Jeanne Bécu, comtesse du Barry (19 August 1743 – 8 December 1793) was the last
Maîtresse-en-titreThe maîtresse-en-titre was the chief mistress of the king of France. It was a semi-official position which came with its own apartments. The title really came into use during the reign of Henry IV of France and continued till the end of the Ancien Régime.This page contains a listing of notable...
of
Louis XV of FranceLouis XV ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1 September 1715 until his death on 10 May 1774...
and one of the victims of the
Reign of TerrorThe Reign of Terror , also known as the The Terror was a period of violence that occurred four years and two months after the onset of the French Revolution, incited by conflict between rival political factions, the Girondins and the Jacobins, and marked by mass executions of "enemies of the...
during the
French RevolutionThe French Revolution was a period of political and social upheaval and radical change in the history of France, during which the French governmental structure, previously an absolute monarchy with feudal privileges for the aristocracy and Catholic clergy, underwent radical change to forms based...
.
Early life
Jeanne Bécu was born at
VaucouleursVaucouleurs is a commune in the Meuse department in Lorraine in north-eastern France.Joan of Arc stayed in Vaucouleurs for several months during 1428 and 1429 while she sought permission to visit the royal court of Charles VII of France....
, in the
MeuseMeuse is a department in northeast France, named after the Meuse River.-History:Meuse is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790...
department in
LorraineLorraine is one of the 26 régions of France. It is the only administrative region with two cities of equal importance, Metz and Nancy. Metz is considered to be the official capital since that is where the regional parliament is situated...
, France, the illegitimate daughter of Anne Bécu, a woman of enticing beauty, whose occupation was as a seamstress. Jeanne's father was possibly Jean Baptiste Gormand de Vaubernier, a friar known as 'Brother Angel.' During her childhood, one of her mother's lovers, Monsieur Billard-Dumonceaux, father of Jeanne's brother Claude (who died in infancy when only ten months old) took both Anne & three-year-old Jeanne into his household when they travelled from Vaucouleurs to Paris and installed Anne as a cook. Little Jeanette was well-liked by Dumonceaux's Italian mistress Francesca (known in French as Madame, or La Frédérique), who pampered her in all luxury. In time Dumonceaux took decision, and funded Jeanette's education at the convent of Saint-Aure.
At the age of fifteen, Marie-Jeanne left the convent for coming of age, and was first given the job as an assistant to a young hairdresser named Lametz (a brief relationship with whom may have produced a daughter, although it is very improbable), then as a companion (
dame de compagnie) to an elderly widow, Madame de la Garde, and later as a milliner's assistant (better known as a
grisette) in a haberdashery shop named 'À la Toilette', owned by a certain Monsieur Labille, with the daughter of whom, the future famed painter
Adélaïde Labille-GuiardAdélaïde Labille-Guiard was a French minaturist and portrait painter.Born in Paris, the daughter of Monsieur Labille, a haberdasher who owned a shop named 'A La Toilette' situated in the rue neuve des Petits Champs, where young Jeanne Bécu worked and became good friends with her...
, she became very good friends. As reflected in art from the time, Jeanne was a remarkably attractive blonde woman. Her beauty came to the attention of Jean-Baptiste du Barry, a high-class pimp/procurer (nicknamed
le roué) and owner of a casino, in 1763 whilst Jeanne was entertaining in Madame Quisnoy's brothel-casino . She introduced herself as Jeanne Vaubernier. He installed her in his household and made her his mistress and, under the appellation of
Mademoiselle Lange, helped establish her career as a courtesan in the highest circles of Parisian society, enabling her to take several aristocratic men as brief lovers, or clients.
Life as a courtesan and official mistress to Louis XV
As Mademoiselle Lange, she immediately became a sensation in Paris, building up a large aristocratic clientele. The dashing
Maréchal de RichelieuLouis François Armand du Plessis, duc de Richelieu was a marshal of France. He was the son of Armand Jean de Vignerot du Plessis and thus a grandnephew of Armand Jean du Plessis, Cardinal Richelieu.- Early life :...
became one of her recurring customers. Because of this, Jean du Barry saw her as a means of influence with Louis XV, who became aware of her in 1768 while she was on an errand at
VersaillesVersailles , a city renowned for its château, the Palace of Versailles, was the de facto capital of the kingdom of France for over a century, from 1682 to 1789. It is now a wealthy suburb of Paris and remains an important administrative and judicial center...
which involved the
duc de ChoiseulÉtienne-François, duc de Choiseul was a French military officer, diplomat and statesman. Between 1758 and 1761 and 1766 and 1770 he was Foreign Minister of France and had a strong influence on France's global strategy throughout the period...
, who found her rather ordinary, in contrast to what most other men thought of her. In any case, Jeanne could not qualify as an official royal mistress unless she had a title; this was solved by her marriage to du Barry's brother, comte Guillaume du Barry, on 1 September 1768, including also a false birth certificate created by Jean, making Jeanne younger by three years and of nobler descent, and the King had not the slightest plan of putting her in the Parc au Cerf along with his other young strumpets- in fact, he was about to close the little brothel down! Even though Louis was besotted by her coy nature and seemingly flawless beauty, she still was continually reminded to use as much of her sexual artistry and expertise; after all, it stands to reason since Louis XV had experienced many mistresses before her!
For now, Jeanne was installed below the King's quarters in Lebel's former rooms. She lived a lonely life, not able to be seen with the King since no formal presentation had taken place. Her official sponsor, Madame de Béarn, presented her to the Court at Versailles on 22 April 1769. Jeanne was wearing a queenly silvery white gown brocaded with gold, bedecked in jewels and with huge
panniersPanniers or side hoops are women's undergarments worn in the eighteenth century to extend the width of the skirts at the side while leaving the front and back flat. This provided a flat panel where boldly scaled woven patterns or rich embroidery could be fully appreciated.The style originated in...
at the sides, a dress which had been ordered especially by Richelieu, and the likes of which many courtiers had claimed had never been seen before.
Jeanne was a tremendous triumph. She now wore extravagant gowns of great proportions both in creation and cost, exhausting the treasury all the more. With diamonds covering her delicate neck and ears, she was now the king's
maîtresse déclarée. Due to her new position at Court, she made both friends and enemies. Her most bitter rival was the comtesse Béatrix de Grammont, Choiseul's sister, who futilely had tried her best to acquire the place of the late Marquise de Pompadour. Jeanne's first friend was Claire Françoise, better known as 'Chon', brought from Languedoc by her brother Jean du Barry to accompany her then-friendless sister in-law.
Jeanne quickly accustomed herself in living in luxury (which she was already introduced to when living with Dumonceaux), but her good nature was not spoilt. When the old comte and comtesse de Lousene were forcibly evicted from their château due to heavy debts, they were sentenced to beheading due to the Comtesse having shot dead a bailiff and police officer while resisting. To their great fortune, they were good friends with Madame de Béarn, who told Jeanne of their situation. Though warned by Richelieu of her possible failure, she asked the king to pardon them, refusing to rise from her kneeling posture if he did not accept her request. Louis XV was astounded and his heart thawed, saying, "Madame, I am delighted that the first favour you should ask of me should be an act of mercy!".
While Jeanne was part of the faction that brought down the Duc de Choiseul, Minister of Foreign Affairs, she was unlike her late predecessor,
Madame de PompadourJeanne-Antoinette Poisson, Marquise de Pompadour, also known as Madame de Pompadour , was a member of the French court, and was the official maîtresse-en-titre of Louis XV from 1745 to 1750....
, in that she had little interest in politics, rather preferring to pass her time having new gowns made and ordering jewelry of every shape, size and colour.
While Jeanne was known for her good nature and support of artists, she grew increasingly unpopular because of the king's financial extravagance towards her. Her relationship with
Marie AntoinetteMarie Antoinette ; was an Archduchess of Austria and the Queen of France and Navarre. She was the fifteenth and penultimate child of Empress Maria Theresa and Emperor Francis I....
, the Dauphine of France, was contentious. The Dauphine supported Choiseul as the proponent of the alliance with
AustriaAustria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.3 million people in Central Europe. It borders both Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west...
and also defied court protocol by refusing to speak to Mme du Barry, due not only to her disapproval of the latter's background, but also after hearing from the sly Comte de Provence of du Barry's amused reaction to a story told by Prince de Rohan during one of her dinner parties, in which Marie Antoinette's mother, Maria Theresa, was slandered. What was to many an amusing incident had now become a phenomenon at Versailles, and since the Dauphine refused to speak to her, Mme du Barry furiously complained to the king. Eventually, during a ball on New Year's Day 1772, Marie Antoinette spoke to her, saying, "There are many people at Versailles today," but she made it clear to Count Mercy the very next instant that she would say nothing else to du Barry.
In time, the king started to show his age by constantly thinking of death and repentance, even missing 'appointments' in Jeanne's boudoir. During a stay at the
Petit Trianon with her, Louis XV felt the first symptoms of his second (and last) smallpox attack. He was brought back to the palace at night and put to bed, where his three daughters and Mme du Barry were kept to attend him. At the king's request, before his death in May 1774, Mme du Barry was sent away from the court and sent to the Abbaye du Pont-aux-Dames, near
Meaux-en-BrieMeaux is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located east-northeast from the center of Paris. Meaux is a sub-prefecture of the department and the seat of an arondissement...
, as her continued presence at Versailles would have prevented the king from receiving the last sacrament, the
"extreme unction"Anointing of the Sick is distinguished from other forms of religious anointing or "unction" in that it is intended, as its name indicates, for the benefit of a sick person. Other religious anointings occur in relation to other sacraments, in particular baptism, confirmation and ordination, and...
.
Two years later, she moved to the
Château de LouveciennesThe Château de Louveciennes in Louveciennes, Yvelines, is composed of the château itself, constructed at the end of 17th century then expanded and redecorated by Ange-Jacques Gabriel for Mme du Barry, and the music pavilion constructed by Claude Nicolas Ledoux , in the middle of a park that was...
. In the following years, she had a liaison with Louis Hercule Timolon de Cossé,
Duke of BrissacDuke of Brissac is the title of a noble family in France. The fief of Brissac in Anjou was acquired at the end of the 15th century by a noble French family named Cossé belonging to the same province. René de Cossé married into the Gouffier family, just then very powerful at court, and became...
. She later also fell in love with Henry Seymour (of Redland), whom she met when he moved with his family to the Château's whereabouts. In time Seymour became fed up with his secret love affair and sent a painting to Jeanne with the words written 'leave me alone' in English at the bottom, which the painter Lemoyne copied in 1796. The duc de Brissac proved the more faithful, having kept Jeanne in his heart even though he jealously knew something was going on between her and Seymour.
Unfortunately, the Revolution brought misfortune for the two. Brissac had been captured whilst visiting Paris, and was slaughtered by a mob. Late one night Jeanne heard the sound of a small drunken crowd approaching the Château, and from one of her opened windows from where she looked out someone threw a blood-stained cloth. To Jeanne's horror, it contained Brissac's head, at which sight she fainted.
Imprisonment, trial and execution
In 1792, Mme du Barry made several trips to
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
in order to authenticate jewelry, which was stolen from her with the aid of her now-grown black page
ZamorZamor was a French revolutionary of Bengali origin, who as a boy of eleven, was picked from Chittagong by slave traders and sold to Countess du Barry who nurtured and educated him...
, who disliked his mistress for her airy attitude. In addition, she was suspected of financially assisting
émigrés who had fled the
French RevolutionThe French Revolution was a period of political and social upheaval and radical change in the history of France, during which the French governmental structure, previously an absolute monarchy with feudal privileges for the aristocracy and Catholic clergy, underwent radical change to forms based...
. The following year, she was arrested. The
Revolutionary TribunalThe Revolutionary Tribunal was a court which was instituted in Paris by the Convention during the French Revolution for the trial of political offenders, and eventually became one of the most powerful engines of the Reign of Terror....
of
ParisParis is the capital of France and the country's most populous city. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
found her guilty of treason and condemned to death. On 8 December 1793, Mme du Barry was beheaded by
guillotineThe guillotine was a device used for carrying out executions by decapitation. It consists of a tall upright frame from which a blade is suspended. This blade is raised with a rope and then allowed to drop, severing the victim's head from their body...
on the
Place de la RévolutionThe Place de la Concorde is one of the major public squares in Paris, France. In fact, in terms of area, its 86,400 square metres make it the largest square in the French capital...
(nowadays,
Place de la Concorde). She had tried to save herself by revealing the hiding places of the
gemsGems or GEMS can refer to:*gemstones, or*GEMS, "General Economic & Market Simulator", an advanced ESG authored by DFA Capital Management Inc., which is used in stochastic financial projections....
she had hidden around her property.
On the way to the guillotine, she continually collapsed in the tumbrel and cried "You are going to hurt me! Why?!" She became terrified at the time of her execution: "She screamed, she begged mercy of the horrible crowd that stood around the scaffold, she aroused them to such a point that the executioner grew anxious and hastened to complete his task." Her last words to the executioner: "One moment more, Mr. executioner, one little moment". She was buried in a common grave in the Madeleine cemetery (
Cimetière de la Madeleine) where had been buried Louis XVI, Marie-Antoinette and many victims of the Terror in Paris.
Since she was now dead and had no known heirs, the proceeds went to the
Tribunal de Paris. Later, the jewels she had smuggled out of France to England were sold by auction at
Christie'sChristie's is a leading art business and a fine arts auction house.- History :The official company literature states that founder James Christie conducted the first sale in London, England on 5 December 1766, and the earliest auction catalogue the company retains is from December 1766...
in 1795 for the not inconsequential sum of £8,791 4s 9d.
The necklace involving Jeanne de la Motte-Valois, which was the same one that queen Marie Antoinette was wrongly accused of bribing Rohan to purchase for her, was originally destined for Mme du Barry by Louis XV, who died before the purchase could take place, leaving the jewellers Bohmer and Bassenge desperate for a buyer of the overly-expensive creation. On this subject, see also
Affair of the Diamond NecklaceThe Affair of the Diamond Necklace was a mysterious incident in the 1780s at the court of Louis XVI of France involving his wife, Queen Marie Antoinette. The reputation of the Queen, which was already tarnished by gossip, was ruined by the implication that she had participated in a crime to defraud...
.
In music
- The comtesse du Barry is the subject of an operetta entitled Gräfin Dubarry
Gräfin Dubarry is an operetta in three acts by Karl Millöcker to a German libretto by Friedrich Zell and Richard Genée. The story concerns Madame du Barry, the mistress of Louis XV, King of France.-Performance history:...
(1879) by Karl MillöckerKarl Joseph Millöcker , was an Austrian composer of operettas and a conductor.He was born in Vienna, where he studied the flute at the Conservatory. While holding various conducting posts in the city, he began to compose operettas...
.
- She was also the subject of a musical by Cole Porter
Cole Albert Porter was an American composer and songwriter. His works include the musical comedies Kiss Me, Kate, Fifty Million Frenchmen, DuBarry Was a Lady and Anything Goes, as well as songs like "Night and Day", "I Get a Kick out of You", "Well, Did You Evah!" and "I've Got You Under My Skin"...
titled DuBarry Was a LadyDuBarry Was a Lady is a Broadway musical, starring Bert Lahr, Ethel Merman and Betty Grable with music and lyrics by Cole Porter, and the book by Herbert Fields and B.G. DeSylva. The song "Friendship" was one of the highlights...
, featuring Ethel MermanEthel Merman was an American actress and singer of the musical theatre. Known for her powerful voice, she was often referred to as "The Grande Dame of the Broadway stage".-Early life:...
in two roles, a nightclub singer named May Daley, and Madame Dubarry. Bert LahrBert Lahr was a Tony Award-winning American actor and comedian. Lahr is best remembered today for his role as the Cowardly Lion and the farmworker Zeke in the classic 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz, but was well known during his life for work in burlesque, vaudeville, and Broadway.-Early life:Born...
co-starred as a washroom attendant in the nightclub who dreams he is Louis XV. The 1943 movie version starred Lucille BallLucille Désirée Ball was an American comedienne, film, television, stage and radio actress, model, film and television executive, and star of the sitcoms I Love Lucy, The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour, The Lucy Show and Here's Lucy...
in the title role, with co-stars Red SkeltonRed Skelton , born Richard Bernard Skelton, was an American comedian who was best known as a top radio and television star from 1937 to 1971...
and Gene KellyEugene Curran "Gene" Kelly was an American dancer, actor, singer, film director and producer, and choreographer....
.
- She is mentioned in the introduction to Lydia the Tattooed Lady, made famous by Groucho Marx
Julius Henry "Groucho" Marx was an American comedian and film star famed as a master of wit.He made 13 feature films with his siblings the Marx Brothers, of which he was the third-born...
.
In film
She was portrayed by:
- Theda Bara
Theda Bara , born Theodosia Burr Goodman, was an American silent film actress. Bara was one of the most popular screen actresses of her era, and was one of cinema's earliest sex symbols. Her femme fatale roles earned her the nickname "The Vamp" . The term "vamp" soon became a popular slang term...
in the 1917 film Madame Du BarryMadame Du Barry is a 1917 silent drama film directed by J. Gordon Edwards and starring Theda Bara. The film is now considered to be lost. -Cast:* Theda Bara - Jeanne Vaubernier* Charles Clary - Louis XV* Fred Church - Cossé-Brissac...
directed by J. Gordon EdwardsJ. Gordon Edwards was a Canadian-born film director, producer, and a writer who began his career as a stage actor and as a stage director. He made his directorial debut on film in 1914's St. Elmo. Soon went on helming all of the Fox studio's mega-budget spectacles, including all of actress Theda...
- Pola Negri
Pola Negri was a Polish film actress who achieved notoriety as a femme fatale in silent films between 1910s and 1930s.-Personal life:...
in the 1919 film Madame Du Barry directed by Ernst LubitschErnst Lubitsch , was a German-born Jewish film director. His urbane comedies of manners gave him the reputation of being Hollywood's most elegant and sophisticated director; as his prestige grew, his films were promoted as having "the Lubitsch touch".- Biography :Born in Berlin, as son of a Jewish...
- Norma Talmadge
Norma Talmadge was an American actress and film producer of the silent era. A major box office draw for more than a decade, her career reached a peak in the early 1920s, when she ranked among the most popular idols of the American screen.Her most famous film was Smilin’ Through , but she also...
in the 1930 film Du Barry, Woman of Passion
- Dolores del Río
Dolores del Río was a Mexican film actress. She was a star of Hollywood films during the silent era and in the Golden Age of Hollywood, becoming an important actress in Mexican films later in her life....
in the 1934 film Madame Dubarry, directed by William DieterleWilliam Dieterle was a German actor and film director, who worked in Hollywood for much of his career.-Career:...
- Gladys George
Gladys George was an American actress, now perhaps best remembered for her role in The Maltese Falcon.-Early life:...
in the 1938 MGM film, Marie AntoinetteMarie Antoinette is a 1938 film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed by W. S. Van Dyke and starred Norma Shearer as Marie Antoinette, Tyrone Power, John Barrymore, Robert Morley, Anita Louise, Joseph Schildkraut and Gladys George...
, which starred Norma ShearerEdith Norma Shearer was a Canadian-American actress. Shearer was one of the most popular actresses in the world from the mid-1920s until her retirement in 1942...
in the title role
- Margot Grahame
Margot Grahame was an English actress most noted for starring in The Informer and The Crimson Pirate...
in the 1948 film "Black MagicBlack Magic is a film adaptation of Alexandre Dumas, père's novel. It was directed by the Russian-born Gregory Ratoff and stars Orson Welles in the lead role as Joseph Balsamo and Nancy Guild as Lorenza/Marie Antoinette...
, as Mme du Barry. It also starred Orson WellesGeorge Orson Welles was an American film director, writer, actor and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television, and radio. Welles was also an accomplished magician, starring in troop variety spectacles in the war years...
in the lead role of Count Cagliostro
- Martine Carol
-Biography:Born Marie-Louise Jeanne Nicolle Mourer in Saint-Mandé, Val-de-Marne, , she studied acting under René Simon , making her stage debut in 1940 and her first motion picture in 1943. One of the most beautiful women in film, she was frequently cast as an elegant blonde seductress...
in the 1954 film Madame du Barry directed by Christian-JaqueChristian-Jaque was a noted French filmmaker. He was married to actress Martine Carol from 1954 to 1959.- Director :* Les Disparus de Saint-Agil...
- Italian actress Asia Argento
Asia Aria Anna Maria Vittoria Rossa Argento is an Italian television and film actress and director.-Family and early life:...
in Sofia CoppolaSofia Carmina Coppola is an American film director, actress, producer and screenwriter. She is the third female director, and only American woman, to be nominated for an Academy Award for Directing.-Early life:...
's 2006 film, Marie AntoinetteMarie Antoinette is a 2006 biographical film, written and directed by Sofia Coppola. It is loosely based on the life of the titular French queen in the years leading up to the French Revolution. It won an Academy Award for Best Costume Design...
In popular culture
- Her famous last words ("Encore un moment!") serve as a symbol of existential angst
Angst is a German, Danish, Norwegian and Dutch word for fear or anxiety. It is used in English to describe an intense feeling of strife...
when they are raised as a topic of conversation on at least two separate occasions in Fyodor DostoevskyFyodor Mikhaylovich Dostoyevsky Fyodor Mikhaylovich Dostoyevsky Fyodor Mikhaylovich Dostoyevsky was a Russian writer, essayist and philosopher, known for...
's 1869 novel, The IdiotThe Idiot is a novel written by the Russian author Fyodor Dostoyevsky and first published in 1868. It was first published serially in Russian in Russky Vestnik, St. Petersburg, 1868-1869. The Idiot is ranked, along with other works from Dostoevsky, as one of the most brilliant literary...
.
- She inspired a wax figure at Madame Tussaud's in London
[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
, called The Sleeping BeautyThe Sleeping Beauty is a wax figure at Madame Tussauds in London. It is the oldest existing figure on display. The figure is that of a young woman and was modeled after Madame du Barry, the mistress of Louis XV. She appears asleep and a device in her chest makes it seem as if she were breathing....
which is the oldest existing figure on display.
- A short two-page comic strip La Rue perdue ("The lost street") was published in 1978, featuring Gil Jourdan
Gil Jourdan is a Belgian detective comic strip created by Maurice Tillieux. It is considered a great combination of mystery, adventure and humour, and a masterpiece of European comics.-Origin and Premise:...
, a detective series created by Maurice TillieuxMaurice Tillieux was a Belgian writer and comic artist. He is regarded by many as a major figure of post-war Belgian comics.-Early life:...
. Set in 1953 it has Jourdan trying to find out why a fake guillotineThe guillotine was a device used for carrying out executions by decapitation. It consists of a tall upright frame from which a blade is suspended. This blade is raised with a rope and then allowed to drop, severing the victim's head from their body...
blade is hanging outside the door of a black African friend. The one responsible turns out to be a man obsessed with du Barry and taking his anger at her death out on Jourdan's friend who looks like ZamorZamor was a French revolutionary of Bengali origin, who as a boy of eleven, was picked from Chittagong by slave traders and sold to Countess du Barry who nurtured and educated him...
, the man whose actions led to her execution. The action is set in Rue Maître Albert (Maître Albert Street) where Zamor lived before his death.
- Madame du Barry also appears in the famous anime and manga series The Rose of Versailles
, also known as Lady Oscar, is one of the best-known titles in shōjo and a media franchise created by Riyoko Ikeda. It has been adapted into several Takarazuka Revue musicals, as well an anime television series, produced by Tokyo Movie Shinsha and broadcast by the anime television network Animax...
as a villainous, scheming enemy of Marie AntoinetteMarie Antoinette ; was an Archduchess of Austria and the Queen of France and Navarre. She was the fifteenth and penultimate child of Empress Maria Theresa and Emperor Francis I....
; her struggles with the young princess are a major concern of the story in its early stages.
Sources
- Antoine, Michel, Louis XV, Librairie Arthème Fayard, Paris, 1989 (French).
- Castelot, André, Madame du Barry, Perrin, Paris, 1989.
- Haslip, Joan, Madame du Barry: the Wages of Beauty, Grove Weidenfeld, New York, 1992, ISBN 13: 9780802112569, ISBN 10: 0802112560.
- La Croix de Castries, René de, Madame du Barry, Hachette, Paris, 1967.
- Loomis, Stanley, Du Barry : A Biography, Lippincott, Philadelphia, 1959.
- Saint-André, Claude, A King's favourite, Madame du Barry, and her times from hitherto unpublished documents, with an introduction by Pierre de Nolhac, New York, Mc Bride, Nast & Company, 1915; translated from the French Madame du Barry, published by Tallandier, Paris, 1909.
- Saint Victor, Jacques de, Madame du Barry, un nom de scandale, Perrin, Paris, 2002.
- Stoeckl, Agnes, (Baroness de), Mistress of Versailles: the Life of Madame du Barry, John Murray, London, 1966.
- Vatel, Charles, Histoire de madame du Barry, L. Bernard, Paris, 1883.
External links