| When La Rouchefoucauld rehabilitates the King of France

Tuesday books - Ivan Garcia

In Sand castles, a lost narrator befriends the ghost of Louis XVI and attempts to clear the name of this controversial historical figure. A picaresque tale that forges a dialogue between the present and France’s past.

Louis-Henri de La Rochefoucauld. Here is a truly aristocratic name that, no doubt for our dear contemporaries, brings to mind the author of the Maxims, a classic of 17th-century moralist literature^th century! However, this article will not focus on that La Rochefoucauld, but rather on one of his distant descendants, the writer and literary critic Louis-Henri de La Rochefoucauld.

As the 2021 literary season gets underway, the author of The French Revolution (Gallimard, 2013) has published his ninth novel, entitled Sand castles (Robert Laffont). In it, we meet a narrator-character also named Louis-Henri de La Rochefoucauld, who struggles to lead a life befitting his rank. A descendant of a noble family that fell from grace after the Revolution of 1789, the Louis-Henri of the 21st^th In the 20th century, he juggles his job as a poorly paid journalist, his wife Hortense—who wants him to earn more money—and his daughter Isaure, a real bundle of energy, as well as his ambition to write books. That’s quite a challenge!

It was then that one evening, while walking through Paris, the protagonist stumbled upon a speakeasy frequented by royalists and run by the eloquent Lemoine, a former Foreign Legion officer who sought to restore the monarchy and was the founder of the «RPR» party (the «Rassemblement pour le roi»). In this seedy tavern, Louis-Henri meets a certain Robinson, who is, in reality, none other than the ghost of Louis XVI, who asks him to become his «ghostwriter» and write his biography to restore his image.

– While you’re working hard, if you’re up for it, I have a task for you.
- Which one?
- Be my nigger.
- I beg your pardon?
– As the Ghost King, I need a ghostwriter. Not to brag, but I’m not satisfied with what’s been written about me so far. I once said this to my loyal Malesherbes, who preceded you in my service: «I’d rather have my silences interpreted than my words…»

Throughout the seventeen chapters that make up this picaresque tale, laughter and adventure abound. So does a healthy dose of self-deprecating humor from the hero, who is clear-eyed about his less-than-glorious circumstances and, at the same time, touching in the face of adversity. Through his character, the author offers an alternative reading of French history from the perspective of the «losers» of the French Revolution—namely, the nobility. The event depicted loses its romanticism, becoming instead a massive, bloodthirsty slaughter orchestrated by ambitious young people and unsavory characters. In fact, some figures—such as the radical Lemoine—view the Revolution as a «religious war» and wish to make a clean break from this catastrophic event.

While writing his paper on Louis XVI—whom he affectionately nicknames «Obélix de Bourbon»—Louis-Henri reflects on his family history and the Revolution, particularly while reading the essay The Ancien Régime and the Revolution by Alexis de Tocqueville, and explores the personalities of the other key figures in this major historical event, such as Marie Antoinette (who is also very much alive in the book!).

There is so much to write about this story, for it is so rich in historical anecdotes and humor, and ultimately serves as a gateway to approaching French history in a different way. This adventure as the king’s historian allows Louis-Henri, in particular, to escape his dreary daily life—if only briefly—and gives him a chance to dream again. Ultimately, perhaps this is precisely what the author (and his character) hopes to convey to readers, especially through the title. Sand castles, moments of reverie.

Write to the author: [email protected]

Photo credit: © Jaime Spaniol on Unsplash

Louis-Henri de La Rochefoucauld
Sand castles
Editions Robert Laffont
2021
243 pages

Order the book