Wednesday 24 July 2024

Robespierre's nose

 A video of  Marianne Gilchrist's excellent talk on Robespierre portraits, given in Cardiff in December 2022, has now been posted on the website of the ARBR Les Amis de Robespierre. Super-sleuthing Marianne!

Thursday 27 June 2024

Exhibition on Revolutionary costume

An exhibition on Revolutionary dress will run at the Musée de la la Révolution française at Vizille, from 28th June to 10th November. 

Wednesday 26 June 2024

Quentin La Tour book

A new book on Maurice Quentin de La Tour was  published on 6th June.  The volume by Xavier Salmon, Director of works on paper at the Louvre, is the first monograph on the artist since 1928.

Saturday 22 June 2024

Jefferson letter to be auctioned

A rare autograph letter from Thomas Jefferson to Tench Coxe, written from Monticello to be sold by Siegel Auctions on 27th June 2024.  

"In this letter, written in 1795, Jefferson espouses the momentum of the "ball of liberty" and denounces the "atrocities of Robespierre" and the French Reign of Terror".

Friday 14 June 2024

Remembering Éric Hazan

 The death on 6th June has been announced of the veteran Left-wing historian and publisher Éric Hazan, who  is known particularly for his works on the history of Paris. 

Friday 7 June 2024

Marie-Antoinette documentary

An English-language versions of the 2020 French TV documentary Marie-Antoinette, les derniers secrets d'une reine has recently been posted on YouTube. 

Thursday 6 June 2024

Hue's memoirs of Louis XVI

Rare Book Monthly for June publishes a short online article by Thibault Ehrengardt on François Hue's account of the last years of Louis XVI.

Monday 3 June 2024

Beijing exhibition - update

The exhibition "The Forbidden City and the Palace of Versailles: Exchanges between China and France in the 17th and 18th centuries" is  running at the Palace Museum in Beijing until 30th June.

Sunday 2 June 2024

Chénier opera

  A new production of Umberto Giordano’s 1896 opera Andrea Chénier runs at the Royal Opera House from 30th May to 11th June.  I'm not an opera enthusiast, but the sets certainly look terrific....

Tuesday 28 May 2024

Delicious (film)

The 2021 film Delicious, directed by Éric Besnard, is now available to rent from various streaming services, with English subtitles.

Tuesday 21 May 2024

Franklin mini-series update

 There are about 10 trillion reviews of the new Franklin mini-series on Apple - here are a couple of the more informative ones:

Tuesday 14 May 2024

Marie-Antoinette's pastoral dream...in Hertfordshire

Currently for sale with Savills -  des-res in Antoinette Court,  Abbots Langley, a few miles north of Watford.