,
Philippa
Parisian Fields
Hello! Thank you so much!
I love your blog! :)
Melanie xx
J’aime beaucoup votre blog. I am actually from Paris but not living there at present but since I was a kid I was fascinated by Marie Antoinette. I was wondering if you know L’allée du Roi by Françoise Chandernagor, forgive me, I don’t know if it has been translated. I think it is the most astonishing historical novel I have ever read. It tells the life of Mme de Maintenon. Since I only just started my blog I haven’t reviewed it. It stumbled upon your blog as mine referred me to yours on my post on Enid.
As stated before, I like your blog. It is pretty, fresh, different. All the best for your writings.
Aw, thank you so much! :)
I have read that book in its English translation and it is just as marvellous as you say. It’s really powerful and passionate! :)
Good luck with your new blog! I was chatting to my husband about Enid Blyton the other day and he was telling me about his mother going to tea at her house and how she could tell that she disliked children. Weird isn’t it? :)
Melanie xxx
I just read the comments posted by Helen last Nov… I can’t believe real people get to live like that! In the Marais, on the site of La Force? Amazing!. When I saw Robespierre’s former home (or rather, the Duplays former home), it looked like people still live there. Do you know if they do? It’s above a shop, so maybe it’s a business property…
I know, it is amazing isn’t it? I’d LOVE to live somewhere like that! :)
I think that Robespierre’s house is used for storage now. Another blog reader linked to a post about his visit there actually – I’ll try and dig it out for you! :)
xx
Hi there, Melanie!
I love the old world charm of your blog, especially your attention to details- such as the vintage font used in the comment entry box! Touché!
I am deeply interested in art history, although I profess no formal training in the same! Would you be so kind as to recommend some place I can start of with? The world of art seems to be an ever-expanding Universe in its own right and I am unsure of where and how to begin immersing myself in its tides and currents!
Found your blog through the Freshly Pressed feature, congratulations once again :)
Akshaya
A nomadic twenty-year-old from India
Hello there! :)
Aww, thank you so much! I’m so thrilled and touched by all the love my blog is getting today! x
Ooh, what sort of period are you drawn to? It’s a huge field so it’s best to start with whatever catches your fancy and then take it from there! I’m madly keen on eighteenth century art for example. :)
Thank you! xx
I too am a francophile, since age 5. For a high school project, I brought in a Marie Antoinette head in a wicker basket full of straw. My mom helped me splatter red paint on it to look authentic. I’ve been enjoyed reading through your blog. So glad you were Freshly Pressed!
Hello! Oh wow, that sounds amazing! I feel inspired to make one for myself now! :D
Thank you! xxx
Wow,,,,, interesting blog… fabulous…I was really stunned and amazed with your blog.. No idea there is someone with this kind passion over Marie Antoinette. I’ve known about her since elementary school from Japans comic, Rose of Versailles, and I have to admitted that MA was an interesting person.
Thank you SO much for such a lovely comment! :)
She really was and IS fascinating isn’t she? So glad that you like my blog! :)
xxx
Hi, nice to meet you !
Hello, nice to meet you too! :)
I found your site just a few minutes ago from a luluandlush tweet, and I am seriously in love. I am studying studio art in college and art history is a very big part of my courses. The exams make me gag, but I love the discussions. (We’re studying renaissance art right now.) I haven’t found anything here that I disagree with and the paintings are making me drool. I just subscribed and honestly look forward to visiting to liven up my day. And your quotes about redheads made me grin all the way to the auburn curls tucked behind my ears.
Awww, thank you so much! I struggled with the actual learning art history at university but I’m glad that I did it now. I really love it, but on my own terms! :)
Ah, a fellow redhead! I have bright pink hair right now but I’ll never stop being a redhead. :)
xx
Your site makes me wish I had a french feel to my paranormal romance world. Very pretty site.
I second that.
Your site layout is edible. If I could have a site like this, and a life with Edward Rochester, I’d be infinitely happy.
Oh me too! :)
Hi, just want to compliment you on your blog. ALready the background is enough for me to stare at for hours.
I too love history and art and draw inspiration from tragic figures. Marie-Antoinette has also been a recent influence in my jewelry making. It’s what enticed me to start destroying collectable vintage china and make jewelry out of it. For instance the Limoges factory had some great Fragonard scenes that feature courtiers from the 18th century and that makes for some great pendants.
Thanks for the post about her grave. I know Paris almost like the back of my hand, but this had escaped me. Next I take the Eurostar from Brussels I know what my destination will be!
All the best!
Hello! I’m sorry, I seem to have missed the notification of this comment! :(
Thank you for saying such lovely things. xx
Dear Madame Guillotine,
How nice to find another Madame!
I love your Blog! i just added it to my reading lists!
So much to read, and so good!!
So happy I found It.
Congratulations !
Au revoir mon ami.
Mariajo
Madame Dedal
Bonjour!
Thank you so much for your lovely comment! It looked like a really sweet poem, which really cheered me up! :)
Melanie xxx
I have just discovered your blog. It is beautiful. I love your editorial mix…stunning pictures to enhance your words. Utterly distracting, wish I had more time to explore it.
Aw, thanks so much! Hope you do manage to come back again! xx
well, hello, on my way past :)
i added you to my twitter a few months ago, through sandra gulland’s page. i adore history and historical fiction, and i am glad i finally got around to digging into your research and archives here. i like the way you share what you know, and what you don’t *yet* know! thanks for that. very enjoyable!
Hello there! ;)
Aww, oh dear, I’m quite annoying on Twitter! Sorry! Really glad that you like my blog! xxx
Absolutely not pretentious!
I wasn’t sure what to make of your blog’s name but thoroughly enjoyed what I have seen so far. Yes blogging is a rather lonely past time but for some reason I feel compelled to blog even if no one actually ever looks at my site. So I understand your comments in “About this blog”.
I’m obsessed with the 18th century and have started my own blog above. Why I am obsessed I don’t know. Is it the clothes, the customs, the history? Whatever, it fascinates me. As indeed does Marie-Antoinette, but also those other names that shone so brightly in that century. My blog is only very new but I seem to be concentrating on the minutia of their lives. The day to day things, the items that people used, I want to do one on hairstyles. And for that reason alone I love your collection of pictures of dead people. What a wonderful resource. Please keep them coming.
I have just realised one of the portraits you have of the Princess de Lamballe is so strikingly like the actress who portrayed her in Sophie Coppola’s film it’s awesome.
If you have time I would love you to visit my blog (remember it’s only new if you do) and let me know what you think.
Love the wallpaper too!
Thank you so much! Haha, and I am glad the name didn’t put you off! :)
Your blog is so lovely! I adore all the little details from their daily lives – they really knew how to live well didn’t they? :)
Today I have macaroons on my blog. I bought them at lunchtime. They looked so lovely I knew I had to photograph them and post them on my blog! Very Sophie Coppola MA indeed! And yummy but light!
Wish I could send you some real ones!
Awww, how amazingly gorgeous! Oohh, I wish you could too! :) xx
My heroine in history is Marie Antionette. My icon in show business is Jayne Mansfield. Both of these women met horrible deaths by decapitation. The best film about Marie Antionette is the MGM classic released in 1938 starring Norma Shearer. Miss Shearer truly brought the Queen of France to life on the screen. Unfortunately, the Queen of France could not keep her figure the way the Queen of Hollywood did! The recent film of Marie Antionette by Sofia Coppola was a joke. I can’t believe it won Best Picture at the Cannes Film Festival. Miss Coppola should stay away from making historical bios.
What a beautifully artistic blog! And interesting to boot!
Debs
Thank you so much! xxx
Beautiful blog!!! As a fellow Tweeter/Facebooker/blog-ette & would-be historical (or should that be ‘hysterical?’) writer – dealing mainly with early 1800s England, I feel your lonely pain where blogging is concerned. I adore the current blog about Tsarina Alicky’s dresses – beautiful isn’t the word – but they must have weighed tonnes! Keep up the good work xxxx
Thank you so much! :)
It is lonely isn’t it? I love blogging but it always feels a bit odd writing all this stuff then hitting send and not knowing if people will enjoy it or not. It’s been much better lately though as readers have started talking to me more and stuff and I actually feel like I am doing something worthwhile. Mostly! :)
I adore historical fashion and especially clothes worn by famous women of the past as they have such a romantic resonance. Have you seen my post about the dresses of the Empress Joséphine?
http://madameguillotine.org.uk/2010/01/23/the-romance-of-certain-old-clothes/
Thank you! I’ve added you to the Blogroll now! What a ghastly term, I know. xx
Hello, I have been directed to your blog by landscapelover as we have common interest in women and history. I am glad to have come as your blog is cheerful and has lots of fun information.. I shall visit again. -Patty
Hello! Sorry for being so tardy in replying – I managed to sprain my ankle and have been all over the place lately!
Thanks so much for the lovely comment and hope to chat again soon! :)
xx
I am absolutely in love with your blog. I am a History Major with a Minor in Art History. This blog is truly amazing because we share a deep passion and admiration for more than a handful of similar topics, works of art, and people. I thoroughly enjoy reading your updates! Thank you for creating a blog that is worth reading and observing.
Hello!
Thanks so much for stopping by and for the lovely comment! Ooh, who are your favourites? I love chatting about this stuff and don’t know many people in real life who like the same sorts of things as me. :)
xx
Loved the tips about travelling with kids in Paris – heading there from Sydney with miss 6 and miss 8 – who are dead keen to see mona lisa and each chocolate pastries. I’m not telling them anything about euro disney – I don’t care how fantastic the rides are.
The last time I went to Paris was a decade back for a romantic w/end away with my English hubby… so different view on things this time. Looking forward to the art, culture and charm… as I said to a friend: “I’d be ticked pink to just sit in a proper Paris cafe with a beautiful view of the city and sip milky coffee & just feeeeeeeel that i’m in Paris!”
Little things eh? Keep up the excellent blogging.
Mel (Sydney)
Thanks so much! Hope you all have a fabulous time! :)
I’m not telling my boys about Euro Disney either (difficult as it’s heavily advertised here in the UK) – I think it’s a waste of airfare to Paris to be honest. I couldn’t bear to go there knowing Paris is so close!
x
love all the artwork! I’d love to dress in such beauriful dresses! Love the Caterina Sforza Blog…….almost named our daughter Caterina.
Thank you so much! What a lovely baby! :)
I was interested to note that you had read Picnic At Hanging Rock. It is curious to me that a U.K person has read it or knows about it. I live in Australia and for some time I lived in the state of Victoria where the hanging Rock is. I went there as a teenager and remember it as spooky and did not want to climb it. I personally feel it is a sacred Aboriginal site. Without a doubt.
I didnt know that as a teenager. I had seen the movie ‘Picnic at Hanging Rock’ as a kid and seriously thought that it was a true story of those chicks going missing there. ive since learned that it was a work of fiction but there is evidence of a girls school near there, goin there and something weird happening. On the spiritual side, Aboriginal spirits were probably peeved about people climbing on a sacred site and dealt with it accordingly. As it is a major offence to their culture. I think a chick did go missing there in Victorian times tho. But hell, plenty of people go missin in Australian Bushland. Its worth checkin the story out. I never want to go there again I can tell u. P.S Luv your blog. Australia is culturally deprived.
That’s really interesting! I think most women in the UK have read the book or at least seen the film at some point – it’s really famous over here! :)
Thanks so much! Is it really culturally deprived? I’ve never been so wouldn’t know – must admit that when I think of Australia, art doesn’t really come into it… ;)
Funny how Europeans equate ‘culture’ with European culture, as if there’s really nothing worth knowing beyond the Med. There was and has always been an incredibly artistic and spiritual ‘culture’ in Australia… long before the Europeans arrived. (And I’m the Fragonard fan… my comments on that elsewhere on your wonderful blog.) I too studied Art History and like to consider it in its its widest terms.
Yes, it’s weird isn’t it. I used to complain about it when I did my degree as we only studied European art, which I believe is usual for art history courses here in England and elsewhere. However, my own tastes are for rococo art so that’s what I feature here.
I don’t know anything about Australian art so sorry if it isn’t featured here.
I really love this blog :)
It truly is amazing and thank you so much for sharing it with the world.
You do a great job.
I’m twelve and just working on an alternate history novel which basically follows a female-dominated monarchy set in the 16th century which I am really enjoying writing.
Thanks again xx
Thanks so much! I am really proud of this blog and it’s always a delight and a thrill to hear that other people are enjoying it as much as I am. x
Oh wow, your book sounds brilliant! How amazing – I love alternative history novels. :)
x
I’m glad you enjoy it- I can lose hours just scrolling down the screen looking at all of the amazing images you have here :)
I’m glad you like the idea of my book. I posted today on my blog about a few more details (I’m new to it so not much on mine yet!) http://womenofhistory.wordpress.com/2011/03/14/thy-kingdom-come/
I don’t think I’ve ever actually read an alternate history novel… I just like writing them ;)
I’m so happy for you getting your novels published. It’s always been an ambition of mine but it’s so difficult getting people to take twelve year olds seriously… I wish you all the best for the future xxxx
Aw, thank you! :)
I love your blog – it all sounds very interesting! :)
I think I submitted my first book when I was just a couple of years older than you. Oh dear. It took me a long time to complete something else so you’re doing a lot better than me! Good luck with it, but if you’re writing because you enjoy it, then that’s a good sign! :)
Hello… I have just found you…
I just have to say how very much “I love your blog.” I read it almost every day… so much enjoyable reading…
I look forward to purchasing your book.
The art, words, the information on this beautifully put together blog is indeed a feast to peruse!
I have a very humble blog and I have you on my side bar, of course with your permission….and may I use your info. from time to time, as I will make sure it always leads back to you. Please drop by..and if you would like me to remove what I already have up please let me know…
Your most truly
Tracy
aka:lady Grace
Hello there! :)
Aww, thanks so much! Thank you for the lovely comment! :)
Of course you can link and stuff! I have no problem with that at all – I had a look at your blog yesterday and thought it very lovely! I will add you to my link list as well when I update it. I should probably do that soon actually! :)
Let’s stay in touch! x
Hi
Fell into your blog somehow and am intrigued. I have no ‘passion for
fashion’, as you would quickly judge from my complete lack of sartorial elegance! Neither do I read historical fiction – I’m more your ‘historical non-fiction lover’. BUT, where we do meet in the middle is with the word BATH.
I love the city; it has always been very special to me. I am preparing material (always) to write a local/family history book but, in the mean time, I’m flexing my very tiny literary muscles by scribbling a newish blog about my family. I like the idea that when I look at your images I might be looking at my own forebears, promenading about the city in their finery. In reality, they were very humble folk so it’s unlikely, but still…. drop in some time :-)
Regards
Karen, aka Prevaricat
Hello! :)
Oh how interesting! Do keep in touch! :)
xx
I just came across your blog and it’s both gorgeous and informative. I’m an unreformed art history geek and 18th c. history buff who is also passionate about Marie Antoinette and have no problem with long words, sumptuous images, and well written posts that reflect your interests and background. I do, however, find it amusingly ironic (ironically amusing) that your nom de guerre is Madame Guillotine when you are such an ardent supporter of Marie Antoinette and the beauties of the ancien regime.
Um, the name was very specifically chosen to reflect my interest in both pre Revolutionary and Revolutionary France. I’m as much a fan of Madame Roland, Lucile Desmoulins and their ilk as I am of Marie Antoinette.
Melanie,
I have decided that after Her Royal Highness Cher , that you are my new Hero and History Goddess! I became interested in Royal Families as a small child and was further driven when I was diagnosed with hemophilia. My jumbled math translates to : Royal Families have hemophilia, I have hemophilia..therefore; I am Royal. Well, that’s what I try to convince my husband of, anyway. I have just spent the past few hours salivating through your fantastic blog. I hope to someday see Europe and all of these priceless treasures for myself. But until health allows me, I’ll live vicariously through you.
Thank you so very much,
Cami-Sue
Missouri, USA
Oh wow, thanks so much! :)
Oh no, that’s awful for you. I hope you get to come to Europe soon! :)
xxx
I just love your blog, it’s like the perfect blog to me.
I look forward to your other posts. Thankyou. x
Thanks so much! xx
Madame Guillotine thank you very much, this is beautiful!!…..
xoxoxo…your friend Margot…..:)
You’re welcome! Thanks so much. :)
I’ve just written a blog about how important art and art history have been in my life! So pleased to have found you!
http://howwelaughed.wordpress.com/
Hi!! So lucky and pleased to found your blog!! I’m also a history geek and Versailles obsessive!! I always try to find something new about “Madame Déficit” …et e voilá!!!
I’ve been at Versailles, it was my only reason to visit France, haha, and I couldn’t get out of there, everything was…I can’t describe it! just wanna stay there!!! I remember perfectly Marie Antoinette’s room..Le petit Trianon, the farm… the theater where she used to sing opera, and Mirror’s Ballroom…So much History have seen those mirrors…Love it!!!! Hope I can read your book someday, maybe it arrives to Spain??? Thank you!!! and kisses from Valencia, Spain ;)
Hanna
/ps Sorry for my english if its not good enough, I try.. Thanks again!;)
Hello there! Always thrilled to meet fellow Versailles Obsessives! xx
I just bought your ebook ” The Secret Diary of a Princess” . It’s really good i feel like i was really reading Marie Antoinette’s Diary. I cried so hard while reading the part where Marie and Caroline had to be separated coz Carolina had to marry the Ugly king :( it is a really good book
Congratulations for your fantastic work ! Hugs and kisses from Brazil and Helga.
J’aime beaucoup votre blog ! Merci .
Thanks so much! x
oh, I adore history geeks! Your blog is absolutely stunning, I love this hot pink/Marie Antoinette/Vintage mood… :)
I want to read all of it now!
I have just fallen in LOVE with this whole website! Could you tell me a little more about Marie Antoinette and also life for the average ‘Duchess’ in the 17th and 18th centuries? It would be much appreciated for some school work I have to do! :)
Hello, great blog. I’m planning a JTR graphic novel, hopefully a realistic portrayal of the crimes. Have you done much research in to prostitution at the time?
That sounds interesting. I’ve done a lot of research into contemporary prostitution at both ends of the spectrum and in-between!
Ohhh…just love your blog!! History is one of my extreme enjoyments. I used to give Teas for women’s, children’s and civic groups….as well as for private engagments. Was also a part of a Victorian Society. Now I *just* create art! (Or endeavoring too!) I collect books about how folks lived…I found one that I just loved that was filled with over 900 years of women’s letters. It was engrossing reading about what women thought about thru the many many yrs.
Thank you for this blog….
Jenny
Thanks so much! That sounds like a great book – I love stuff like that! It’s so interesting how women’s lives have changed so much over the centuries.
xx
I have just found this wonderful blog while researching scented gloves. I LOVE it!
Thanks for putting it all together so beautifully, a feast for the mind and the eyes.
I have to say I find Ma. Ant. interesting too – I read the wonderful Antonia Fraser biography. I also read The Scented Palace about her perfumer, Fargeon.
Carry on the good work and lots of luck with all your writing projects.
x
Thanks so much! :)
I love both of those books – they are so fantastic and evocative. Have you read the Joan Haslip book about Marie Antoinette (and her book about Madame du Barry as well actually)? I think it’d be right up your street! :)
x
Vow, what an awesome blog! I can tell it’s something you feel really passionate about! just beautiful. I am not really into this kind of thing at all, but am nonetheless really inspired!
xx
Hello there as always wonderful works here of a talented authoress all the best from
The Jane Austen Online Forum JAConlineforum on twitter as I put in a little introduction to your blog on the forum that links to here for our members to peruse
http://www.janeausten.co.uk/forum/
You very much bring these women to life and in your fiction you perhaps redress the eroded reputation that the lies of the age made edifice. I admire the compassion and respect that motivates a person to reach into the pass and balance the scales for people whom they shall never meet and whom they shall never know. It is an little celebrated human virtue to do such a thing. “Le coeur a ses raisons…”
Your website is such terrific visual eye candy! Love it.
Wonderful blog – I haven’t read it all but I like your writing style / ‘vibe’, and even the rather (feminine?) wallpaper. Brings back faded memories of my late 70s childhood / Israeli grandmother’s house maybe. I too am a Francophile, so much so that one of my ambitions is to walk through France from Brittany to Geneva via Versailles (and then walk the length of Italy as a coda!) One year soon I shall do it. It’s the culture and landscape more than the people although the stereotypical French woman (or at least my notion of her) is perhaps the most beautiful in the world, and I have a romantic notion of meeting ‘the one’ in some French forest. Hope you are watching / enjoying the first episode of the BBC series on Versailles – first episode last night. OH YES, I got to your blog because I TOO am very interested in the Charles / Louis relationship….I googled the three words and your blog I think was on the first page. My favourite author John Fowles was also a Francophile, just incidentally….
Hello Madame,
Your blog seems so interesting! I happened to popped by and i found myself reading on and on your posts!
This comes from another history student, who tries to get her diploma by the end of this year….! Oh, and i live in France!
I will be passing by more often. :)
I’ve been researching clothes for my book, Titanic: A Legacy of Betrayal, and found your site to be incredibly helpful for getting visuals in my head about their clothes. Thank you for sharing. I picked out a dress I believe my character would wear and posted it on my site–crediting yours of course!
Hi!
I’m a 16 year old New Zealander and I absolutely adore this blog! Its now the only reason I care to check my e-mails. I have yet to get your books, but I have read snippets and they seem so good! I am doing a writing project and was wondering if you could give me some basic tips on what life was like for middle and upper class folks of the 18th century- fashion, food, indulgence in operas, plays, ballets and shows, etc… it would be really nice to have some more information, and you certainly seem like the one to ask!
Greetings from Rhode Island!
I fell upon your blog as I was surfing for Pre-Raphaelite images and to my delight found so much more. I enjoy your writing style and intend to read your book…but most of all I found your wonderful blog…in celebration of Pre-Raphaelite beauty. Ah, so inspiring!
Thank you and I hope to be back soon!
I stumbled upon your blog while researching Marie A. and found your posts very interesting and honest. Very much enjoyed the book review about the Romonov family through the eyes of the daughters. Thanks for writing something worthy of being read.
Très joli blog ; dommage cet horrible nom de Madame Guillotine !
Nice blog, but horrible name Guillotine
I am enjoying your blog tremendously and it’s going to keep me occupied for quite a while. Being of French extraction but also fascinated by the English late-Georgian period I have bridged the gap in the biography that I am writing and in my blog at
http://chasbaz.posterous.com/
I have linked to you there too.
Please come and visit!
My story is that my gggggfr was born in a small town in France in 1750 but by the age of 25 had got to London and soon became tailor to the Prince of Wales.
I just thought you might like to know I’ve nominated you for a Very Inspiring Blog Award in my latest post :) http://lauradpurcell.wordpress.com/2012/04/22/very-inspiring-blogger-award/
Just found your blog and am very excited–I’ll be spending some time reading your past posts so I can catch up!