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.

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.

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.

Songs of the Revolution

 The University of Cambridge Varsity magazine publishes an article on French Revolutionary songs (by Lauren Quinn, dated 7th February)

Edelstein and Bell on "Revolution"

David A. Bell publishes a review of Dan Edelstein's 2025 book The Revolution to Come: A History of an Idea from Thucydides to Lenin. Princeton University Press. ("The Jervis Forum", 6th February 2026)

Gardens of the Enlightenment (Exhibition)

The exhibition "Gardens of Enlightenment (1750-1800)" will run at Versailles (Grand Trianon and English Garden of the Petit Trianon) from 5th May to 27th September 2026.

The unknown Louis XVI (expo)

The Hôtel Abbatial in Lunéville is to host a new temporary exhibition entitled ‘Louis XVI, l’inconnu de Versailles‘ , to run from 10th April 2026 to 28th February 2027.

Marie-Antoinette and Louis XVI exhibition at Fontainebleau

The exhibition  "Marie-Antoinette and Louis XVI at Fontainebleau: Splendour and the Sweetness of Life" runs at the Château de Fontainebleau from 11th October 2026 to 25th January 2027, marking  the 240th anniversary of the royal couple's final visit in 1786.

Spotlight on Mick Jagger's house

An article by Fanny Guénon des Mesnards published in Architectural Digest on 10th January spotlights the Château de Fourchette in the Loire Valley, which once belonged to the duc de Choiseul.  Mick Jagger has owned (and by all accounts loved) the property since 1980.