Favorite Biographies to suggest....

... aside from Marie Antoinette by A. Fraser which I%26#39;m currently reading, which books or French historical figures do y%26#39;all find fascinating? thanks!

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Camille Claudel - protege, lover and nemesis of Rodin. A brilliant artist in her own right.

Madame de Sevigne - the letters to her daughter give an inde peek to the fashions, gossip and goings on in the 17th century.

Mme de Sevigne%26#39;s home was today%26#39;s Musee Carnavalet

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I enjoyed %26quot; Josephine , the Rose of Martinique%26quot; by Andrea Stuart.

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thanks ladies... I%26#39;ll add those to the list.

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Bonjour Grace,

I don%26#39;t know if André Castelot book%26#39;s have been translated in English but he is one of my favorite biographer. His l%26#39;Aiglon and his Reine Margot read like novels and bring to life history.

But like the previous poster anything about Mme de Sévigné is a good read. There is sometimes a visite-conférence about her life in the Marais, look it up in Pariscope the next time you are in Paris.

There is also a good biography of the famous painter Mme Vigée-Lebrun written by Inès de Kertanguy (clin d%26#39;oeil à Stanilas)

Bonne Lecture.

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Hello JustGrace,

Although not on one historical figure per se, Alistair Horne%26#39;s %26quot;Seven Ages of Paris%26quot; is an excellent read...I am currently reading Fraser%26#39;s book as well, and thoroughly enjoying it...

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merci Luc!

joan - I have that one as well :)

also Paris to the Moon and the %26quot;Provence%26quot; series by Peter Mayle. Maybe I should get caught up before I go hunting for more.

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If you do not already know that I am fascinated by the Renaissance you have not been paying attention in class!

I am currently reading The Serpent and the Moon by Princess Michael of Kent, a rather dry account of the lives of Diane de Poitiers and Catherine de Medici, two fascinating women whose stories intersected at so may points and in so many interesting ways.

I think my single favourite biography of any French figure prior to the 20th century is probably Leona Frieda%26#39;s splendid Catherine de Medici: Renaissance Queen of France. Frieda is IMO a tremendously talented writer.

I will take the liberty of quoting the opening paragraph of the Prologue titled Death of a King:

%26quot;On the late afternoon of Friday, 30 June 1559 a long splinter of wood from a jousting lance pierced the eye and brain of King Henry II of France. The poisonous wound bloated his face, slowly robbing him of sight, speech and reason, and after ten days of suffering he died at the Château des Tournelles in Paris. His death was not only tragic — it would prove calamitous.%26quot;

How can anyone not want to read more?

Happy to see another recommendation for Horne%26#39;s Seven Ages of Paris too...

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%26quot;Madame Pompadour: Mistress of France%26quot; ...... by Algrant

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Thanks Irish! I too love the Renaissance, though I admit I haven%26#39;t studied it very much. I took a class last summer called %26quot;Politics and Patronage in Renaissance Art%26quot; and it was so interesting to find out how much influence the buyer had - determining how much of which colors were to be used, which figures would be included, etc.

And the Medicis have fascinated me since I went to Florence. If you know of any good books that cover the history of their entire family, I%26#39;d love to see those as well.

and Discover... :)

I%26#39;ve got Madame Pompador on my list. There%26#39;s one other mistress I need to read about too but her name escapes me at the moment. Thanks to you as well.

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Just Grace - I realize that she%26#39;s more %26quot;modern%26quot; than others mentioned here, but I%26#39;ve always been fascinated by Simone de Beauvoir...