Hello, my name is David Gemeinhardt. I write about what I call the Versailles Century.
For a little more than 100 years, from 1682 until 1789, the Kings of France made the great château of Versailles their chief residence and the surrounding town their de facto capital. During that eventful epoch, the prestige of their court, the might of their arms, and the glory of the arts they patronized inspired admiration, envy, and imitation across Europe and even the world. More than 2 centuries later, the glamour of Versailles still fascinates many of us. And yet, the day-to-day world of Versailles and its denizens remains oddly obscure.
My aim is to lift the veil on the vanished world of Louis XIV, Louis XV, Louis XVI, their families, and their courtiers. To that end, I journey into their world by reading the diaries, journals, letters, and memoirs of those who were there, in the original French. Then I report back to you in English through this blog’s mainstay, the daily ‘On This Day in the Versailles Century’ posts. I draw mainly on works that have never had a complete translation into English, the better to offer you a fresh perspective and new insight. First, there is the journal of the Marquis de Dangeau. It covers the years 1684 to 1720, in other words the later reign of Louis XIV and most of the Regency era. Second, we have the memoirs of his grandson the Duc de Luynes for the years 1735 to 1758, thus spanning the middle of Louis XV’s reign. Third, we have the journal of the Duc de Croÿ, which runs off and on from the 1720s until the 1780s. Of its 4 volumes, I’ve chosen to start with the last one because it testifies to the early years of Louis XVI’s reign up to 1784. In addition, I use various letters, including the celebrated ones of Mme de Sévigné and the Princess Palatine, but also little known ones such as those of Louis XV to his grandson Ferdinand of Parma.
Every Saturday from the beginning of May, 2025, I am also serializing my translation into English — the first ever, as far as I know — of a picaresque novel that I’ve chosen to call The Chevalier de Ravanne. Attributed to the Abbé (Jacques-Philippe) de Varenne, it was published for the first time, in French, in 1740. Since I’m translating it as we go, I’m not sure yet how many instalments there will be. I expect that the serialization will run into 2026.
For the record, I am an informed enthusiast rather than a professional historian. My scholarly training was in French Studies, in which I hold BA and MA degrees from Western University in Ontario, Canada. I wrote my mémoire on the Mercure Galant’s coverage of the Siamese embassy to Louis XIV in 1686.
Please subscribe and stay tuned for additional content in the future!
