Another problem is that the underground network the French police uncovered on that occasion, which certainly did have some high class clients (hence all of Europe munching popcorn and observing the scandal) wasn't primarily consisting of poison deliveries, but provided abortions and their less-good-to-modern-eyes-looking twin service, midwife services plus letting your illegitimate child disappear, beautfy products like potions to enlarge your breasts, soothsaying and love potions.
...I can see how that would muddy the waters a great deal!
a box is found in his posession containing phioles with poison and a letter from her demanding them from him.
WHOOPS
And then an anonymous letter gets found in a Jesuit church in which the writer says that there is a a conspiracy to kill the King, and a lot of people have confessed to using poison regularly, but he can't break the seal of othe confession so can't name names, but please investigate, save the King.
Okay but this sounds... less than convincing...
The final winner, as mentioned repeatedly, will be Madame de Maintenon, the former Francoise Scarron, who started out as governess of the Louis/Athenais de Montespan children, one reason, btw, why she will be such a partisan of the Duc de Maine, the oldest boy of that set, against Liselotte's son Philippe II for the regency.)
Aww! That sounds endearing to me.
The Comtesse de Soissons gets accused of having poisoned her husband; the Marquise d'Alluye her brother-inlaw; the Princess of Tingry her newborn children; Madame de Bouillon a valet who knew about her love affairs. The King has returned a billet written by teh Duchess of Foix to her, in which she had written to La Voisin an din which she told her: "The more I rub, the less they grow." As His Majesty demanded an explanation for these words, she replied that she had asked la Voisin for a recipe for the development of her breasts.
The poor Comtesse de Soissons, she just wanted bigger breasts and she gets arrested for poisoning!
i>Also arrested: two priests, who supposedly read black mass over various ladies' bodies in order to get them the objects of their desires.
To you and to me, but not to Liselotte, who had already hated Madame de Maintenon for several seasons, not least because Maintenon, who had grown up a Protestant and than converted to the Catholic faith by conviction, not necessity like Liselotte, was a hardcore Catholic fundamentalist, and Liselotte blamed Louis' later life attitude religion wise on her. All the Duc de Maine promotion at the expense of her son and with the insinuations Philippe the future Regent was really after the throne himself, had already offed much of the royal family and would kill future Louis XV. as soon as he got his hands on the kid was just the ice on the bitter cake. But it's always worth remembering Madame de Maintenon did raise the Duc de Maine, and also his sister whom Louis XIV married to Philippe the future Regent, to the great indignation of both Philippe the Gay and Liselotte, who were in rare agreement that for their son to marry Louis' bastard daughter was godawful. Madame de Maintenon looking out for the kids she had seen more of than her mother, otoh, is all to natural.
The poor Comtesse de Soissons, she just wanted bigger breasts and she gets arrested for poisoning!
No, the lady who wanted bigger breasts was the Duchesse de Foix. These are all different ladies named in the sentence, with different accusations aimed at them.
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cahn
Re: Court of Louis XIV: The Affair of the Poisons: The Usual Suspects
Date: 2023-02-10 06:26 am (UTC)Another problem is that the underground network the French police uncovered on that occasion, which certainly did have some high class clients (hence all of Europe munching popcorn and observing the scandal) wasn't primarily consisting of poison deliveries, but provided abortions and their less-good-to-modern-eyes-looking twin service, midwife services plus letting your illegitimate child disappear, beautfy products like potions to enlarge your breasts, soothsaying and love potions.
...I can see how that would muddy the waters a great deal!
a box is found in his posession containing phioles with poison and a letter from her demanding them from him.
WHOOPS
And then an anonymous letter gets found in a Jesuit church in which the writer says that there is a a conspiracy to kill the King, and a lot of people have confessed to using poison regularly, but he can't break the seal of othe confession so can't name names, but please investigate, save the King.
Okay but this sounds... less than convincing...
The final winner, as mentioned repeatedly, will be Madame de Maintenon, the former Francoise Scarron, who started out as governess of the Louis/Athenais de Montespan children, one reason, btw, why she will be such a partisan of the Duc de Maine, the oldest boy of that set, against Liselotte's son Philippe II for the regency.)
Aww! That sounds endearing to me.
The Comtesse de Soissons gets accused of having poisoned her husband; the Marquise d'Alluye her brother-inlaw; the Princess of Tingry her newborn children; Madame de Bouillon a valet who knew about her love affairs. The King has returned a billet written by teh Duchess of Foix to her, in which she had written to La Voisin an din which she told her: "The more I rub, the less they grow." As His Majesty demanded an explanation for these words, she replied that she had asked la Voisin for a recipe for the development of her breasts.
The poor Comtesse de Soissons, she just wanted bigger breasts and she gets arrested for poisoning!
i>Also arrested: two priests, who supposedly read black mass over various ladies' bodies in order to get them the objects of their desires.
This also sounds less than convincing to me.
Re: Court of Louis XIV: The Affair of the Poisons: The Usual Suspects
Date: 2023-02-10 02:05 pm (UTC)To you and to me, but not to Liselotte, who had already hated Madame de Maintenon for several seasons, not least because Maintenon, who had grown up a Protestant and than converted to the Catholic faith by conviction, not necessity like Liselotte, was a hardcore Catholic fundamentalist, and Liselotte blamed Louis' later life attitude religion wise on her. All the Duc de Maine promotion at the expense of her son and with the insinuations Philippe the future Regent was really after the throne himself, had already offed much of the royal family and would kill future Louis XV. as soon as he got his hands on the kid was just the ice on the bitter cake. But it's always worth remembering Madame de Maintenon did raise the Duc de Maine, and also his sister whom Louis XIV married to Philippe the future Regent, to the great indignation of both Philippe the Gay and Liselotte, who were in rare agreement that for their son to marry Louis' bastard daughter was godawful. Madame de Maintenon looking out for the kids she had seen more of than her mother, otoh, is all to natural.
The poor Comtesse de Soissons, she just wanted bigger breasts and she gets arrested for poisoning!
No, the lady who wanted bigger breasts was the Duchesse de Foix. These are all different ladies named in the sentence, with different accusations aimed at them.