The life of Louis XVI

529 Pages·2016·34.081 MB·English

by  Hardman, John;King of France Louis XVI;Frankreich König Ludwig XVI

The Life of
L O U I S X V I
j o h n h a r d m a n
THE LIFE OF LOUIS XVI
i
ii
The Life of
L O U I S X V I
j o h n h a r d m a n
YALE UNIVERSITY PRESS
NEW HAVEN AND LONDON
iii
To Alan Peachment
Copyright © 2016 John Hardman
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Hardman, John, 1944– author.
Title: The life of Louis XVI / John Hardman.
Description: New Haven : Yale University Press, 2016.
LCCN 2016001789 | ISBN 9780300220421 (cloth : alk. paper)
LCSH: Louis XVI, King of France, 1754–1793. | France—Kings and
rulers—Biography. | France—History—Louis XVI, 1774–1793. |
France—History—Revolution, 1789–1799.
Classification: LCC DC137 .H369 2016 | DDC 944/.035092—dc23
LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2016001789
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
iv
contents
List of Illustrations and Maps vi
Preface x
1 A Dark and Difficult Childhood 1
2 Youth on the Throne 40
3 The Bright Beginning, 1774–76 64
4 Drift Towards War, 1776–78 101
5 American Liberty and Royal Debt, 1778–82 135
6 The Embarrassments of Peace, 1783–85 181
7 Unravelling, 1785–86 199
8 Royal Revolution: The Assembly of Notables of 1787 230
9 The Road to the Estates- General, May 1787–May 1789 274
10 The Silent King and the Third Estate 304
11 The Invasion of a Palace 334
12 The Revolution Caricatures Itself, October 1789–June 1791 351
13 The Flight to Montmédy 370
14 Playing by the Book of the Constitution, 13 September 1791– 406
10 August 1792
15 The Prisoner in the Temple 427
Genealogies 448
Notes 450
Bibliography 478
Index 488
v
Illustrations and Maps
Plates
1 Louis XV, creamware bust, c. 1747–60. © Victoria and Albert Museum,
London.
2 The dauphin, Louis-Ferdinand, school of Roslin, 1760s. The National
Gallery/akg-images.
3 Louis, duc de Berry, pastel by Quentin de la Tour, c. 1765. akg-images.
4 A selection of medals depicting events in Louis XVI’s life. Author’s collec-
tion, photos © Tom Dunn.
5 Louis’s family, snuff box, c. 1776–89. © Victoria and Albert Museum,
London.
6 Marie-Antoinette, snuff box by Neuber, c. 1780. © Victoria and Albert
Museum, London.
7 Armand-Thomas Hue de Miromesnil, marble bust by Jean-Antoine
Houdon, 1775. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
8 Anne-Robert-Jacques Turgot, pastel by Joseph Ducreux, eighteenth
century. akg-images/De Agostini Picture Lib./G. Dagli Orti.
9 Chrétien Guillaume de Lamoignon de Malesherbes, marble bust by A.D.
Chaudet, eighteenth century. akg-images/De Agostini Picture Lib./G.
Dagli Orti.
10 Jacques Necker, Wedgwood Jasperware, c. 1780. © Victoria and Albert
Museum, London.
11 B enjamin Franklin, souvenir Sèvres coffee can, c. 1780. © Victoria and
Albert Museum, London.
12 The dramatis personae in the Diamond Necklace Affair, from Les mystères
de la science by Louis Figuier, 1893. akg-images/De Agostini Picture
Library.
vi
Illustrations and Maps
vii
13 Louis’s letter to Breteuil, 1 [June 1786]. Author’s collection, photo © Tom
Dunn.
14 Louis and the people of Normandy, printed cotton, c. 1786. © Victoria and
Albert Museum, London.
15 Charles-Alexandre de Calonne, oil painting by Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le
Brun, 1784. Royal Collection Trust © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II,
2016/Bridgeman Images.
16 Silver wine-taster presented by Louis to Lamoignon, Paris, 1786–89.
Author’s collection, photo © Tom Dunn.
17 Representatives of the three estates pay homage to Louis and Necker,
French school, 1789. akg-images/Erich Lessing.
18 Lacquer snuff box, 1789. Author’s collection, photo © Tom Dunn.
19 Marquis de Lafayette, colour copper print by L.P. Debucourt, 1790. akg-
images.
20 Honoré-Gabriel Riqueti, comte de Mirabeau, bust in biscuit porcelain,
c. 1790–91. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
21 Louis’s coach being stopped on the bridge at Varennes, aquatint after
engraving by Domenico Pellegrini, eighteenth century. akg-images.
22 Louis accepts the constitution, coloured etching, 1791. akg-images.
23 L ouis before his execution, chalk drawing by Joseph Ducreux, 1793.
akg-images.
24 Louis’s execution, painting by Charles Benazech, 1793. akg-images.
Maps
France and its historic provinces. viii
Sites in France visited by Louis XVI. ix
GREAT BRITAIN DUTCH REPUBLIC
FLANDERS AND
Calais HAINAULT
Lille AUSTRIAN
English Channel ARTOIS NETHERLANDS
Arras
Y PICARDY METZ AND
D
A N Rouen E VERLDuUxeNmbourg
M ÎLE-DE-
N O R FRAPNarCisE ReimsAGN LO
B R I T TA N Y Versailles MP RR E
Rennes M A I N E A TOUL A C
Le Mans Orléans H I A
Angers ORLÉANAIS C NE S
Nantes ANJOU Tours L
A
TOURAINE
Bourges BDijon FRANCHE-
BERRY NIVERNAISU Besançon
P O I T O U R COMTÉ
La Rochelle Poitiers G
BOURBONNAIS U SWITZERLAND
AUNIS MARCHE
N
SAINTONGE Clermont D
AND ANGOUMOIS Ferrand LYONNAIS Y
LIMOUSIN Lyons
Bay of AUVERGNE S A V O Y
Biscay Bordeaux
G U Y E N N E
C
A N D DAUPHINÉ
G A S C O N Y O
D
E PIEDMONT
Toulouse UAvignon VENAISSIN
BÉARN G
N PROVENCE
A Marseille
NAVARRE L
FOIX
BOUSSILLON
S P A I N Mediterranean Sea
0 km 100
0 miles 100
France and its historic provinces.
viii
GREAT BRITAIN DUTCH
REPUBLIC HOLY
Calais ROMAN
EMPIRE
AUSTRIAN
Lille NETHERLANDS
English Channel R
Arras hine
Cherbourg
Rouen Compiègne
Caen Montmédy
Seine SainRtee-iMmesnehVoaureldnnesClermont-en-Argonne
Marly Bondy Châlons-en-Champagne
Saint-Cloud PARIS
Versailles Choisy Montmirail Meuse Moselle
Fontainebleau
Le Mans
Orléans
Angers Loire
Tours
Bourges Dijon Saône
0 km 100 Besançon
SWITZERLAND
0 miles 100
Sites in France visited by Louis XVI, shown in bold. Bondy, Sainte-Menehould, Châlons and
Clermont are points on the king’s ill-fated journey to Varennes.
ix