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The Scandal That Shook the Throne
Paris, 1847.
Forty-seven stab wounds mark the body of Duchess Fanny Sebastiani de Choiseul-Praslin. Her husband — a peer of France, a man whose name stretches back six centuries — is the prime suspect. The trial that follows could bring down the throne itself.
But powerful men do not face justice. They escape it.
A historical novel based on the true events that helped ignite the 1848 Revolution — drawn from real testimony, court records, and contemporary accounts.
In The Scandal That Shook the Throne, Jaime Pasquier reconstructs one of the most explosive crimes in French history — a murder that exposed the rot at the heart of the July Monarchy and triggered a cover-up reaching the highest levels of the French state. This is not just a story about a killing — it is a story about who gets protected, who gets blamed, and who pays the price for other people's secrets.
In these pages, you
Follow a political conspiracy that stretches from a blood-soaked bedroom to the Chancellor of France himself
Witness the fate of Henriette Deluzy — the governess imprisoned for a crime she didn't commit, vilified by the press, and forced to flee to America under a false name
Experience a marriage collapsing under the weight of obsession, jealousy, and a nobility too proud to admit its own decay
Discover how one act of violence accelerated the fall of a dynasty — and how the dead were silenced twice
Publishing in paired Spanish and English the Spanish edition immerses readers in the raw brutality of the crime; the English edition traces the political machinery that buried it.
A world where scandal is a weapon, innocence is no protection, and the powerful have always known how to disappear.
Some crimes are never solved. Some are simply erased by those with the power to decide what history remembers.
Forty-seven stab wounds mark the body of Duchess Fanny Sebastiani de Choiseul-Praslin. Her husband — a peer of France, a man whose name stretches back six centuries — is the prime suspect. The trial that follows could bring down the throne itself.
But powerful men do not face justice. They escape it.
A historical novel based on the true events that helped ignite the 1848 Revolution — drawn from real testimony, court records, and contemporary accounts.
In The Scandal That Shook the Throne, Jaime Pasquier reconstructs one of the most explosive crimes in French history — a murder that exposed the rot at the heart of the July Monarchy and triggered a cover-up reaching the highest levels of the French state. This is not just a story about a killing — it is a story about who gets protected, who gets blamed, and who pays the price for other people's secrets.
In these pages, you
Follow a political conspiracy that stretches from a blood-soaked bedroom to the Chancellor of France himself
Witness the fate of Henriette Deluzy — the governess imprisoned for a crime she didn't commit, vilified by the press, and forced to flee to America under a false name
Experience a marriage collapsing under the weight of obsession, jealousy, and a nobility too proud to admit its own decay
Discover how one act of violence accelerated the fall of a dynasty — and how the dead were silenced twice
Publishing in paired Spanish and English the Spanish edition immerses readers in the raw brutality of the crime; the English edition traces the political machinery that buried it.
A world where scandal is a weapon, innocence is no protection, and the powerful have always known how to disappear.
Some crimes are never solved. Some are simply erased by those with the power to decide what history remembers.
83 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 9, 2025
1 person want to read
About the author
Jaime Pasquier
3 books8 followersJaime Pasquier is a writer whose work blends history, philosophy, and cultural inquiry to explore the forces that shape human character and political destiny. Educated in economics at George Mason University and in the humanities at Marymount University of Virginia, he brings a multidisciplinary lens — sharpened by a career in financial services and fluency in three languages — to stories that examine power, morality, and the quiet decisions that alter the course of lives and nations.
His books draw on global history, personal legacy, and the tension between private virtue and public consequence. In The Virtuous Life: Ancient Wisdom for Modern Living, he traces the philosophical traditions that built Western civilization and asks whether we still possess the character to sustain it. His historical fiction explores the same terrain through a different door — scandal within royal courts, the shadows of political intrigue, and the moral trials that define ordinary people in extraordinary moments.
He lives in Washington, DC, where he continues to research, write, and develop projects that bridge historical insight with contemporary relevance — and where the distance between ancient wisdom and modern crisis feels, on most days, remarkably small.
His books draw on global history, personal legacy, and the tension between private virtue and public consequence. In The Virtuous Life: Ancient Wisdom for Modern Living, he traces the philosophical traditions that built Western civilization and asks whether we still possess the character to sustain it. His historical fiction explores the same terrain through a different door — scandal within royal courts, the shadows of political intrigue, and the moral trials that define ordinary people in extraordinary moments.
He lives in Washington, DC, where he continues to research, write, and develop projects that bridge historical insight with contemporary relevance — and where the distance between ancient wisdom and modern crisis feels, on most days, remarkably small.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 26, 2026
The Scandal That Shook the Throne is a richly detailed and gripping historical novel that reconstructs the infamous Praslin Affair of 1847. The murder of Duchess Fanny de Choiseul-Praslin and the political cover-up that followed exposed the moral decay of the French aristocracy and helped accelerate the fall of the July Monarchy. Jaime Pasquier blends meticulous research with vivid storytelling, turning a real scandal into a sweeping narrative about power, corruption, and the human cost of privilege.
The novel follows the brutal killing of the Duchess, the psychological unraveling of her husband, and the political maneuvering that allowed a nobleman to escape justice. Pasquier brings depth to every figure involved: the volatile Duchess, the intelligent but scapegoated governess Henriette Deluzy, and Chancellor Pasquier, whose decision to protect the regime over the truth becomes the story’s moral center.
What makes the book compelling is how it moves beyond the crime itself. Pasquier explores the transformation of the aristocratic home into a place of fear, the precarious position of educated women, the hypocrisy of the nobility, and the political rot that made a staged suicide preferable to a public trial. The parallel lives of the exiled Duke and the ruined Henriette in America add emotional weight, while the Chancellor’s late-life guilt gives the story a haunting resonance.
This is historical fiction with teeth: atmospheric, morally complex, and unafraid to confront the injustices that shaped an era. Pasquier’s imaginative reconstruction fills in the silences left by history and challenges readers to consider how often power rewrites the truth.
A dark, absorbing, and beautifully crafted novel about privilege, injustice, and the scandal that helped shake a monarchy. Five stars.
The novel follows the brutal killing of the Duchess, the psychological unraveling of her husband, and the political maneuvering that allowed a nobleman to escape justice. Pasquier brings depth to every figure involved: the volatile Duchess, the intelligent but scapegoated governess Henriette Deluzy, and Chancellor Pasquier, whose decision to protect the regime over the truth becomes the story’s moral center.
What makes the book compelling is how it moves beyond the crime itself. Pasquier explores the transformation of the aristocratic home into a place of fear, the precarious position of educated women, the hypocrisy of the nobility, and the political rot that made a staged suicide preferable to a public trial. The parallel lives of the exiled Duke and the ruined Henriette in America add emotional weight, while the Chancellor’s late-life guilt gives the story a haunting resonance.
This is historical fiction with teeth: atmospheric, morally complex, and unafraid to confront the injustices that shaped an era. Pasquier’s imaginative reconstruction fills in the silences left by history and challenges readers to consider how often power rewrites the truth.
A dark, absorbing, and beautifully crafted novel about privilege, injustice, and the scandal that helped shake a monarchy. Five stars.
March 27, 2026
3.5 Paid review
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews