Dancing to the Precipice: The Life of Lucie de la Tour du Pin, Eyewitness to an Era

by Moorehead, Caroline

• ISBN13: 9780061684425
• ISBN10: 0061684422
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-07-27
• Publisher: Harpercollins

Summary

Her canvases were the court of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette; the Great Terror; America at the time of Washington and Jefferson; Paris under the Directoire and then under Napoleon; Regency London; the battle of Waterloo; and, for the last years of her life, the Italian ducal courts. She witnessed firsthand the demise of the French monarchy, the wave of the Revolution and the Reign of Terror, and the precipitous rise and fall of Napoleon. Lucie Dillon-a daughter of French and British nobility known in France by her married name, Lucie de la Tour du Pin-was the chronicler of her age.In this compelling biography, Caroline Moorehead illuminates the extraordinary life and remarkable achievements of this strong, witty, elegant, opinionated, and dynamic woman who survived personal tragedy and the devastation wrought by momentous historic events.

Author Biography

The author of numerous biographies and works of history, including Gellhorn and Human Cargo, Caroline Moorehead has also written for The Telegraph, The Times, and The Independent. The cofounder of a legal advice center for asylum seekers from Africa, she divides her time between England and Italy.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	p. vi
Characters in the book	p. ix
Foreword	p. 1
This Magnificent Age	p. 5
A Talent for Deception	p. 27
A Sparkling Picture	p. 44
The Colour of Hope	p. 77
The Dismantling of Paris	p. 102
Deep and Dark Shades	p. 124
Standing on a Vast Volcano	p. 144
Heads Falling like Tiles	p. 169
Mrs Latour from the Old Country	p. 195
Incroyables and Merveilleuses	p. 229
Hordes of Vagabond French	p. 248
Toothless Dogs and Clawless Cats	p. 276
Not a Court, but a Power	p. 308
Oh Unhappy France!	p. 339
Embarking on a Career of Grief	p. 366
A Pocket Tyranny	p. 381
A Warm Heart	p. 404
The Rhapsodies of Life	p. 430
Afterword	p. 435
Acknowledgements	p. 437
Bibliography	p. 439
Source notes	p. 445
Time line	p. 463
Index	p. 467
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.