The Betrayal of the Duchess, Maurice Samuels
The Betrayal of the Duchess, Maurice Samuels
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The Betrayal of the Duchess
The Scandal That Unmade the Bourbon Monarchy and Made France Modern

Author: Maurice Samuels

Narrator: Elizabeth Wiley

Unabridged: 12 hr 30 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 12/29/2020


Synopsis

Fighting to reclaim the French crown for the Bourbons, the duchesse de Berry faces betrayal at the hands of one of her closest advisors in this dramatic history of power and revolution.

The year was 1832, a cholera pandemic raged, and the French royal family was in exile, driven out by yet another revolution. From a drafty Scottish castle, the duchesse de Berry—the mother of the eleven-year-old heir to the throne—hatched a plot to restore the Bourbon dynasty. For months, she commanded a guerilla army and evaded capture by disguising herself as a man. But soon she was betrayed by her trusted advisor, Simon Deutz, the son of France's Chief Rabbi. The betrayal became a cause célèbre for Bourbon loyalists and ignited a firestorm of hate against France's Jews. By blaming an entire people for the actions of a single man, the duchess's supporters set the terms for the century of antisemitism that followed.

Brimming with intrigue and lush detail, The Betrayal of the Duchess is the riveting story of a high-spirited woman, the charming but volatile young man who double-crossed her, and the birth of one of the modern world's most deadly forms of hatred.

About Maurice Samuels

Maurice Samuels is the Betty Jane Anlyan Professor of French and director of the Yale Program for the Study of Antisemitism at Yale University. He is the author of The Betrayal of the Duchess: The Scandal That Unmade the Bourbon Monarchy and Made France Modern, among others. He lives in Branford, Connecticut.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Laura on August 30, 2020

My type of beach read - a historical biography, with a strong female heroine and most of the action set in France. Who needs chick flicks when you have the histories of European monarchies. This contains everything one can ask for - from parrots suspected of delivering secret messages, to Vatican co......more

Goodreads review by Tinybiblio on April 14, 2020

Thank you to Basic Books and #netgalley for the advanced copy for my honest review. This book comes out today, April 14, 2020! Synopsis: from @goodreads: The year was 1832 and the French royal family was in exile, driven out by yet another revolution. From a drafty Scottish castle, the duchesse de Be......more

Goodreads review by Patty on March 13, 2021

Nonfiction about the 1830s in France. After the Bourbons had been kicked off the throne for the second time, the duchesse de Berry, widowed mother of the theoretically legitimate king (who was only 11), attempted to lead a civil war in rural France to retake the crown. This obviously did not go so w......more

Goodreads review by Desirae on November 22, 2022

This history is an excellent reminder that no matter how inconsequential an action may seem, reverberations from it may echo for decades, if not centuries. In the normal course of events Marie Caroline, Duchesse de Berry, and Simon Deutz might have lived out their lives without contact, but through......more

Goodreads review by Mshelton50 on June 22, 2020

Princess Maria Carolina of Bourbon-Two Sicilies was married to her distant cousin, the duc de Berry, in 1816, two years after the restoration of the Bourbons to the French throne. It was shortly after the duc was murdered at the opera in 1820 that madame la duchesse de Berry gave birth to the much-a......more