I'm so excited. Through interlibrary loan, I just received a gigantic tome entitled The Collections of Francis I: Royal Treasures by Janet Cox-Rearick (Antwerp 1995). It catalogues all the paintings, sculptures, "curiosities," manuscripts, tapestries and casts that François collected, as well as discussing his architectural projects and his relationships with various artists throughout his reign. I happened to open to a lovely portrait of a French woman that would make a perfect cover for my first novel! I'm sure I'll have lots of interesting things to share as I work my way through it.I also received a small book called the Guide de Fontainebleau mystérieux (Tchou, 1967). It contains odd facts and ghost stories about the château--prime fodder for an historical novel.
Hang with me a little longer, I've almost completed a history post. If you remember, we left poor François mouldering in a Spanish prison many months ago. He's more than ready to come home by now, le pauvre.
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2 comments:
I'm really jealous, that sounds a fantastic book. I love immersing myself in the images and objects of the time, everything was so rich and opulent then. Very curious about the lady for your book cover too!
It IS a fantastic book, and I wish I could purchase a copy of my own. Unfortunately, it is out of print, and the used copies I found on Amazon are priced at $295.00, $392.32 and $597.06. Seriously--those are not typos! Pretty good appreciation on a book that listed at $145 in 1995. However, I certainly don't have that kind of money to spend. Thank goodness we have an absolutely wonderful interlibrary loan system here.
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