Mr. Legge concludes a striking and well-balanced volume with a special section on Queen Alexandra.
A KEEPER OF ROYAL SECRETS
Being the Private and Political Life of Madame de Genlis
By Jean Harmand
Illustrated Price 16/- net
The career of Madame de Genlis is one of the baffling enigmas of history. For the greater part of her life she played an important role in the social and political life of France.
By virtue of her intimate association with Philip Egalité, Duc d’Orleans, and her high position as the Governor of Louis Phillipe and the other Orleans children, the influence she wielded practically amounted to royal power.
She cast her spell over a wide circle, winning admiration even from her enemies, and yet her life has been the subject of a storm of scandalous reports and speculations.
What was her exact relationship to the Duke? was she the mother of the famous “Pamela” whom Lord Edward Fitzgerald married? what was her share in the astounding affair of “Maria Stella”? what part did she play in the Revolution?—these are some of the mysteries surrounding her on which M. Harmand, with the help of many unpublished letters and documents, throws much new light.