Monarchies · Observations

The Romanov dynasty and the Ptolemaic dynasty have rather a lot in common

Both were marked by great achievements, by tragedy, and by a pronounced peculiarity of historical fate. Both dynasties had their adventurers and desperate men. The Romanov dynasty was founded by a man with flimsy rights but a great deal of adventurism. Strictly speaking, that was not the seventeen-year-old

NB! · Architecture · Monarchies · Observations

I have prepared a note on the Château de Chambord, whose compositional centre is the famous staircase after Leonardo's sketches

I have prepared a note on the Château de Chambord, whose compositional centre is the famous staircase after Leonardo's sketches. The staircase is so contrived that those ascending by its two separate flights will never cross paths, yet will meet at the top

NB! · Architecture · Monarchies · Heritage

Francis I's Salamander at Blois, the Valois Family Château

Aristocracy · Archive · Monarchies

The Orléans branch of the Valois comes to power and the salamander on its coat of arms

One branch of the House of Valois is that of Charles VI, the very man who was crowned thanks to Joan of Arc. The other branch of the House of Valois is the Dukes of Orléans. Charles d'Orléans, the great poet, returns from captivity, and is regarded with

Stone coffered vault of a gallery with reliefs of salamanders and the letter F, with a balustraded staircase visible below.

NB! · Architecture · Monarchies · Heritage

Coffered Ceiling of a Gallery at Château de Chambord with Salamanders and the Monogram of Francis I

The gallery at the Château de Chambord, founded by Francis I. The gallery ceiling is adorned with bas-reliefs of the royal salamander and the monogram F

Books · Mores · People · Humour

Balzac's love affairs and his epistolary romance with Evelina Hanska

The notion that Balzac remained a virgin until the age of forty, and that he is forever being dragged into all manner of lists of celibates, deserves to be treated with suspicion. It is especially odd, of course, to imagine that he could have lost his virginity at forty: potbellied,

Drawing room of the Château de Saché with painted drapery walls, a mirror above the fireplace, armchairs, a card table and a floral carpet.

NB! · Architecture · Books · Museums · People

Balzac's Drawing Room and Bedroom at the Château de Saché, Where He Lived for Seven Years

The modest drawing room of the small Château de Saché, where Balzac lived for seven years. His bedroom under the attic is far humbler still: a bed and a table in a cramped little room. But a fair number of the writer's personal belongings have survived here

NB! · Architecture · Books · People

The Château de Saché belonged to a friend of Balzac's father; the writer lived here for a time and wrote "Père Goriot" and "The Lily of the Valley"

The Château de Saché belonged to a friend of Balzac's father; the writer lived here for a time and wrote "Père Goriot" and "The Lily of the Valley". Balzac was perpetually short of money, and either borrowed from friends or begged a roof

An open manuscript with printed proofs, heavy handwritten corrections and inserted slips of paper on a white stand.

NB! · Archive · Books · Mores · People

Proofs of “The Lily of the Valley” with Balzac’s Corrections and the Women Behind Its Heroines

"The Lily of the Valley" with Balzac's corrections before printing. In this novel he portrayed the ladies he loved: Laure de Berny as Madame de Mortsauf and Countess Sara Guidoboni-Visconti as Lady Arabella Dudley

NB! · Archive · Architecture · Observations · Heritage

The contents of the newspaper have not yet been recovered, and it is unclear whether it mentions the defence of Sevastopol, but at least it is clear that the new owner, Amédée Guénée, began the repairs two years after buying the château

NB! · Archive · Architecture · Monarchies · Heritage

Château de Dordon, bought for Marie de' Medici by Louis XIII, is currently under renovation

The Château de Dordon, bought for Marie de' Medici by Louis XIII, is currently under renovation. In one of the rooms, beneath the plaster, workmen found nineteenth-century fabric wallpaper, and beneath it a copy of Le constitutionnel dated 13 September 1855

NB! · Archive · Monarchies · Observations · Humour

Alexandr Radayev