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In
the Bed of Kings / Wedding Nights
Text translated from French by Linda,webmaster
Much has been written
about weddings. But little, if anything, has
been written about those intimate moments in the
privacy of the alcove after the official
ceremonies. Juliette Benzoni, historian and
author of many best-selling novels, has
rediscovered the wedding nights of gods, kings
and princes, through stories and memoirs that
are often more revealing than you might think.
The grandiose night of Alexander the Great, the
resigned nights of Louis XIV, the watched nights,
the nights of tears, the reluctant, bizarre,
frenzied, enthusiastic and desperate nights.
Dramatic nights, from Attila to Mayerling, that
end a love or hatred in blood. This lively,
cheerful, invigorating and original book teaches
us the secret history of this little-known life
that takes place under crowned canopies, and
sometimes changes the course of history. Nights
of the Greats, but perhaps also our own.
Everyone will be able to rediscover their
experiences or confront their disappointments
and dreams. A book to be read in one go, like
drinking an unknown elixir.
Table of contents
AU
COMMENCEMENT ÉTAIENT LES DIEUX...
La Nuit de
Babylone, Le Harem méridional d'Amon, L'Interminable
nuit de noces de Zeus, Alexandre et les noces de
Suse, Nuit des noces au rabais pour le divin
Auguste, La nuit d'un Christ sur la terre: le
Basileus se marie.
SOUS LES BALDAQUINS
COURONNÉES
LES NUITS RÉSIGNÉES
La nuit de
Catherine de Médicis, La nuit « scientifique »
du grand-duc, La nuit des regrets : Louis XIV,
Une nuit avec Monsieur, La nuit surveillée de «
Carlin », Une nuit « à vue de nez » pour le
Grand Dauphin, La nuit des larmes :
Maurice de Saxe marie sa nièce, Encore des
reliques : le prince de Ligne se marie
LES NUITS RÉTICENTES
Inconsommable Rozala!, La nuit au
débotté : Henri IV et Marie de Médicis, La nuit
de l'obéissance : Louis XIII et Anne d'Autriche
LES NUITS
ANGLAISES... ET BIZARRES
La nuit des cartes : Henri VIII et Anne de
Clèves, La nuit du whisky : le futur George IV
et Caroline de Brünswick (Braunschweig)
LES NUITS
ENTHOUSIASTES
De la nuit de Tobie à l'escalier de service : le
mariage de saint Louis, La nuit du record :
César Borgia, La nuit inespérée : épouse
Miss Angleterre, la nuit d'un cendrillon
polonaise, La nuit à la hussarde de Napoléon.
♣ à mes enfants Anne et
Jean-François J.B / to my children Anne and
Jean-François
Edition by France Loisirs, Book Club 1984
►This
excerpt can be found on the back of the France
loisirs edition
1984
« Opening the
princely alcoves to all winds, Juliette
Benzoni has set about recounting the
resigned, reluctant, enthusiastic, tearful
or hasty nights. No 'revelation' It's not
this tableau that she's playing with, but
the gathering, around a single theme, of
stories that she tells at breakneck speed;
mocking, she makes people smile, and even
laugh. No great man for this chambermaid !
~ Ginette Guitard-Auviste ~
[dans le Monde]
Pockets first edition in 1984
In 2010, this book was republished by Perrin.
♣ In the secret of the alcoves, Juliette
Benzoni, historian and best-selling novelist,
plunges us into the midst of those beds and
nights that, in their own way, have shaped the
history of France and Europe.
~ Information on this new publication from publisher Perrin ~
♣ The information on the cover of the 2010
Perrin Edition says:
Colourised engraving
depicting the Bedroom of Queen Mary II at
Hampton Court, Richmond on the Thames in London,
taken from the History of the Royal Residences
at Windsor Castle.
~ by William Henry Pyne, 1819 ~ British Library,
London. © Heritage Images/Leemage
Books to read this summer 2010
♣ It has to be said loud and clear: Juliette Benzoni is one of our
best storytellers. Her modesty almost makes you
forget that her novels sell millions of copies
worldwide. Her new book is a pearl of
inventiveness and delicious anecdotes. The
initial idea is very appealing: a detailed
account of the wedding nights of great
historical figures, starting with kings and
queens.
The result? A marvellous collection of
small stories, with the backdrop of history in
the making. There is the night of Catherine de
Médicis: the bride price is hotly debated, the
dauphin François falls ill and, incredible as it
may seem today, the King and the Pope observe
the wedding night. Benzoni describes the event
as if we were witnessing it live! This attention
to detail, to meticulous description, to
dialogue reconstructed on the basis of real
events, can be found in most of the other
moments of intimacy: Louis XIV, Henry IV and
Marie de Médicis, Henry VIII and Anne de Clèves,
Caesar Borgia, Napoleon - "a night on the run" -
the "deadly night" of Attila, the bewitched
night of Philip Augustus, or the grandiose night
of Alexander the Great.
~ Mohammed Aïssaoui ~ [Le Figaro Littéraire
2010]
The Integrale Pocket edition in 2013 with Dans le
lit des Rois et Des Reines (In the bed of Kings
and Queens)
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Synopsis : Dans le lit des Rois et Des Reines |
If, during the day, history is written with
cannon fire and the sound of cavalcades, it is
at night, between sighs and whispers, that the
most beautiful pages are turned. And the most
decisive.
Under the tent or the canopy, alliances are made
and broken... and the desire of one person
determines the future of a people. Frustrating
nights, wild nights, tactical or bewitching
nights... From Attila to Napoleon, via Messaline
and Queen Margot, pleasure and duty merge, for
the fate of the kingdom...
♣ A pearl of inventiveness and
tasty anecdotes (...) A marvellous collection of
little stories with the great story unfolding in
the background...
~ Le Figaro Littéraire
2013 ~
♣ This book is also available in Kindle
form... more details →
here
♣ The saga has also been translated in :
Norway Poland, Portugal,
Slovakia Republic,
Syriia, Russia,
Czech Republic
and China
Les éditions Slovaque, Polonaise
et Portugaise
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Norwegian Synopsis: Royal Wedding Nights |
Juliette
Benzoni tells her story with the lively, amusing
narrative style of an experienced novelist,
while relying strictly on historical sources.
Maria Anette Wilkens has added a short
introduction to each chapter, a sort of "mise en
bouche" that gives the reader the background to
each story. Odd Brochmann has illustrated the
book with his cheerful style and in-depth
knowledge of the stylistic details that
characterised the courts and eras in which the
stories are set.
Contents:
Attila's last wedding night, Philip Augustus and
the Princess of the North The night of records,
Cesare Borgia and the most beautiful girl in
France, Henry VIII and Anne of Cleves' wedding
night with card games, The wedding night of
Louis XIII's obedient son and Anne of Austria,
Napoleon's wedding night, From tears at Laeken
to gunfire at Mayerling
♣
There's something particularly original about
the Norwegian edition of
Dans le lit des Rois...!
There are various drawings of the newly-weds.
Juliette also had a copy of this edition, which
we gazed at in amazement...!
1983
♣
The strange wedding nights of the world's
powerful
....« Madam, it gives me great pleasure to see
you! And with that, he climbed onto the
footboard, took the Archduchess in his arms and
kissed her several times with an enthusiasm that
made the Queen of Naples smile. Then he sat down
between the two women and shouted to the
chamberlain who had remained standing in the
middle of the road: "Now live in Compiègne! And
let's get on with it! But Sire", protested
Caroline, "we are expected in Soissons where
they have prepared supper and bedding... They
will eat their supper without you. "I want
Madame to be home this evening. » ...
~
Critique in Journal de Dimanche, January 1983
~
*A rather amusing anecdote that Juliette
personally told us about this book during a
visit!
Loves, delights and riches: the secret
history of royal weddings
In the secret of the royal alcoves, a reporter
was there ! Juliette Benzoni, historian and
novelist, has rediscovered the stories of the
nuptials of kings, princes and even gods in
manuscripts and memoires. Her light-hearted,
well-documented book, Dans le lit des rois (In
the Bed of Kings), published by Plon, is a
succession of wedding nights. Sleepless nights,
but not candid ones. Here are four examples as
varied as life itself: a story of love and death
(Attila), a holy story (Louis IX), a lush story
(Henri IV) and a story that is both Corsican and
Gallic: Napoleon Bonaparte's hasty night.
~
Critique in France-Soir, February 1983
~
♣* In this newspaper article, we see Juliette
Benzoni in bed! What happened? Quite simply
because the author broke her leg and the
journalist thought it would make a great photo
for the newspaper.
♣ The documents above show the handwriting of
the novelist who took notes when the diary was
published and provided them to us.
♣ To mark the release of her book "DANS LE LIT DES ROIS",
Juliette BENZONI was invited by Olivier
Germain-Thomas to appear on his radio programme
"Agora" on Wednesday 20 July 1983 (France
Culture).
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