Blanche-Joséphine Le Bascle d'Argenteuil
Encyclopedia
Blanche-Joséphine Le Bascle d'Argenteuil (22 April 1787, Paris - 10 September 1851), by her second marriage duchess of Maillé, was a French lady of letters and memoir
writer. She has left highly interesting memoirs in which her legitimist convictions are shown not to affect the sharpness of her political analysis.
, she was born in Paris in the Hotel Particulier of her family. The family lived in Switzerland and Germany during the French Revolution
. They returned to France during the French Directoire.
Blanche-Joséphine Le Bascle d'Argenteuil's second marriage, on 2 January 1811, was to Charles de Maillé de La Tour-Landry (1770–1837), 2nd duke of Maillé. They had two children:
She served as Dame d'honneur to the Duchess of Berry during the Bourbon Restoration
.
She didn't like her stay at court because she thought the Duchess' entertainment was to frivolous. To bring together a group for discussions on art and literature she founded together with the Marquis de Crillon, her cousin, the Société du Château.
With the accession of Louis Philippe I she fell out of favour at court.
From 1832 until her death, she presided over a Salon, a weekly gathering in her house, for writers, artists and politicians.
Memoir
A memoir , is a literary genre, forming a subclass of autobiography – although the terms 'memoir' and 'autobiography' are almost interchangeable. Memoir is autobiographical writing, but not all autobiographical writing follows the criteria for memoir set out below...
writer. She has left highly interesting memoirs in which her legitimist convictions are shown not to affect the sharpness of her political analysis.
Life
Although the family came from TouraineTouraine
The Touraine is one of the traditional provinces of France. Its capital was Tours. During the political reorganization of French territory in 1790, the Touraine was divided between the departments of Indre-et-Loire, :Loir-et-Cher and Indre.-Geography:...
, she was born in Paris in the Hotel Particulier of her family. The family lived in Switzerland and Germany during the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
. They returned to France during the French Directoire.
Blanche-Joséphine Le Bascle d'Argenteuil's second marriage, on 2 January 1811, was to Charles de Maillé de La Tour-Landry (1770–1837), 2nd duke of Maillé. They had two children:
- Jacquelin (1815–1874), 3rd duke of Maillé, who married Jeanne d'Osmond ;
- Armand (1816–1903), who married Jeanne Lebrun de Plaisance.
She served as Dame d'honneur to the Duchess of Berry during the Bourbon Restoration
Bourbon Restoration
The Bourbon Restoration is the name given to the period following the successive events of the French Revolution , the end of the First Republic , and then the forcible end of the First French Empire under Napoleon – when a coalition of European powers restored by arms the monarchy to the...
.
She didn't like her stay at court because she thought the Duchess' entertainment was to frivolous. To bring together a group for discussions on art and literature she founded together with the Marquis de Crillon, her cousin, the Société du Château.
With the accession of Louis Philippe I she fell out of favour at court.
From 1832 until her death, she presided over a Salon, a weekly gathering in her house, for writers, artists and politicians.
Works
She herself was the author of two interesting accounts of her time.- Souvenirs des deux Restaurations. Journal inédit, presented by Xavier de La Fournière, 1984
- Mémoires. 1832-1851, 1989