MEMOIRES

The Other Voice in Early Modern Europe: The Chicago Series

by Gérard Doscot, Hortense Mancini

On ne peut rver existences plus romanesques. Nices de Mazarin, grands personnages de la cour, courtises par des rois, Louis XIV pour Marie, Charles II pour Hortense, mles aux affaires politiques, aux grands complots et aux petits potins, voyageuses infatigables, amoureuses proverbiales, Hortense et Marie Mancini, c'est encore l'intrigue de la Fronde, c'est dj la passion du grand sicle. Mais elle ne se bornent pas vivre : elles disent ce qu'elles ont vcu, elles se dfendent, elles attaquent parfois, mais toujours dessinent, analysent, font parler et font vivre, en un temps o l'lgance du langage est aussi infaillible que l'orthographe est incertaine. Ces Mmoires sont parmi les plus divertissants et les plus rvlateurs de leur poque.

Genres: History, Memoir, 17th Century, Nonfiction

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1677

Reviews

[Vanessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

The memoirs of Hortense and Marie Mancini are a fascinating account of the lives of women in the seventeenth-century. Both women made waves throughout Europe, and use the power of the pen to defend themselves from the rumors and scandals that kept them on the move. Both found themselves in unhappy marriages, and their quest for the recognition of their freedom to live autonomously as women is deeply moving. It highlights the successes our modern struggles have already achieved and the importance of continuing to prove that women are infinitely capable of making their own decisions about how, where and with whom they should live.

[Anabelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5/5 étoiles

Les coulisses de la vie des femmes mariées sur l'Ancien Régime
Un mouvement romanesque d'émancipation
Une écriture qui répond à la rumeur publique (d'une manière qui rappelle les Mémoires de la vie d'Henriette-Sylvie de Molière)

[monsieur · Rating 5 out of 5]

A unique and enjoyable glimpse into the past with a lot of personality, though Hortense's memoir was more delightful than Marie's.

[Hana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Remarkable study about remarkable women.