Return to the index of "Other Women's Voices."
Updated 12-14-08
Elisabeth Charlotte, Duchesse
d'Orleans /Liselotte von der Pfalz (1652-1722)
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"THOSE WHO COME AFTER US WILL... THINK THEY ARE JUST FAIRYTALES."
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Elisabeth Charlotte was the daughter of the ruler of the Rhineland
area called the Palatine (or Pfalz). She was born at Heidelberg,
just three years after her parents had returned from exile to
try to rebuild the country that had been ravaged during the Thirty
Years War. She was their second child and only daughter; from
her childhood, she was called Liselotte, a combined form of her
first names.
When Liselotte was seven, her father repudiated his wife and made a morganatic marriage with one of his wife's attendants, a marriage which would produce 14 children, eight of whom survived to adulthood. At the time of the new marriage, Liselotte was sent away from Heidelberg to live with her father's sister Sophie, whose husband ruled Hanover. Liselotte always remembered the four years with Sophie as the happiest of her life. In 1663 she moved back to Heidelberg, where she was educated with her brother and her half-siblings.
After rejecting several proposals from German princes, in 1671 her father arranged Liselotte's marriage to Philippe, Duc d'Orleans, the brother of King Louis XIV of France. Philippe was 18 years older, a widower with two daughters, who needed a male heir. He was also by preference homosexual, and some of his lovers had been rumored to be involved in the death of his first wife the year before. But for Liselotte's father the match seemed to promise the protection of one of Europe's most powerful kings; that promise would turn out to be illusory.
By the end of the year, Liselotte had agreed to give up her family's Calvinism for Catholicism, been married by proxy, and left Germany forever. The newly-married couple did their duty: by 1676, Liselotte had borne three children, of whom two survived, the required male heir and a daughter. Then Philippe turned exclusively to his lovers; Liselotte turned to her correspondence.
She had much to write about: "Monsieur" (Philippe's title as brother to the king) and "Madame" (Liselotte's title as his wife) had their own homes in Paris and at St. Cloud, but they were most often required to be in attendance on Louis at court. Liselotte described for her German relatives all that was going on; to most, she wrote of her enjoyment of hunting, the theatre, and the favor of the king. However, in her most intimate letters, to Sophie, she described her growing unhappiness: at first with her increasing estrangement from Philippe; later with the depredations that Louis' armies were inflicting on her beloved Palatine; later still, with the efforts of Louis' last favorite, the Marquise de Maintenon, to force unsuitable marriages on Liselotte's children.
Philippe died in 1701, leaving his widow and children completely dependent on the aging king and on those who influenced him. Liselotte continued to write letters, describing her efforts to keep up her position and that of her children.
When Louis XIV died in 1715, Liselotte's son became Regent for the young Louis XV, and some of Liselotte's correspondence assumed a political role: for example, she began to write to Caroline of Ansbach, whom she had never met, but who had married the heir to the English throne, and so was a contact that the Regent wished to develop.
Liselotte's letters are remarkable for their ability to convey her speaking voice. She always prided herself on saying exactly what she thought, no matter to whom she was speaking, and her letters do just that. Over 4000 letters in German survive, as do 850 in French. There is no complete English-language translation, but available selections will allow you to hear something of her voice.
On this page you'll find:
Links to helpful sites online.
Excerpts from translations in print.
Information about secondary sources.
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First a word on "Elisabeth Charlotte": Some libraries use "Charlotte Elisabeth" and some websites use the English spelling, "Elizabeth." If you're searching, be prepared.
1. In English:
(a) A link to the text of the 1925 Volume 2 of Gertrude Scott Stevenson's The Letters of Madame...., a good selection of letters written between 1709 and 1722, with recipients and dates identified, and with detailed notes; you can also download the whole as a PDF file (for excerpts from Stevenson's Volume 1, see below, under "In print").
(b) A substantial collection of extracts rearranged to form a "memoir"; most are from letters written well after her husband's 1701 death, and in which she reminisces about the past. The 1824 French editors were interested in what Liselotte had to say about people at Louis' court, as you will see by the table of contents; no indication is given as to the recipient of any letter, and few are dated. You can link separately to the four books: look at the first two sections of Book 1, on Liselotte herself and on Louis XIV; look also at the first section of Book 2, on Philippe I, her husband.
(b) After two extracts from Louis XIV, parts of eleven letters by Liselotte, translated by Elborg Forster. The first is from 1676, written to her former governess; the others are to her aunt Sophie, written between 1683 and 1704.
(c) One-third of the way down the page, two brief passages (with the German original): from 1677, when Liselotte was a fashion-plate; and from 1688, when she was not.
(d) About a fifth of the way down the page, Liselotte describes for her sister-in-law Louis' salon in 1682; the trnslation is by Forster.
(e) About two-thirds of the way down the page of an essay on the Palais Royal (Liselotte's Paris home) lines from a 1694 letter to her half-sister, describing her own appearance.
(f) Use your browser's search function to go to "Liselotte" for two passages from letters to Sophie: in1700, complaining about "the youth of today"; and in 1699, more on her physical appearance. The translations are by Foster.
(g) A brief passage from a 1702 letter, on "one dirty thing at Court that I shall never get used to," translated by Maria Kroll.
(h) A passage from a 1704 letter to Sophie, on precedence at court, translated by Stevenson.
(i) In an essay on Marly, the villa built by Louis where he and his courtiers could live in a more casual style, go to "Liselotte" for her 1705 view in a letter to Sophie, "It does not seem in the least like a court."
(j) In an excerpt from a book on vaccination, lines from a 1712 letter to Sophie, on the effects of physicians' treatments.
(k) In this essay by Alexandre Dumas, go to "Palatine" for three brief passages from letters of 1713, 1717, and 1719 on the legend of the man in the iron mask. (What Dumas calls "testimony" is merely court gossip: Anne of Austria had been dead five years before Liselotte arrived in France, Mazarin five years before that.)
2. Letters in German:
(a) Excerpts from five letters written between 1696 and 1706 to Liselotte's step-sisters, Louise and Amelie Elisabeth.
(b) About two-thirds of the way down the page, a passage from a 1715 letter on Liselotte's grand-daughters.
(c) Lines from three letters (one from 1713 and two from 1719) on the portraits of Liselotte painted by Hyacinthe Rigaud; he was her favorite portrait painter because he did not flatter her: "Nothing will ever be as true to life as my portrait by Rigaud" (for a Rigaud portrait, see #6 below).
(d) Passages from nine letters to Liselotte's step-sisters, all but one from 1719 (the last is from 1722).
3. Links to 47 letters in French, written between 1687 and Liselotte's death in 1722 to Madame de Ludres. Ludres had been one of Liselotte's attendants, as well as being Louis' mistress for a few years in the 1670s. By 1687 she was living in a convent at Nancy, where Liselotte wrote to her frequently, describing the affairs at court.
4. Essays, etc:
(a) A brief biographical essay by Ursula Schweers, translated by Joey Horsley.
(b) A essay on the life and the letters, by William Brooks, followed by a 2008 bibliography of editions and translations of the letters; and under that, a collection of French "Jugements," including Saint-Simon's. (For information on two books by Brooks, see "Secondary sources.")
(c) "Monsieur and Liselotte: Gay Subtexts of The Marriage of Duke Philippe d'Orleans (1640-1701) and Princess Elisabeth Charlotte von der Pfalz (1652-1721)," which includes passages from five of Liselotte's letters.
(d) A link to the text of Jeanne Mairet's 1909 Madame, Mother of the Regent, 1652-1722, all but the last chapter a translation of the French of Arvede Barine; it is a very French view of the German Liselotte, but it quotes extensively from her letters. You can also download the work as a PDF file.
(e) A 2001 article by Elborg Forster, "The Art and Craft of Translation"; her work on Liselotte's letters (see below) is one of the examples she uses to illustrate "what translating involves and requires."
5. Reviews (for excerpts from the translations, see "In print"; for information on Pevitt's treatment of Liselotte, see "Secondary sources"):
(a) Charlotte C. Wells on Forster's 1984 translation, A Woman's Life in the Court of the Sun King.
(b) On two pages, Time Magazine on the first volume (1924) of Stevenson's translation, The Letters of Madame....
(c) Alistair Horne on Christine Pevitt's 1997 biography, Philippe, Duc d'Orleans: Regent of France (you can link to the book's opening chapter).
6. Contemporary images of Liselotte (if the dates assigned are correct, some of the artists are indeed guilty of flattery):
(a) A young Liselotte in Germany with Sophie, by Adriaen Hanneman (1660-63); and links to three others: Liselotte in France with her two young children, by Pierre Mignard (c.1678); a 1689 fashion engraving; and another engraving (described at the site as from 1694)
(b) An anonymous German portrait, c.1670, perhaps sent to France at the time of the negotiations for Liselotte's marriage to Philippe.
(c) Half way down the page, an engraving, by Nicolas I de Larmessin, from the early 1670s.
(d) Liselotte dressed as the personification of spring, after 1675, by Nicolas de Largilliere.
(e) Another painting, from c. 1677, by Pierre Mignard.
(f) A painting from before 1680, by Francois de Troy.
(g) A 1697 portrait by Jan Weenix, painted for the then Elector Palatine (Weenix had never been in France and probably never seen Liselotte)
(h) A c.1713 portrait by Hyacinthe Rigaud, Liselotte's favorite.
(i) A portrait medal designed by Ferdinand de St. Urbain shortly after Liselotte's death.
7. At a German site, a substantial 2008 collection of links
relating to Liselotte --- her life, writings, portraits,
criticism. The language of most of the sites linked is German,
but some are in English or French.
8. For historical background on Liselotte's home, a brief "History
of the Pfalz (Palatinate), 1648-1742"; and at the same
site, a description of the "War
of the Palatine Succession" (1688-1697), (here called
"War of the Grand Alliance"), waged by Louis in Liselotte's
name.
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[Elborg Forster's translation of Margarethe Westphal's German selection of letters emphasizes Liselotte's enduring interest in Germany and her German relatives. In addition to detailed notes, Foster gives a useful set of mini-biographies in a "Cast of Principal Characters," and an introduction that discusses Liselotte's qualities as a writer. The index is useful, the bibliography brief and confined to English-language works. Note the Library of Congress' form of her given name; some French writers of the 1800s erroneously used "Charlotte Elisabeth," and this was apparently picked up by the Library of Congress (See the book's table of contents online.):]
Orleans, Charlotte Elisabeth, duchesse d'. A woman's life
in the court of the Sun King: letters of Liselotte von der Pfalz,
1652-1722, Elisabeth Charlotte, Duchesse d'Orleans / translated
and introduced by Elborg Forster. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University
Press, 1984. (lx, 287 p.; 26 cm)
LC#: DC130.O7 A4 1984; ISBN: 0801831598
Translation of: Liselotte von der Pfalz, Elisabeth Charlotte
von der Pfalz, Duchesse d'Orléans, Madame, Briefe [publ.
Langwiesche; ed. Margarethe Westphal,1958]. Includes index. Bibliography:
p. xlix
[Gertrude Scott Stevenson's 1924-25 two-volume selection includes more letters but may be less easily available than Forster's. Stevenson's goal was to include "everything bearing upon relations between England and France at the period" (v.1, p.17), so the book gives letters not in Forster. The first volume covers the years 1661 to 1708, the second 1709 to 1722 (Volume 2 is available online). Notes and index are quite detailed, and the bibliography lists the sources of all of Liselotte's letters that were known in 1924. (The excerpts from Stevenson given below are from letters not in Forster):]
Orleans, Charlotte Elisabeth, duchesse d'. The letters of
Madame: the correspondence of Elizabeth-Charlotte of Bavaria,
Princess Palatine, duchess of Orleans, called "Madame"
at the court of King Louis XIV. Translated and edited by Gertrude
Scott Stevenson. New York, D. Appleton, 1924-25. (2 v. facsim.,
ports)
LC#:DC130.O 7 A39 1924
Bibliography: v. 1, p. 278-279; duplicated in v. 2, p. 298-299
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"All the gods were turned into mortals."
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[At 17, Liselotte wrote from Heidelberg to Anna Harling, her former governess at Hanover:]
...I must tell my dear Frau Harling how my brother and I have been short-changed; for carnival we were all to be gods and goddesses..., our clothes were all ready to go. My brother was Mercurius and I Aurora, Landas Diana, Mistress Kolb Ceres; summa summarum we were all gods, goddesses, shepherds, and nymphs. The triumphal chariots were in readiness and we only waiting for Thursday to play it, and then on Wednesday came the news that the King of Denmark [a relative] died. So all the gods were turned into mortals.
However, we were told to be patient for six weeks and then, if nothing goes wrong, Frau Harling will only have to tell me whether she likes to rise early or not, for then I will have power over the gates of day and will not open them until she wants me to. [Forster, p.3]
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"We played and carried on together."
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[From a letter to her aunt Sophie, two months after she had arrived in France, a 19-year-old married woman:]
It is not that I am taking more strenuous walks here than I used to, but the people here are as lame as geese, and except for the King, Madame de Chevreuse, and myself there is not a soul here you can do more than twenty steps without sweating and puffing. [Forster, p.7]
[And 50 years later, reminiscing in another letter about her first days in France, she remembers her elder step-daughter, later to become queen of Spain:]
The best of them all was my stepdaughter, whom I loved with all my heart like a sister, for she could not be my daughter since I was only nine years older. I was still quite childish when I came here, and we played and carried on together...; we often made so much noise that people could not stand to be with us. There was an old lady here by the name of Madame de Fiennes, whom we used to pester mercilessly. She disliked the sound of shooting, and we always tossed firecrackers into her skirts; this drove her wild, and she would run after us trying to hit us, that was great fun for us. [Forster, p.272]
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"...not to be permitted to run and jump."
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[Within a year of her marriage, Liselotte was pregnant. She wrote to Frau Harling:]
What an outlandish thing for a merry little leaf-rustler not to be permitted to run and jump, not even to ride in a coach, but to be carried around in a sedan chair all the time. And if it were to be over soon, that would be one thing, but that it will have to go on like this for a full nine months, that is a wretched situation....
But once this egg is hatched, I wish I could mail it to you in Osnabruck, for... I am assured from my own experience that it would be well cared for; but here no child is safe, for the doctors here have already helped five of the Queen's to the other world (the last one died three weeks ago), and three of Monsieur's, as he says himself, have been expedited in the same way. [Forster, p.7]
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"I will now learn to ride a horse."
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[When her first child was born (a son who would die aged 2), Liselotte wrote about him to Sophie, and about the riding and hunting that would become one of her chief pleasures:]
As for my little one, he is so terribly big and strong that, begging your leave, he rather resembles a German and a Westphalian than a Frenchman.... People here all say that my little boy looks like me, so Your Grace can imagine that he is not exactly a pretty fellow....
Also want to tell Your Grace how glad I am that I will now learn to ride a horse; this is a fine thought for Liselotte's rustle-bustle head, as Ma Tante knows very well. For if the truth be known, I have not changed all that much. [Forster, p.9]
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"God grant that she may not be more unhappy than I am."
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[By 1676, two other children had been born; these both survived:]
On Monday last both of them were christened and given Monsieur's and my names, so that the boy is now Philippe and the girl Elisabeth Charlotte. Now there is another Liselotte in the world; God grant that she may not be more unhappy than I am, for then she will have little to complain about. [Forster, p.16]
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"I am now very much a la mode."
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[The early and mid-1670s were to be the happiest of Liselotte's life in France. Even a hunting accident has happy results; when her horse bolted:]
...I held on as long as I saw that the other horses were close to me, and as soon as I found myself alone I slowly let go and dropped onto the green grass. This came off so well that I have not, thank God, hurt myself in the slightest. Your Grace, who so much admired our King for being such a comfort to me in the throes of my labor, will also love him for what he did in this instance, for he was the first one to reach me, looking as white as a sheet; and although I assured him that I had not hurt myself or fallen on my head, he would not rest until he had personally examined my head on all sides...; he also led my back to my room and even stayed with me for a while to see whether I might become dizzy....
I must say that even now the King shows me his favor every day, for he speaks to me whenever he sees me and now calls for me every Saturday to have medianoche [a midnight supper] with him and Madame Montespan.
This is also the reason that I am now very much a la mode; whatever I say or do, whether it be good or awry, is greatly admired by the courtiers, to the point that when I decided to wear my old sable in this cold weather to keep my neck warm, everyone had one made from the same pattern, and sables have become quite the rage. This makes me laugh, for five years ago the very people who now admire and wear this fashion so laughed at me and made so much fun of me with my sable that I could no longer wear it. [Forster, pp.17-18]
[And in 1677, from Versailles:]
Every other day and quite often two and three days in a row I go hunting with the King, and we hunt here no less often than at Fontainebleu. Our King has suddenly taken a new pleasure in hunting the stag; this makes me very glad and I follow him as often as I can, for I am as fond of hunting as His Majesty is. It is a great pleasure for a merry little leaf-rustler like myself.... [Forster, p.19]
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"Now that I have a safe opportunity, I can speak plainly."
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[By the end of the 1670s, Louis' interest in hunting had changed from animals to lands; he began to claim some of the lands belonging to Liselotte's father. When her father --- Sophie's brother --- died in 1680, Liselotte blamed Louis. She also became aware that her mail was being read, so only in a letter that would be delivered by hand could she speak openly to her aunt:]
Now that I have a safe opportunity, I can speak plainly, and I must therefore tell Your Grace that she is rather more fortunate than I am, for although her loss is as great as mine, she at least is not obliged to live with those who without any doubt have caused the death of His late grace the Elector through all the anguish they have caused him, and this is hard for me to swallow.
Your Grace says... that she rejoices with me that I am with the King whose company I enjoy so much. Yes, I admit that I was very fond of him and liked being with him before he began to persecute Papa so dreadfully.... [Forster, pp.27-28]
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"I am well-nigh choking...."
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[Her disenchantment with the court increased in 1682 when her husband was convinced by his followers that she was having an affair with a minor courtier; as a result, her servants were sent away:]
...[T]hey spread the rumor that I was having an affair and that Theobon was carrying my letters, and then they saw to it that Monsieur chased her away without warning.... I leave it to Your grace to imagine what the world is bound to think of all this and whether it pains my to know my innocence and yet find myself in such dishonor, without ever being heard as to whether or not I can justify myself, even though I tearfully begged to be given the chance....
I am well-nigh choking, for I cannot speak openly with anyone, and even now I must hold back, for I cannot entrust the mail with everything I would like to tell Your Grace....
I had made up my mind to spend the rest of my life at Maubisson [a convent] and badgered the King about it for three whole days, to the point where he told me he would absolutely refuse and that I should put the idea out of my head since he would never give his consent, no matter what happened to me. [Forster, pp.36-37]
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"'Then let us all three embrace,' said the King."
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[A week later, when she didn't have to "entrust the mail" but could give the letter to a reliable courier, Liselotte wrote again to her aunt, describing the whole affair and the intervention of Louis XIV: first the king promised to defend her against her husband's favorites, although not against her husband:]
The King said, "...In all future quarrels you may have with my brother, if it is between him and you I shall be for him, but on the other hand, if it is between you and other people, I shall take your part, and believe me, I speak as one who loves you...."
[Then Louis, who had already spoken to Philippe, brought husband and wife together:]
The very same evening the King brought Monsieur to my room and said, "...[N]ow you are both willing to embrace each other before me and to appoint me arbitrator in any differences you may have in the future.... I do especially exhort you never to have explanations, for they only raise bitter feelings in the mind.
"As for these foolish stories that are going about, look you, brother, I am always ready enough to believe the worst, but I have examined this case closely, and I would put my hand in the flames that Madame is entirely guiltless."
Monsieur said, "I believe so, too."
"Then let us all three embrace," said the King. We did so, and the reconciliation was thus brought about. [Stevenson, pp.57-58]
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"The King imagines that he is pious...."
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[After the death of his queen in 1683, Louis became more sober; Liselotte (and most of those at court) saw in this the growing influence of Madame Maintenon, Louis' new favorite. In 1685, to Sophie:]
The King has changed so frightfully in every way that I do not recognize him; and while I know very well where all this comes from, there is nothing that can be done about it....
As for those who might be curious enough to open my letter in the mail, they will see my opinion right here and thereby spare me the trouble of telling it to them later. [Forster, p.48]
[Two years later:]
I am also bound to tell Your grace that court life is becoming so dull that one can hardly stand it any longer. For the King imagines that he is pious when he sees to it that everyone is properly bored and bothered. [Forster, p.53]
[And in 1696:]
The Great Man [Louis] is incredibly simple with regard to religious matters, but not at all so where other matters are concerned. This arises from the fact that he has never learnt anything about religion, has never read the Bible, and thoroughly believes everything they tell him on this subject.
Moreover, when he had a mistress who was not pious, he was not pious either. Now that he has fallen in love with a woman who talks of nothing but penitence, he believes everything she tells him.... He won't... take the trouble to find out for himself what real religion means. [Stevenson, pp.135-36]
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"...make better Christians rather than more Catholics."
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[In part because of Louis' new piety, in 1685 the Edict of Nantes, which had for almost 90 years allowed some measure of religious freedom to French Protestants (Huguenots), was revoked. In a letter written many years later, Liselotte remembered a 1687 incident:]
I did not know that Monsieur [Jacques] Rousseau, who painted the Orangerie, was Reformed. He was way up on a scaffold, and since I thought I was all alone in the gallery, I loudly sang the sixth psalm: "Of thy tremendous wrath...."
I had barely finished the first stanza when I heard someone hurriedly climb down the scaffolding and throw himself at my feet; it was Rousseau himself. I thought the man had gone out of his mind and said, "My goodness, Monsieur Rousseau, what is it?"
He said, "Is it possible, madame, that you still remember our psalms and sing them? May God bless you and keep you in these good sentiments." He had tears in his eyes.
A few days later he ran off, I do not know where he went. Wherever he may be, I wish him much happiness and joy. He is an excellent painter of frescoes, and highly respected. [Forster, p.251]
[And in 1704, Liselotte understood more clearly than Louis' advisors the repercussions of the Revocation --- the loss to France of many of its most valuable artisans and merchants:]
If my advice had been followed, the authorities here would have sought to make better Christians rather than more Catholics and to change people's morals rather than their faith, which can never be forced; and I believe that if this had been done things would be better than they are, and there would be more money in the country. [Forster, p.142]
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"I am, as it were, my fatherland's ruin."
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[In 1688 Louis once again invaded Liselotte's homeland, destroying all cities that resisted, and claiming to do this in her name:]
...[W]hat pains me most is that my name is being used to cast these poor people into utter misery. And when I cry about it, I am treated to great annoyance and sulking. But to save my life I cannot stop lamenting and bemoaning the thought that I am, as it were, my fatherland's ruin.... I am so horrified by all the destruction that has been wrought that every night when I have finally dozed off, I imagine that I am in Mannheim or Heidelberg amid all the destruction.... [Forster, p.61]
[And three months later:]
Recently Monsieur told me something... which I had not known before, namely that the King has all taxes in the Palatinate levied in my name; now these poor people must think that I am profiting from their misery and that I am the cause of it....
I wish to God it were true that I received all the money that has been taken from the poor Palatinate..., for then the... poor people of the Palatinate would be much better off. But the truth is that I have not seen a red farthing of it. [Forster, p.64]
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"The feeling is that I am still a Huguenot."
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[During nine years of war, Liselotte's German sympathies would make her suspect. In 1694, she wrote to her aunt:]
A short while ago I found out that my coachman had accused me to Monsieur de la Reynie [Paris' Chief of Police] of contempt for the State, of writing everything to Germany, and of planning to run away. At my bidding Wendt [her steward] confronted him and asked him why he had done this. He replied that his confessor ordered him to do it because the feeling is that I am still a Huguenot. [Forster, p.84]
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"We would have to live entirely on the King's charity."
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[After the birth of their third child in 1676, Philippe had suggested that they no longer have sexual relations; Liselotte accepted this, apparently happily. She seems not to have cared about his affairs with men, but she was always concerned about her and her children's future. In 1693 she wrote to her aunt:]
As for Monsieur, I have truly done my best to persuade him that I have no desire to interfere with his amusements and with his passions for his men friends, but he persists in thinking that I am trying to prevent his giving all that he possesses to his gallants.... When he has no such idea in his head all is peaceful, but these outbreaks occur more than three or four times a year. [Stevenson, pp.113-14]
[But Liselotte did in fact care about Philippe's "giving all that he possesses to his gallants." Two years later, she wrote:]
I could put up with it if Monsieur only squandered his money in gaming, but sometimes he gives away as much as 100,000 francs at one swoop, and all the economies fall upon me and the children. That is not at all pleasant, besides putting me in a position where, as God is my witness, we would have to live entirely on the King's charity, which is a miserable thing. [Stevenson, p.117]
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"...have burnt them unread."
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[Three years before his death in 1701, Liselotte's husband became ill , and their relationship grew friendlier. After his death, she performed him a final service:]
If those who are in the next world could know what was happening in this one, I think His Grace, the late Monsieur, would be most pleased with me, for I have gone through his boxes to find all the letters written to him by his boyfriends and have burnt them unread, so that they will not fall into other people's hands. [Forster, p.134]
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"...indeed that he seemed to like me."
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[And a few weeks later:]
I do confess that Monsieur often plagued and chagrined me, but this was only because he was weak and captivated by those who provided for his revels and pleasures. The King himself told me that recently His late Grace was no longer disparaging me as much as he had done some years ago, indeed that he seemed to like me, which makes me grieve all the more. [Forster, p.134]
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"...nothing of one's own."
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[Liselotte's fears of penury were justified; when Philippe died, he left only debts:]
It is difficult not to have sad thoughts when one has to live on the charity of others, and has nothing of one's own with which to procure a little pleasure....
I receive great comfort from the King, otherwise I could not endure my position. When the King speaks about Monsieur he is quite moved. [Stevenson, p.213]
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"They are a great help to me in making conversation."
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[For Liselotte, sending and receiving letters were more than pastimes; the information she and her correspondents shared were the coin needed to make one's way at a court. In 1697, to a half-sister visiting in London:]
I wish you had given me fuller details of the ceremony at which you were present at Windsor, because although such things may be of little importance in themselves they are a great help to me in making conversation, and I have often great difficulty in finding anything to say. [Stevenson, p.151]
[And in 1702, when letters from relatives in Germany were cut off by war between France and the Empire:]
It is stupid of them not to allow us to write to each other, We know no state secrets, and do not meddle with public affairs. What harm can it do the Emperor if we tell each other that there has been a marriage or a baptism, or that we send our love to each other, or such and such a play was well acted, and so on? [Stevenson, p.229]
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"...more entertaining than any novel."
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[As an outsider, Liselotte was able to see Louis' court and the whole period with a reasonably objective eye. In 1697 she had written to Sophie:]
I believe that the histories that will be written about this court after we are gone will be better and more entertaining than any novel, and I am afraid that those who come after us will not be able to believe them and think they are just fairytales. [Forster, p.97]
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[Maria Kroll's selection of excerpts from Liselotte's German letters could perhaps act as an introduction for the general reader. Describing omissions, Kroll says "Many of the bawdy stories had to go" (p.22); more significantly, whole sections of letters are omitted without any signal. The book does, however, provide a useful "family tree" of Louis XIV's and Philippe's descendants. (See the book's table of contents online.):]
Letters from Liselotte, Elisabeth Charlotte, Princess Palatine
and Duchess of Orleans, 'Madame', 1652-1722; translated and edited
by Maria Kroll. London, Gollancz, 1970. (269 p., 16 plates. illus.,
facsim., geneal. table, ports.)
LC#: DC130.O7 A45 1970; ISBN:0575004800
Illus. on lining papers. Bibliography: p. 248-249
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[This is the print version of the "memoir" selection
found online. The book is a translation of a French compilation
of a 1789 German edition of the letters. Most of the letters
are to a cousin, Anton-Ulrich, Duke of Wolfenbuttel /Brunswick
(20 years older than Liselotte), and to Caroline, the German-born
Princess of Wales (30 years younger). None of the more intimate
letters to Sophie and to Liselotte's half-sisters are included:]
Orleans, Charlotte Elisabeth, duchesse d'. Memoirs of the court
of Louis XIV and of the regency. Being the secret memoirs of
Elizabeth Charlotte, duchesse d'Orléans, mother of the
regent (Court memoir series). Boston, L. C. Page, 1899. (403
p. ports., plates)
LC#: DC130.O7 A28
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[The first several chapters of Christine Pevitt's biography of Liselotte's son (who died just a year after his mother) are in effect also a biography of the mother (you can see the first chapter online); the rest of the book is useful for background information on the period. Pevitt frequently quotes passages from Liselotte's letters, some not translated elsewhere. The endnotes give sources of quotations, but there are no superscripts to lead you to them. (See the book's table of contents online.):]
Pevitt, Christine. Philippe, duc d'Orleans: regent of France.
New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, c1997. (xv, 366 p., [16] p.
of plates: col. ill., geneal. table)
LC#: DC132 .P48 1997; ISBN: 0871136953
Includes bibliographical references (p. 328-331) and index
[Published in the UK as The man who would be king: the life of
Philippe, d'Orleans, Regent of France, 1674-1723; ISBN: 029781317X]
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[Despite its rather unwieldy title, Sean Ward's article clearly presents Liselotte's apparent isolation at the French court as due not only to her being seen as a foreigner but also to her own rejection of the increasing restrictions on meaningful conversation in the later years of Louis's reign. Passages from Liselotte's German letters are usually given in Ward's translation, with the original given in the notes. (See the issue's table of contents online.):]
Ward, Sean. Functional Differentiation and the Crisis in Early
Modern Upper-class Conversation: The Second Madame, Interaction,
and Isolation. Seventeenth-Century French Studies, 28
(2006), 235-47.
LC#: DC33.4 .S48; ISSN: 0377-3515
--------------------------
[Christine McCall Probes' article discusses what the French-language letters written by Liselotte (most frequently to women) reveal about her view of friendship. Probes also looks at the rhetorical style of the letters; quoted passages are not translated but are often made clear in the discussion. (See the issue's table of contents online.):]
Probes, Christine McCall. Feminine friendship at the end of
the century: Testimony from the French correspondence of Madame
Palatine. Seventeenth-Century French Studies, 23 (2001),
43-54.
LC#: DC33.4S48; ISSN 0265-1068
----------------------------
[This collection contains an earlier essay by Probes, "Aging
and the Continental Community: Good Counsel in the Writings of
Two Mature European Princesses, Marguerite de Navarre and Madame
Palatine," of interest because it discusses --- albeit briefly
(pp.155-59) --- some of Liselotte's French letters that are not
treated elsewhere. (See
the book's table of contents online.):]
Aging and identity: a humanities perspective / edited by Sara
Munson Deats and Lagretta Tallent Lenker. Westport, Conn.: Praeger,
1999. (x, 256 p.)
LC#: HQ1061 .A444 1999; ISBN: 0275964795
Includes bibliographical references (p. [229]-246), filmography
and index
----------------------------
[William Brooks (in collaboration with P.J. Yarrow) describes all of the known contemporary portraits, engravings, and other images of Liselotte. Also given are substantial excerpts from her letters; German passages are translated, French excerpts are not. (See the book's table of contents online.):]
Brooks, William. Artists' images and the self-descriptions
of Elisabeth Charlotte, Duchess of Orleans (1652-1722), the Second
Madame: representations of a royal princess in the time of Louis
XIV and the Regency /with a preface by Henriette Goldwyn. Lewiston:
Edwin Mellen Press, c2007. (xiv, 352 p., [38] p. of plates: ill.
(some col.)
LC#: N7639.O75 B76 2007; ISBN: 9780773454200
Includes bibliographical references (p. [319]-338) and index
---------------------------
[An earlier work by Brooks and Yarrow is a complete collection of Liselotte's comments in her letters about stage performances --- plays, opera, etc. --- given in the original German or French. However, the editors give (in English) information on what was happening to Liselotte at the time of each performance, so the whole becomes a detailed chronology of her life in France. (See the book's table of contents online.):]
The dramatic criticism of Elizabeth Charlotte, Duchesse D'Orleans:
with an annotated chronology of performances of the popular and
court theatres in France (1671-1722), reconstructed from her
letters / W.S. Brooks and P.J. Yarrow (Studies in French civilization;
v. 9) . Lewiston: E. Mellen Press, c1996. (x, 366 p.)
LC#: PN2632 .O74 1996; ISBN: 0773488340, 088946636X
Includes bibliographical references (p. 337-345) and index
----------------------------
[This article by Brooks describes the large number of engravings
that were made of Liselotte (and shows several), discussing what
they reveal of her own development and popularity, and of the
artistic conventions of the period. (See
the issue's table of contents online.):]
Brooks, William. The significance of engravings as examples of
the personal iconography of the second Madame, Duchess of Orleans,
1671-1722. Seventeenth-Century French Studies, 18 (1996),
73-89.
LC#: DC33.4S48; ISSN: 0265-1068
---------------------------
[Harold Donaldson Eberlein's 1931 biography of Liselotte focuses
on the correspondence between her and her aunt Sophie, so there
is little on the period after Sophie's death in 1714. Eberlein
didn't quite approve of either woman: some letters of both aunt
and niece are "so grossly vulgar in phraseology that they
must be left in French" (the offending phrases include any
reference to chamber pots). He attributes this vulgarity to Sophie's
fondness for Rabelais, passed on to Liselotte (hence the biography's
title). However, the book is useful for historical background
on Germany in the period and for the passages it translates from
Sophie's 1680-81 memoir:]
Eberlein, Harold Donaldson. The Rabelaisian princess, Madame
Royale of France. New York, Brentano's, 1931. ( xxiii, 304 p.
front., plates, ports)
LC#: DC130.O7 E2
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Updated 12-14-08