tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839525549786745818.post7330075474964292107..comments2024-03-26T17:38:35.264+00:00Comments on Catherine Curzon: The Last Months of King Louis XVICatherine Curzonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05763562687608837832noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839525549786745818.post-64931675638033478082015-01-21T06:39:17.966+00:002015-01-21T06:39:17.966+00:00Thank you, Mairead; I've amended that!Thank you, Mairead; I've amended that!Catherine Curzonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05763562687608837832noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839525549786745818.post-73921670502473841462015-01-21T00:31:23.198+00:002015-01-21T00:31:23.198+00:00The Abbé Edgeworth was an Irish priest. http://en....The Abbé Edgeworth was an Irish priest. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Essex_EdgeworthMaireadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00309711576009530047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839525549786745818.post-61770131696090786572015-01-20T16:28:22.426+00:002015-01-20T16:28:22.426+00:00I absolutely agree, I don't see any villainy i...I absolutely agree, I don't see any villainy in him.Catherine Curzonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05763562687608837832noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839525549786745818.post-45815989403772827842015-01-16T17:02:55.693+00:002015-01-16T17:02:55.693+00:00How anyone could consider him guilty of treason is...How anyone could consider him guilty of treason is beyond me. An inept king, yes. A bad man? HmmAnna Belfragehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09159728310623757488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839525549786745818.post-62713661468559592692015-01-15T15:29:35.508+00:002015-01-15T15:29:35.508+00:00I hadn't heard that before, Antoine, thank you...I hadn't heard that before, Antoine, thank you. Pérouse is such a fascinating character, I wonder that he isn't better known.Catherine Curzonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05763562687608837832noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839525549786745818.post-7310113043348021652015-01-15T08:55:52.669+00:002015-01-15T08:55:52.669+00:00I read somewhere that in the carriage Louis enquir...I read somewhere that in the carriage Louis enquired if there was any news of Pérouse, "The French Captain Cook", who had disappeared in the Pacific and whose fate was to be unknown for more than another thirty years., If this s true then it casts a very impressive light on a man who was trying to less the tension of those with him by discussing other matters. Louis was inadequate as a king but his behaviour in his last days showed him to be a very good, brave and noble man. Here's a link to information on Perouse http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/326447/Jean-Francois-de-Galaup-comte-de-La-PerouseAntoine Vannerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00490972848447907013noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839525549786745818.post-13055771344881928772014-09-11T18:19:34.250+01:002014-09-11T18:19:34.250+01:00I love your description of him as a "lightnin...I love your description of him as a "lightning rod", it's so perceptive. He seems to me too have been utterly unprepared for the situation in which he found himself, utterly at sea.Catherine Curzonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05763562687608837832noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839525549786745818.post-42921149644230700242014-09-11T16:10:34.673+01:002014-09-11T16:10:34.673+01:00I think a small part of the problem here is that u...I think a small part of the problem here is that unlike the British Monarchy and its chameleon like ability to morph and change with the times, the French Aristocracy was fatally resistant to any kind of reform. Unfortunately for them, their glittering lives blinded them to the upcoming storm. King Louis XVI in essence sat at the top of this aristocratic heap, a lightning rod for ALL the perceived evils of his "Class". Poor Guy didn't stand a chance. It is my opinion and my opinion alone that this "resistance to change" is somehow endemic in the French Soul....for example, France has an "Academie des Belles Letres" where the purpose of the Academy is to be on guard against the "infiltration" of foreign words (Especially and my God in Heaven, English!)...unlike our beautiful and useful Language. All indications of the life of Louis XVI show that yes, he was a gentle Family Man but again, that didn't matter....any and all observations of this sad events and the terrible events to follow I make naturally from hindsight....I wasn't there and I wasn't Him...Bermuda Timhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13260438878447751606noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839525549786745818.post-54833556468511637822014-08-13T14:42:26.537+01:002014-08-13T14:42:26.537+01:00Thank you, Marilyn; nothing is guaranteed to split...Thank you, Marilyn; nothing is guaranteed to split commentators like the French Revolution. I am in agreement with you that he was out of touch; in that climate, he was absolutely not the right man for the job.Catherine Curzonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05763562687608837832noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839525549786745818.post-16806592921325839712014-08-13T14:32:09.860+01:002014-08-13T14:32:09.860+01:00Louis XVI was not guilty of treason. His crime was...Louis XVI was not guilty of treason. His crime was to be a man devoted to his family and too gentle to call out the troops and stop the Mobs the first day. He saw himself as the Father of his people. He was not the heir to the throne who had the temperament to make a strong ruler. He procrastinated too much. Memoirs tell us that but a man who would not allow the Swiss Guards to fire on the crowds cannot be viewed with anything but pity. Out of touch..yes but the politics of the time were such that only a Leader with really strong, ruthless, characteristics would have survived. The memoirs tell us that.Historical Reminiscing with Marilynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08160083437421085259noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839525549786745818.post-16504820566934181342014-01-22T09:41:45.817+00:002014-01-22T09:41:45.817+00:00He was out of touch, it's very true. Whether h...He was out of touch, it's very true. Whether he was guilty of treason is another matter...Catherine Curzonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05763562687608837832noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839525549786745818.post-82899398585824616032014-01-22T07:52:26.778+00:002014-01-22T07:52:26.778+00:00That's such a detailed account I've not he...That's such a detailed account I've not heard before. What amazes me in instances like this is that he could continue to his death utterly convinced of his own innocence. To be so out of tough with the political climate of your nation seems to be quite characteristic of this kind of office. Only people like Stalin seem to have recognised a suitable amount of paranoia as a result of their actions!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12445629159912795832noreply@blogger.com