What do you think?
Rate this book
JEAN-BAPTISTE CLÉRY: Eyewitness to Louis XVI & Marie Antoinette's Nightmare
While tending his family’s garden one September morning in 1779, a young commoner encountered a prince in a chance meeting that would change both of their lives.
The young man certainly never imagined that he was setting out on a journey that would take him from the quaint village where he was born to the magnificent courts of Russia, Poland and England. But neither could the young farm boy have imagined that he would one day also witness firsthand the horrific treatment of the royal family imprisoned in a dark medieval prison during the mayhem of the French Revolution.
Cléry, born Jean-Baptiste Cant Hanet, was the only personal servant to remain with King Louis XVI and his family in the tower of the Temple Prison. Although Cléry himself was closely scrutinized in the tower and even threatened with the guillotine, he managed to secretly record the guards’ cruel and merciless treatment of the king, Queen Marie-Antoinette, their two children, and the king’s sister.
Because Cléry kept a journal, we can relive one of the most moving and tragic stories in history. Despite the servant’s dedication to the royal family under such atrocious circumstances, rumors have since circulated that Cléry was also an agent of the revolution, spying for his master’s enemies. These rumors haunted Cléry until his death in 1809 in Austria, where he was not only condemned to exile by the French government and estranged from his wife and family, but he was also snubbed by the royal family in exile as well. Cléry and his descendants were never able to clear his name, despite their determined and public protests. The doubt as to whether Cléry had been a sympathizer of the revolution followed him in his life and after his death. JEAN-BAPTISTE CLÉRY is the first non-fiction work to provide insight into the cultural and psychological world of this tragic royal family from a very different perspective, that of a dedicated servant. Cléry was the only personal servant permitted to accompany and remain with Louis and his family in the Temple where they were imprisoned in 1792. Isolated from his family, accused of spying, and eventually imprisoned himself for his loyalty, Cléry spent his final days in exile in Austria.
Was Cléry wrongly accused of infidelity to the royal family? Was he an agent of the revolutionaries? JEAN-BAPTISTE CLÉRY separates fact from rumor, and finally unravels the truth about this ordinary man in an extraordinary setting with very extraordinary actors. The biography also exposes the inner struggles of the young servant who served as the personal valet to King Louis XVI and Queen Marie-Antoinette before their tragic rendezvous with the guillotine.
Incorporating findings from research based on journals and memoirs from the late 18th and early 19th century France, the compelling story sheds light on the often neglected aspects of the lives of royal servants including their steadfast loyalty and dedication to the king’s family as well as concern for their own personal well-being in dangerous, terrifying circumstances.
The young man certainly never imagined that he was setting out on a journey that would take him from the quaint village where he was born to the magnificent courts of Russia, Poland and England. But neither could the young farm boy have imagined that he would one day also witness firsthand the horrific treatment of the royal family imprisoned in a dark medieval prison during the mayhem of the French Revolution.
Cléry, born Jean-Baptiste Cant Hanet, was the only personal servant to remain with King Louis XVI and his family in the tower of the Temple Prison. Although Cléry himself was closely scrutinized in the tower and even threatened with the guillotine, he managed to secretly record the guards’ cruel and merciless treatment of the king, Queen Marie-Antoinette, their two children, and the king’s sister.
Because Cléry kept a journal, we can relive one of the most moving and tragic stories in history. Despite the servant’s dedication to the royal family under such atrocious circumstances, rumors have since circulated that Cléry was also an agent of the revolution, spying for his master’s enemies. These rumors haunted Cléry until his death in 1809 in Austria, where he was not only condemned to exile by the French government and estranged from his wife and family, but he was also snubbed by the royal family in exile as well. Cléry and his descendants were never able to clear his name, despite their determined and public protests. The doubt as to whether Cléry had been a sympathizer of the revolution followed him in his life and after his death. JEAN-BAPTISTE CLÉRY is the first non-fiction work to provide insight into the cultural and psychological world of this tragic royal family from a very different perspective, that of a dedicated servant. Cléry was the only personal servant permitted to accompany and remain with Louis and his family in the Temple where they were imprisoned in 1792. Isolated from his family, accused of spying, and eventually imprisoned himself for his loyalty, Cléry spent his final days in exile in Austria.
Was Cléry wrongly accused of infidelity to the royal family? Was he an agent of the revolutionaries? JEAN-BAPTISTE CLÉRY separates fact from rumor, and finally unravels the truth about this ordinary man in an extraordinary setting with very extraordinary actors. The biography also exposes the inner struggles of the young servant who served as the personal valet to King Louis XVI and Queen Marie-Antoinette before their tragic rendezvous with the guillotine.
Incorporating findings from research based on journals and memoirs from the late 18th and early 19th century France, the compelling story sheds light on the often neglected aspects of the lives of royal servants including their steadfast loyalty and dedication to the king’s family as well as concern for their own personal well-being in dangerous, terrifying circumstances.
313 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 27, 2011
9 people are currently reading
25 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 21, 2016
A Must Read For Details Your History Book Will Not Cover!
I began following Will Bashor on goodreads after reading his book on Marie-Antoinette's hair dresser. I saw this book on his feed and on Amazon Prime (I have since bought it). This book is a must read for anyone interested in French royalty. This is not another repetitive bio. This book has the details most gloss over. The reality is a dark story without the flash of Versailles, the hint of illicit liaisons, the sumptuous clothes or the shocking excesses of the court. Most authors quickly pass it over for the salacious trial and gore of the execution.
I thought I knew the story of Louis XVI, Marie-Antoinette, their children and the Princess Elisabeth. I was wrong. I have never read such a riveting and moving account. I could not stop reading of the innocents preparing piously for death, of servants, family and friends risking and losing their lives by choosing to stay while others stood by or were party to years of abuse afflicted not only on the adults but on innocent children or compassionate strangers. This is not fiction. The details come directly from the journals, manuscripts, archives and letters. The details are seen through one of the palace servants, Jean-Baptiste Cléry. Cléry literally gave his life, his family's future and fortune and eventually his very reputation in service of the French royal family. He was the last person with the King, before his death and was arrested for his care of the family. His reward was slander by jealous servants and aristocrats, rejection from the traumatized Princess Royale and misuse by her Uncle Louis XVIII.
It is shameful that Cléry was not cleared long ago. Will Bashor has given Jean-Baptiste Cléry justice. Bashor even sought out some of the remaining heirs of the French Royal Family. After reviewing the manuscript, thgey agreed to publically correct hundreds of years of slander and sloppy research by other historians. Given his upcoming book, this could have been part of that larger work but would have been lost. Bashor has instead published this work alone and made it available on Kindle Prime and as a low cost purchase to ensure it has a wide audience. Few historians or authors would have been soi honourable.
If this is a sample of what we will should expect in his upcoming book on Marie Antoinette's last days, I can not wait. Luckily it was just announced as available to preorder on Kindle!
I began following Will Bashor on goodreads after reading his book on Marie-Antoinette's hair dresser. I saw this book on his feed and on Amazon Prime (I have since bought it). This book is a must read for anyone interested in French royalty. This is not another repetitive bio. This book has the details most gloss over. The reality is a dark story without the flash of Versailles, the hint of illicit liaisons, the sumptuous clothes or the shocking excesses of the court. Most authors quickly pass it over for the salacious trial and gore of the execution.
I thought I knew the story of Louis XVI, Marie-Antoinette, their children and the Princess Elisabeth. I was wrong. I have never read such a riveting and moving account. I could not stop reading of the innocents preparing piously for death, of servants, family and friends risking and losing their lives by choosing to stay while others stood by or were party to years of abuse afflicted not only on the adults but on innocent children or compassionate strangers. This is not fiction. The details come directly from the journals, manuscripts, archives and letters. The details are seen through one of the palace servants, Jean-Baptiste Cléry. Cléry literally gave his life, his family's future and fortune and eventually his very reputation in service of the French royal family. He was the last person with the King, before his death and was arrested for his care of the family. His reward was slander by jealous servants and aristocrats, rejection from the traumatized Princess Royale and misuse by her Uncle Louis XVIII.
It is shameful that Cléry was not cleared long ago. Will Bashor has given Jean-Baptiste Cléry justice. Bashor even sought out some of the remaining heirs of the French Royal Family. After reviewing the manuscript, thgey agreed to publically correct hundreds of years of slander and sloppy research by other historians. Given his upcoming book, this could have been part of that larger work but would have been lost. Bashor has instead published this work alone and made it available on Kindle Prime and as a low cost purchase to ensure it has a wide audience. Few historians or authors would have been soi honourable.
If this is a sample of what we will should expect in his upcoming book on Marie Antoinette's last days, I can not wait. Luckily it was just announced as available to preorder on Kindle!
May 1, 2017
Very informative and interesting perspective on the French regicide .
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews