Voltaire's heart investigated

A new TV documentary starring historical anthropologist Philippe Charlier  follows the conservation in 2024 of Voltaire's heart,  which resides in the base of his statue at the Bibliothèque nationale.

Abolition of slavery in Revolutionary France

 In The Conversation , 28th May: Jeremy D. Popkin discusses his new book, The First Emancipation: The Forgotten History of Abolition in Revolutionary France, published by Princeton University Press. Professor Popkin's book is to be released in the U.K. on 16th June.

Noble beasts: hunting in 18th-century French art (book)

 Noble Beast: Hunters and Hunted in Eighteenth-Century French Art by Amy Freund is published by Yale University Press, in UK on 9th May

Rothchild porcelain exhibition

A new exhibition at the Mobilier National (42 Avenue des Gobelins, Paris) showcases 18th-century Sèvres porcelain from the Rothschild family collections.  ‘Sèvres, a Rothschild Passion’, opens on  17th April and runs through to 26th July 2026.

The duc d'Orléans and the coming of Revolution (article)

A new open-access article by Damien Tricoire in the Bulletin du Centre de recherche du château de Versailles, dated 26th March, takes an in-depth look at the role of the duc d'Orléans /  Philippe Égalité in bringing about the events of the Revolution.

Sofia Coppola's Marie-Antoinette at Versailles

An exhibition marking the twentieth anniversary of Sofia Coppola's film "Marie Antoinette" will run at the Trianon estate from 22nd September 2026 to 24th January 2027.

The Rest is silence

 The Voltaire Foundation publishes a post by Joanna Stalnaker, Professor of French at Columbia University on her book The Rest Is Silence: Enlightenment Philosophers Facing Death, which was published on 14th October 2025.

Louisville's Louis XVI preserved

After some to-ing and fro-ing, it looks like Louisville Kentucky has finally found someone to give that statue of Louis XVI a makeover (and agreed to foot the bill!)

Louis's bedroom at Versailles

 This spring the Château de Versailles unveils the reconstruction of Louis XVI's bedchamber.

A Day in the 18th century

A new exhibition at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, running 18th February to 5th July,  recreates "a day in the 18th-century" at a Parisian townhouse. Looks gorgeous!

Marie-Antoinette at the Wallace Collection

 Marie-Antoinette: An Eye for Beauty is an installation/event at the Wallace Collection, London which runs from 2nd February to 31st March 2026.

Marat: Prophet of Terror (book)

The new biography of Marat by Keith Michael Baker is published by Chicago University Press; available in the UK from 18th November.