I'm glad it was first person fanfic rather than an intent to deceive, though, more ethical and also extremely relatable. ;)
Oh, same here. If Ligne had published this within his life time with a deceptive intention, I'd have been forced to side-eye a couple of great anecdotes from his actual memoirs (which were published in his own life time). But first person fanfic written for his own amusement in order to vent? Totally relatable.
Eugene having a grudge is one thing, but Eugene being the kind of person who would write this in the preface to his memoirs is quite another (even with memoirs-as-therapy), for which I had no evidence based on what I have read about him.
*nods* Yes indeed, same here. Even Hervey doesn't open that masterpiece of bitchiness, his memoirs, with: "Attend, everyone! When Fritz of Wales broke up with me, I swore I would ruin his reputation forever. When G2 didn't keep me hin his goddam cabinet, I felt likewise inclined. And here I am, keeping my word!"
It's etremely fanfiction-y, though. Another giveway is that "would have made his MAINTENON shut herself in a convent for life". I doubt the real Eugene cared about Madame de Maintenon one way or the other. But she was a lightning rod for both long distant Louis haters and Louis admirers, being blamed for his turn towards the extremely conservative Catholicism of his later years on the one hand, and for the morganatic marriage on the other which, since she had started out barely-just-a-noble status, was an offense in terms of rank. (In that Lehndorff diary entry where he reads her fake memoirs, as far as I recall he also goes "wtf, Sun King? HER?"
ETA: Henri de Catt: See, I wasn't doing anything unusual! It's not like I published my RPF memoirs within my life time, either. Why are you Salonierres all down on me and keep quoting Boswell and Mitchell on how silly I was?
Re: War of the Spanish Succession: French, Dutch, and Bavarian Backstories: Fictional annotations
Oh, same here. If Ligne had published this within his life time with a deceptive intention, I'd have been forced to side-eye a couple of great anecdotes from his actual memoirs (which were published in his own life time). But first person fanfic written for his own amusement in order to vent? Totally relatable.
Eugene having a grudge is one thing, but Eugene being the kind of person who would write this in the preface to his memoirs is quite another (even with memoirs-as-therapy), for which I had no evidence based on what I have read about him.
*nods* Yes indeed, same here. Even Hervey doesn't open that masterpiece of bitchiness, his memoirs, with: "Attend, everyone! When Fritz of Wales broke up with me, I swore I would ruin his reputation forever. When G2 didn't keep me hin his goddam cabinet, I felt likewise inclined. And here I am, keeping my word!"
It's etremely fanfiction-y, though. Another giveway is that "would have made his MAINTENON shut herself in a convent for life". I doubt the real Eugene cared about Madame de Maintenon one way or the other. But she was a lightning rod for both long distant Louis haters and Louis admirers, being blamed for his turn towards the extremely conservative Catholicism of his later years on the one hand, and for the morganatic marriage on the other which, since she had started out barely-just-a-noble status, was an offense in terms of rank. (In that Lehndorff diary entry where he reads her fake memoirs, as far as I recall he also goes "wtf, Sun King? HER?"
ETA: Henri de Catt: See, I wasn't doing anything unusual! It's not like I published my
RPFmemoirs within my life time, either. Why are you Salonierres all down on me and keep quoting Boswell and Mitchell on how silly I was?