image credit: gallica.bnf.fr
—Madame Royale by Elena Maria Vidal"Thérèse had lived in many places, but there was none so haunted as Trianon, or as vibrant with memory. Its haunting was a wistful and compelling call to linger, as if the murmuring poplars and cedars entreated one to stay forever. The soul seemed drawn into an enchanted realm where time itself dallied. She breathed in the scented air. No one would ever live there for long in peace; no one could ever again make it a dwelling place, for the person who had enlivened Trianon with her own spontaneous magic was gone from the world. Trianon was no longer a home, but a tangible dream of lost happiness."
This quote from Madame Royale is one that I think about a lot--it's one of those passages that really sticks to your mind long after you've finished the book. I was browsing through some vintage photographs of the Trianon and the image, of two women walking through the hamlet, immediately reminded me of this quote.
Are there any book quotes about Marie Antoinette, or the Trianon, that stick out for you?
Yes :) Not exactly a quote, but a scene in Chantal Thomas' "Farewell, my Queen", where Agathe visits Antoinette in Trianon and they read a theatre play together. The old Agathe still can remember how the queen's hair and the room smelled, and how shiny, sweet and small everything looked like there. Or a very similar scene in Elena Maria Vidal's "Trianon", an afternoon family tea party at Trianon where even Louis finds time to join. I love these two novels! <3
ReplyDeleteElena Maria Vidal's novels are so poignant. "No one would ever live there for long in peace; no one could ever again make it a dwelling place, for the person who had enlivened Trianon with her own spontaneous magic was gone from the world." Very sad. :(
ReplyDeleteYes, "Trianon" and "Madame Royale" are written so as to place you there, to carry the reader back in time, feeling and sensing it all through the author's skilled narrative. I have re-read these books several times and learn something new each time. They are beautifully written by a person whom I presume has been there and felt and sensed it all. Thanks for the lovely photo.
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