Under a Starlit Sky
Page 29
This is a novel, and for the sake of intelligibility, some historical figures who played critical roles at the Sun King’s French court don’t appear in those pages: the notorious Marquis de Vardes, whose deeds I attributed here to Lorraine; the equally infamous Mademoiselle de Montalais, and Mademoiselle de la Mothe, whom I pushed aside in favor of Athénaïs.
Including Charles Perrault’s fairy tales in this book was a choice on my part as well, as it’s a historical inaccuracy: they weren’t published until the 1690s. However, they are so intricately linked with the story of Versailles that I thought it important to mention them.
For clarity’s sake, I also chose to limit the number of settings in this story. In the 1660s, the French court was still itinerant—constantly moving between Paris (the Louvre Palace, the Palais-Royal), Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Fontainebleau, and Versailles. The latter became the permanent residence of the king and his court only in 1682, and the Hall of Mirrors wasn’t opened until 1684. As a result, Henriette never saw Versailles completed, and she never lived there.
Henriette and Philippe had three children together. Marie-Louise, known as Mademoiselle, was born in 1662. She looked like her mother but had her father’s dark hair. She was always Philippe’s favorite child. At seventeen she became queen of Spain. Philippe-Charles was born in 1664 but died two years later. Anne-Marie was born in 1669 and later became queen of Sardinia.
Henriette died at Saint-Cloud on June 30, 1670. Late in the afternoon, she complained of acute stomach pain. From then on her symptoms worsened, and she succumbed in the middle of the night. She was twenty-six. Her sudden death shocked the whole French court, as she was widely popular and the first of the younger generation to pass away. Soon after her death, rumors of poisoning circulated, and Lorraine was blamed. As she was the king of England’s sister, an inquiry and an autopsy were ordered. Although the report was inconclusive at the time, it is detailed enough to allow modern doctors to establish she died of natural causes (likely peritonitis).
At her funeral, Bishop Bossuet gave a eulogy that remains famous in France to this day. The shocking opening sentence—“Madame se meurt, Madame est morte…” (Madame is dying, Madame is dead…)—still strikes the imagination, and encompasses the impact her unexpected death had on her contemporaries. Eighteen months after her death, Philippe was forced by Louis to remarry for political reasons.
History isn’t kind to women, and by many standards Henriette is a minor historical figure. Although the daughter of a king (England’s Charles I), the sister of a king (England’s Charles II), and the sister-in-law of a king (France’s Louis XIV), she wasn’t a queen herself, and she didn’t give birth to any kings. In most history books, she is a footnote, often described as a coquette who may or may not have seduced her brother-in-law and her husband’s lover.
Despite all this, the reason we know so much about her is because her friend, the French writer Madame de La Fayette, wrote her biography. Titled Histoire de Madame Henriette d’Angleterre, it was first published posthumously in 1720. It is one of the best accounts of life at the Sun King’s court, and it is still in print today.
As she died young, only a few portraits of Henriette remain. To my knowledge, two can be found at Versailles. One hangs at Vaux-le-Vicomte. One is in the Scottish National Portrait Gallery in Edinburgh. In the latter, a very large portrait painted just after her wedding in 1661, she wears an incredible gown of velvet fleur-de-lis, and her beauty radiates from the canvas. She stares at the onlooker, a mysterious smile on her lips. She looks like a girl with secrets.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I am very grateful to everyone who helped bring this book to life:
My editor, Liz Szabla, and the amazing team at Feiwel & Friends—US Macmillan, for understanding the heart of this story and working unbelievably hard to get it into readers’ hands.
My agent, Carrie Pestritto, and everyone at Laura Dail Literary, for supporting me and my writing every step of the way.
My friends and early readers, for your help in promoting In the Shadow of the Sun, and for your enthusiasm for this sequel: Rachel Fenn, Jessica Rubinkowski, Katie Bucklein, Sarah Glenn Marsh, Kalyn Josephson, Rachel O’Laughlin, Jennifer Gruenke, Kat Ellis, Erin Bledsoe, Leta R. Patton, Julie Eshbaugh, and Stacey Lee. Writing and getting this duology published has been an amazing journey, and I’m very grateful to you for helping me along the way.
My friends Séverine, Justine, and Clémentine, for letting me share my passion for Versailles with you.
Last but not least, everyone who picked up and read In the Shadow of the Sun: you made writing this sequel so much easier. Thank you.
Also from EM Castellan
In the Shadow of the Sun
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
EM Castellan grew up in France, but she now lives in London. A lover of all things historical, she has a particular fondness for seventeenth-century France and Ancient Rome. In addition to her Winter 2020 YA debut, In the Shadow of the Sun, some of her stories can be found on Wattpad, where they have been featured twice and read over 300,000 times, including The Bright and the Lost, the winner of the 2017 Wattpad Awards (Wattys) in the Newcomers category. Visit her online at emcastellan.com or sign up for email updates here.
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CONTENTS
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Epigraph
Spring
Chapter I
Chapter II
Chapter III
Chapter IV
Chapter V
Chapter VI
Chapter VII
Chapter VIII
Chapter IX
Chapter X
Chapter XI
Chapter XII
Summer
Chapter XIII
Chapter XIV
Chapter XV
Chapter XVI
Chapter XVII
Chapter XVIII
Chapter XIX
Chapter XX
Chapter XXI
Chapter XXII
Chapter XXIII
Chapter XXIV
Epilogue
Historical Notes
Acknowledgments
Also from EM Castellan
About the Author
Copyright
A FEIWEL AND FRIENDS BOOK
An imprint of Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC
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UNDER A STARLIT SKY. Copyright © 2021 by EM Castellan. All rights reserved.
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ISBN 978-1-250-22606-8 (hardcover) / ISBN 978-1-250-22607-5 (ebook)
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First edition, 2021