The Notorious Duc de Richelieu

While doing the research for my novel, I came across one Armand de Vignerot du Plessis, duc de Richelieu. He was the great-nephew of Cardinal Richelieu (the "villain" of Dumas' Three Musketeers), schoolfriend of Voltaire and one time lover of Emilie. He was a soldier and a diplomat, a politician and a womaniser and his ninety-two years of life (from 1696 to 1788) were filled with one adventure after another, from epic love affairs to political conspiracies to daring military exploits (or so his memoirs would have us believe).  Such was the duke's amorous reputation that it is said that Choderlos de Laclos based the character of Valmont in his Les Liaisons Dangereuses on Richelieu (that's John Malkovich or Colin Firth if you're watching one of the film versions of the book).

Originally I had intended for Richelieu to be just a minor figure in the novel, but such a larger-than-life figure refused to be anything other than centre stage and it soon became apparent that he needed to have equal billing with Emilie and Voltaire. My novel now has three central characters and is all the better for it.

Below is a link to a story I wrote a year or so ago based on an event early in Richelieu's political career when he was the French ambassador to Vienna. Believe it or not, most of what takes place in the story really happened...

The Magician's Stepson

The First Voltaire and Emilie Mystery

In addition to my short (well shortish) stories, I have for several years been working on a novel. The novel is set in eightieth century France and features a number of historical figures, the most significant being Voltaire and Emilie, Marquise du Chatelet.

The more famous of the two, Voltaire, was a writer and philosopher and one of the key figures of the French Enlightenment. An outspoken anti-establishment figure - few of his works escaped the censor's ire - he wanted few things more than to be accepted by the same establishment he criticised. He became independently wealthy after rigging the French national lottery.

Emilie du Chatelet is less well-known, even in her native France. I first encountered her in a TV documentary that I strayed onto while channel-hopping and she has fascinated me ever since. A mathematician, physicist, writer and, if certain sources are to be believed, swordswoman, Emilie's contribution to scientific advancement both in France and across Europe cannot be ignored. The academy she established at Cirey allowed the great minds of the age to meet and share ideas free of the political and patriotic posturing that tainted the official academies of London, Paris and Berlin.

The link below is to the very first story I ever wrote for this pair, a story based, albeit loosely, on an actual event that occurred in mid-eighteenth century Paris...

A Curiosity of Cats

New (and Old) Fiction Blog

As some of you reading this are probably aware, in my spare time I like to write fiction. Over the past few weeks, several people have asked to read some of the things I've written and, as a result, I've decided to start this blog where I can post links to some of my old works and (hopefully) some new ones too.

Happy reading.