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This is a work of historical fiction. Although I have attempted to stay close to the historical facts as I know them, I have made a few conscious deviations for the sake of my novel.
First, Queen Anne was ill for a longer period than I suggest. As it doesn’t change anything important in the story and improves the pace, I have made the change. The second and very important change to the known facts is the suggestion I have made that Countess Louise d’Angoulême gave King Louis tampered sweets during his last illness. There is absolutely NO evidence that she or anyone else tried to hurry him out of this world. She was certainly happy to see him go and see her son on the throne, but I make no other claims against her.
Otherwise, all the principal characters existed, as did the rivalry between France and the Hapsburgs, the deep enmity between Anne and Louise, and Queen Anne’s relentless struggle to maintain Brittany’s independence.
For those who are puzzled, in France women were not permitted to inherit the throne because of a principle, called the ‘Salic law’ that stipulated that the throne must pass patrilineally to males only. Since Queen Anne and King Louis XII produced only daughters, Claude and Renée, the next male closest in patrilineal succession was François d’Angoulême.
A few additional historical details. Queen Anne of France was also Duchess de Bretagne in her own right. It was her life goal to keep Brittany separate from France. She did everything in her power to marry her daughter, Claude, to the future Emperor Charles V, who was also Duke of Burgundy among his many other titles. When it became clear that Anne and Louis were unlikely to have living sons, King Louis ended the betrothal and insisted Claude marry his presumptive heir, Duke François d’Angoulême. It became the sore spot in an otherwise harmonious marriage.
Queen Anne died on 9 January 1514, and King Louis XII, her husband, died close to one year later, on 1 January 1515. After Anne’s death, King Louis married Princess Mary Rose [Queen Marie in France] who had demanded the right from her brother, Henry VIII, to marry whom she pleased when Louis died. Princess Claude, who became Duchess de Bretagne upon the death of her mother, was married quickly after Anne’s death to Duke François d’Angoulême who became the next King of France. When he became king, François, who adored his mother, raised Louise to the rank of Duchess. She was instrumental in arranging his successful war against Milan in 1516.
Queen Anne and Countess Louise d’Angoulême were bitter enemies, yet in her will Queen Anne made Countess Louise the executrix of her estate and guardian of her children. Louise used her authority to enrich herself from Princess Renée’s estate and treated Princess Renée badly.
The next question historians may raise is my treatment of the dismissal of Michelle de Saubonne, Baronne de Soubise. Baronne Michelle de Soubise was Queen Anne’s dame d’atour, secretary, Mistress of the Wardrobe, and closest friend throughout her second marriage [1499-1514]. Mme de Bouchage was first official gouvernante to Princess Renée, but when she died, Queen Anne asked Baronne Michelle de Soubise to become Princess Renée’s gouvernante. Historians believe that Countess Louise dismissed her once the countess became the princess’s official guardian after the death of King Louis. The letters I use in this story are adapted translations from the letters that have been used for years to prove the above point. Most historians and biographers suggest that Princess Renée lived with Queen Claude until her death, after which she stayed with Marguerite, Duchess d’Alençon, until Marguerite married King Henry II of Navarre.
The ending of this novel is fictional. However, from my research, I have concluded that the current thinking, that the Baronne de Soubise was dismissed in 1516, and returned to her family home is incorrect. Although I do not have every fact necessary to prove my thesis, I present my evidence in Scandal at the French Court in 1515? posted on my website, All About French Renaissance Women
This novel occurs before October 1517, the date when Martin Luther posted his 95 Thesis, that set off the conflagration that became known as the Protestant Reformation. Before that time, while there was much dissatisfaction within the Roman Catholic Church, it was still the one and universal church throughout Europe. Characters who later became reformers, were not so at this point.
Finally, among the nobility, people did not refer to one another by their first names, but by their titles. Men called each other by their title alone if friends, otherwise with the honorific M le Comte de XXX or simply, is the person’s presence, M le Comte.
Among women this was also the practice, so women would be called Mme la Comtesse or Mme la Baronne. If they were intimates, or shared a common activity such as ladies-in-waiting, they would use Mme Louise or Mme Marguerite among themselves. However Madame la Reine was always Madame la Reine.