Paris

Paris

The spires upon an ancient hill

Of old fashioned buildings

And a magic wind-mill

And old fashioned lamp-lights,

A colourful scene;

A memory of times past

My, how time goes so fast;

 

Where once there were fields and marshes

And people out in the country air

Taking oxen to market

Or going to a country fair;

Now  a wondrous city,

Amusements, entertainments

The city of light.

Where once there were narrow cobble-stone streets,

Now wide boulevards

 and city treats;

Statues on buildings

 coloured awnings

and graceful facades

Heaven’s helpers holding placards

Look down upon a city street

Where once did heroes of fiction weep

Or pray from a tower keep

To Sweet Genevieve

Of a Paris eve;

 

Where once

On a second score

The fashionistas

 had an encore

Red, blue and white

The colours of fright

To the very core;

 

The last refrain

Of a glorious reign

Spanning a thousand years or more;

 

The fleur-de-lis

Symbol of purity

God given right

To His Majesty,

Lost in the plight

Of a king’s fall

Perhaps now glimpsed

On the stage of a concert hall.

 

Roll call!

Roll call!

 

Drums were beating

Lives were fleeting;

 

Wind back the years

And all the fears

So often,

Ending in so many tears;

 

And into this fray

Napoleon found his way

The stage was set

For another play.

 

Where once the Louvre was a royal residence

Where a king and court resided

Now a place of fine magnificence

And tourists united

In a love of art

History plays its part.

 

Paris,

A place to go back to-

The walk along the river Seine

The bateau-mouche goes on its way

The artists’ paintings on display,

 

A Parisian place,

A Parisian way of life

A love of Paris:

 

The Seine Valley

Decked out in green,

Beautiful fields and meadows.

 

The lovely wild flowers

Of St Germaine-en-Laye

On a hillside

Overlooking the valley

In all hues

From yellow to blue

So enchanting to view

And behold-

A place to discover

The pleasure and beauty

Of the palace gardens

Of the little town

Out of Paris

A grand place in its day.

 

The moonlight

gives its soft glow

Over the roof-tops of Paris,

And glimpsed from a window

Of a narrow lane

Bring forth memories

As the links of

A long lost gold chain;

The pigeons of Notre Dame

The children sailing their toy-boats

On a pond of golden measure

Luxembourg gardens,

A real treasure;

These and many other things give

Impressions of Paris;

 

A pavement drawing

Coloured leaves falling

Leaves which flutter

on a soft breeze

Turn gold in autumn time,

The greenery of a summer vine,

The vibrant and verdant trees;

change orange and yellow

As seasons come and go;

 

In a faraway time

Paris lost its spell

Its charm and repose,

In winter,

A place where even the river froze-

But now,

A city, where so many dwell-

A city of great warmth

Where a poet, an artist or a dreamer goes-

Beautiful as a rose

Luminous,

 as a story-book picture shows:-

 

The mill of Montmartre,

The side-walk cafes,

The songs,

The music of Sartre,

Writers and poets remembered by name;

Stroll by a park

 Little merry-go-round

Illumined in dark

Enjoy a cafe as the sun goes down

Reflecting its vibrant colours

Over the river Seine

And inspiration is found;

 

And where from above

A loftier realm

The saints look down

below

A choir sings a religious psalm

light reflects,

a rose window,

glorious as a healing balm;

Statues step back

 into shadows of time

The glorious clock

Forever chimes

Now and forever

Paris for all time

 

The poetry of Paris forever rhymes.

 

 

 

 

The Red Rose of Anjou by Jean Plaidy

The Red Rose of Anjou is a wonderful story of the life of Margaret of Anjou who marries King Henry VI of England.

 

 It gives a fascinating account of the life of Margaret in her early years at the castles of

Saumur and Angers and her visits to the French Court during the reign of Charles VII of France. The story of Charles VII, his life as the Dauphin and his subsequent crowning at Rheims Cathedral by Joan of Arc all comes alive in this wonderful story of the times. As a Dauphin, Charles VII lacked confidence but gradually he became a strong king over time.

Margaret was the daughter of Isabelle of Lorraine and King Rene of Naples and Sicily and grand-daughter of Yolande of Aragon. Margaret did receive the title of princess which was beneficial for her when arragements for her marriage were being made. Her parents were a king and queen in title only and not in possession of their kingdom. Her mother was the daughter of the duke of Lorraine but because of the Salic law she was unable to inherit her father's castle or title and the dukedom went to a male relative. This did not occur without hostility from both sides of the family and whilst in battle King Rene was taken prisoner.

The Duke of Burgundy, who was a powerful ally for the Vaudemont family which was claiming the inheritance and title of the duchy of Lorraine, had disapproved of Rene and Isabelle succeeding to the duchy of

Lorraine. They were already in possession of the castle and duchy which greatly improved their standard of living and Margaret's childhood had been quite impoverished. Rene (subsequently known as Good King Rene, who had a love of painting, poetry and the arts) had shown himself to be loyal to King Charles VII of France previously and not shown his loyalty to the Duke of Burgundy. After a lengthy time of imprisonment, in which he had occupied himself by painting beautiful portraits and stained glass at Dijon Castle, he finally was granted his freedom on the condition that he allow his elder daughter, Yolande, to marry a son of the family,

whom Yolande ended up growing up with, befriending and eventually wishing to marry. It was very sad for all concerned when Rene's daughter, Yolande, left the family home. Rene always stalled the marriage until at the time of Margaret's wedding, of which the celebrations were arranged by Charles VII, that Yolande and Ferri de Vaudemont made it be known that they did wish to marry.

The processions through France and the magnificent pageantry are described in great detail when

Margaret eventually makes the journey to England to become the new queen. An English party come to France to escort her on her journey and she befriends the Marquess and Marchioness of Suffolk,

who become loyal allies for her and the king. It is interesting to read of the customs at the time and what was expected of a queen on a royal procession.i.e. to look like a queen and to give dresses and shoes away for the number of years of her age in one town as was a tradition. Margaret was grateful for the kindness and assistance shown her by the Marchioness of Suffolk in these matters.

I love the descriptions of old towns of England where the sense of history gives an added measure to the story, as for example, the descriptions of Coventry, which was an old town named for a convent which had been destroyed before the time of William the Conqueror and the Norman conquest. However the earl of Leofric and Lady Godiva had founded a Benedictine monastery. Henry VI enjoyed and loved this city and was responsible for various of the buildings there, as for example, St Mary's Hall with its fascinating style of carvings and figures and a beautiful coloured tapestry. There was also a St Michael's Church which had dated to the time of the first Henry and had been given to the monks of Coventry by Earl Randulph. It was a wonderful peaceful time at Coventry in which Henry VI recovered from his debilitating illness. His

new born baby, Prince Edward of Wales, was also brought to him at the castle of Coventry.

The book gives vivid and compelling descriptions of the times, the politics and the family of Richard, Duke of York and his wife, Cecily, the Duchess of York, the parents of the future Edward IV. The characters represented in the story are quite fascinating in themselves and the author has written of riveting times. The story flows with characters of history written as though the writer had an inside knowledge. Many of the chracters are likeable in their own way and the story is set amongst a background of conflict and aspirations, belief of a true claim to the throne of England which of course causes controversy, resulting in the wars of the Roses.

For aficionados of the genre of historical fiction this book is a gem.

The stories of kings, the history of the conflicts in France, the wars of the Roses and settings in historical towns of England make for a fascinating tale. In all of this Margaret is a compelling character of strength and tenacity in her role as the queen, often having to take matters into her own hands when the need arose because of the recurring illness of Henry VI. In this she had her role models in her own mother and grand-mother who were also strong women. The story is quite compelling and well recommended.

Wonderful St Malo!

Oh, to be in wonderful St Malo!

This is a magnificent walled city of fascinating landmarks and inspiring scenery.

In early June I enjoyed walking around the ramparts of this city in the early morning

 looking out over the views of the wide expanse of sea and sky which seemed

to greet the new day.

I loved the history, the folk lore and the sense of adventure which is to be found in the stories

which are told of the explorers, corsairs, merchants and traders who made the city a prosperous 

place.  

Two cruise ships could be seen in the harbour and also a brightly coloured pirate ship which 

was quite inspirational as it evoked a sense of the times of the pirates and corsairs who 

plied their trade on the Brittany coast so many years ago. 

I admired the architecture, the shops and brightly coloured buildings and the little streets with fascinating

outlooks towards the water.  Such is the street of Le Chat qui Danse with a plaque in the wall for 

this famous cat of history.

A statue of a sailor and corsair who was recognised and decorated by Napoleon

is Robert Surcouf, who unfortunately did not always agree with Napoleon on certain matters as for

example wishing for a terrace of coins which Napoleon did not approve.

There is a plaque for explorer, Jacques Cartier who left St Malo for Canada.

The stained glass windows of the Cathedral give an aura of beauty and peace. 

There were little coffee shops getting ready for the lunch time shoppers and workers and the

place had a friendly atmosphere.  

St Malo beckons again with its wonderful sense of history and enlightening stories of the past.

Angelique and the Ghosts

Angelique and the Ghosts

I love reading the Angelique series of books because they seem so real.

The wonderful settings and beauty of prose give these novels

a dimension which is magical. Once again, following on from

the adventures and misadventures of Angelique and Joffrey de Peyrac,

I loved reading

Angelique and the Ghosts by Sergeanne Golon, which also gave an understanding

of the goals which Joffrey de Peyrac was setting for himself.

Joffrey has given assistance

and passage on his boat to people who are agents of the government of France, also

the governor of one of the provinces, Ville d'Avray, who again makes an appearance with his

quite welcoming and also

sometimes (for Angelique) over the top personality. However, he proves as always to

be a good companion. Joffrey also assists traders with their goods.

Joffrey hopes to meet with officials in Quebec, and hopefully one day

would wish to return to France. He has explained this to Angelique. He does not

always wish to be an exile from his country of birth. Angelique was also made

to understand this. Even though they had a new life in Canada, it was important

that one day they would be able to return to France and their children would also

be able to return. It was a dream on the horizon.

From the beginning of this novel, acting on intuition, Angelique rescues Joffrey

from a trap which endangered his life. Joffrey had given Angelique a set of

very finely crafted pistols at the end of the last novel, “Angelique and the Demon,”

which came into good use so early in this new adventure of “Angelique and the

Ghosts.”

Angelique and Joffrey de Peyrac travel the St Lawrence river en route to Quebec,

stopping at various small towns and communities on the way. Angelique befriends

 Marguerite de Bourgeoys, a nun who was renowned for the work she did for

setting up schools in early Canada.

Angelique had a talent for helping people with

cures for their ailments.

For early colonial history of the New World,

these books of Angelique are well worth reading and would serve as excellent study

guides in an educational forum for early history of the time and also literature.

Angelique reminiscences about her early days in Paris, the Court of Miracles (which

was the Paris underworld and best forgotten as Angelique moved on from these

troubled times) and her acceptance at the glittering court of Louis XIV at Versailles

as Madame la Marquise, Madame du Plessis-Belliere,

after her marriage to a distant cousin, the Marquis, Philippe du Plessis-Belliere.

How far Angelique had journeyed in life since these

early days!

She has not forgotten her poet, who had such a great fondness for Angelique. She had

met him early one morning on a river barge on the River Seine, when she did not have a home.

Unfortunately, perhaps as being a poet it may have been inherent in his nature to write of

truth, which in seventeenth century France may have been upsetting certain persons in

authority and her poet paid the ultimate price for his truthfulness and bringing misdemeanours

and crimes to attention in the gutter press.

This is a fictional novel, though the story is quite

believable which is set in “Angelique- The Road to Versailles” which was one of the earlier books of Angelique's

adventures and a magnificent novel to read.

One of my all time favourites is “Angelique and the

King” as there are so many wonderful depictions of the court of Louis XIV at Versailles and

references to many of the people at the court at the time, including Louise de la Valliere, Madame de Montespan (who Angelique has an altercation with) and Madame de Maintenon who acts as a

peace-maker between the two women.

(There is a reference to an altercation between Madame de Montespan and Madame des Fontanges in one book I was looking at on google books of the history of the court of Louis XIV.

Perhaps Madame de Maintenon may have been a peace -maker in such a situation.)

The scenes

of court life, decorations, dress and etiquette described in the book seemed to ring with authenticity.

In “Angelique and the Ghosts” Angelique also recalls her good friend, the police inspector,

Desgrez, who has come to her assistance in the past. Perhaps it is difficult for Angelique

not to think of the many good people from her past as she travels on her new path in life with her

husband.

Angelique and her husband also save good friends from a depraved captain as they had been taken

prisoners on the river. Angelique also looks out for her good friend and his bear, who decides to hibernate

for the winter at an inconvenient time.

All in all, a marvellous read. Full credit to Anne and Serge Golon for another magnificent story.

The next three books in the series have not been translated into English at this time.

I look forward to reading “Angelique in Quebec” when an English translation becomes available.