La Duchesse
The Life of Marie de Vignerot—Cardinal Richelieu's Forgotten Heiress Who Shaped the Fate of France
Bronwen McShea
- A
- rich
- portrait
- of
- a
- compelling,
- complex
- woman
- who
- emerged
- from
- a
- sheltered
- rural
- childhood
- into
- the
- fraught,
- often
- deadly
- world
- of
- the
- French
- royal
- court
- and
- Parisian
- high
- society—and
- who
- would
- come
- to
- rule
- them
- both.Married
- off
- at
- sixteen
- to
- a
- military
- officer
- she
- barely
- knew,
- Marie
- de
- Vignerot
- was
- intended
- to
- lead
- an
- ordinary
- aristocratic
- life,
- produce
- heirs,
- and
- quietly
- assist
- the
- men
- in
- her
- family
- rise
- to
- prominence.
- Instead,
- she
- became
- a
- widow
- at
- eighteen
- and
- rose
- to
- become
- the
- indispensable
- and
- highly
- visible
- right-hand
- of
- the
- most
- powerful
- figure
- in
- French
- politics—the
- ruthless
- Cardinal
- Richelieu.Richelieu
- was
- her
- uncle
- and,
- as
- he
- lay
- dying,
- the
- Cardinal
- broke
- with
- tradition
- and
- entrusted
- her,
- above
- his
- male
- heirs,
- with
- his
- vast
- fortune.
- She
- would
- go
- on
- to
- shape
- her
- country’s
- political,
- religious,
- and
- cultural
- life
- as
- the
- unconventional
- and
- independent
- Duchesse
- d’Aiguillon
- in
- ways
- that
- reverberated
- across
- Europe,
- Africa,
- Asia,
- and
- the
- Americas.Marie
- de
- Vignerot
- was
- respected,
- beloved,
- and
- feared
- by
- churchmen,
- statesmen,
- financiers,
- writers,
- artists,
- and
- even
- future
- canonized
- saints.
- Many
- would
- owe
- their
- careers
- and
- eventual
- historical
- legacies
- to
- her
- patronage
- and
- her
- enterprising
- labor
- and
- vision.
- Pope
- Alexander
- VII
- and
- even
- the
- Sun
- King,
- Louis
- XIV,
- would
- defer
- to
- her.
- She
- was
- one
- of
- the
- most
- intelligent,
- accomplished,
- and
- occasionally
- ruthless
- French
- leaders
- of
- the
- seventeenth
- century.
- Yet,
- as
- all
- too
- often
- happens
- to
- great
- women
- in
- history,
- she
- was
- all
- but
- forgotten
- by
- modern
- times.La
- Duchesse
- is
- the
- first
- fully
- researched
- modern
- biography
- of
- Vignerot,
- putting
- her
- onto
- center
- stage
- in
- the
- histories
- of
- France
- and
- the
- globalizing
- Catholic
- Church
- where
- she
- belongs.
- In
- these
- pages,
- we
- see
- Marie
- navigate
- scandalous
- accusations
- and
- intrigue
- to
- creatively
- and
- tenaciously
- champion
- the
- people
- and
- causes
- she
- cared
- about.
- We
- also
- see
- her
- engage
- with
- fascinating
- personalities
- such
- as
- Queen
- Marie
- de
- Médici
- and
- influence
- French
- imperial
- ambitions
- and
- the
- Fronde
- Civil
- War.
- Filled
- with
- adventure
- and
- daring,
- art
- and
- politics,
- La
- Duchesseestablishes
- Vignerot
- as
- a
- figure
- without
- whom
- France’s
- storied
- Golden
- Age
- cannot
- be
- fully understood.
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