FUNCK-BRENTANO (Frantz). The Necklace Affair. - Lot 165

FUNCK-BRENTANO (Frantz). The Necklace Affair. Based on new documents collected in part by A. Bégis. Twelfth edition. Paris, Librairie Hachette, n.d. [early 20th century]. In-12, paperback, printed cover. A historical study devoted to one of the most famous episodes of the late Ancien Régime: the Affair of the Queen’s Necklace, a sensational scandal that contributed to discrediting Marie-Antoinette in the eyes of the public on the eve of the French Revolution. A renowned historian of the Ancien Régime, Frantz Funck-Brentano (1862–1947) draws here on extensive documentation and new archival sources to reexamine the key figures in this complex affair, which involved court intrigues, fraud, the justice system, and political propaganda. The author provides an accurate portrayal of Cardinal de Rohan, Jeanne de Valois-Saint-Rémy, Countess of La Motte, as well as the social and political climate of France in the 1780s. His study, based on documents that had previously been little explored, remains one of the seminal works devoted to this emblematic episode in French monarchical history. Condition Original paperback binding intact. Cover slightly faded with a few small tears and signs of wear. Back cover nearly detached. Paper uniformly browned. Interior clean and complete.