The Lost King of France by Deborah Cadbury

The Lost King of France

by Deborah Cadbury

St. Martin’s Griffin, 2003

ISBN: 978-0312320294

336 p.p.

Beyond the controversy of the French Revolution lies the simple fact that a family was torn apart in a most cruel fashion. Whether or not you sympathize with the controversial icon, Marie Antoinnette, she was, after all, a mother whose children suffered cruelly during the revolution. Detailing the fall of the Monarchy in The Lost King of France, Deborah Cadbury investigates the historical and emotional events surrounding the period.

At the center of the book, Cadbury investigates the fate of Louis-Charles, the youngest child of Marie Antoinette and Loius XVI. When the fate of the Monarchy was being decided, the family was imprisoned. As time went by their accommodations became less accommodating and downright cruel. Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI were separated from their children and eventually the two siblings, Louis–Charles and Marie-Thérèse, would also be separated from each other as well.

For the revolution against the Monarchy to work, measures of physical and psychological abuse were inflicted. The widely publicized beheading of Louis-Charles and Marie-Thérèse's parents were made into a spectacle. One of the most shocking incidents that Cadbury sheds light on is a trial against Marie Antoinette, in which she was said to have abused her child sexually. The author sheds light into the personalities, strengths and weaknesses of the Monarchy, heartbreaking facts and all.

Another fact of the trial was that Louis-Charles was forced to testify against his mother, under the cruel instruction of those against the Monarchy. Louis-Charles was beaten, abused, and starved at the tender age of eight, in order to be made to testify to his mother's abuse. Cadbury details the pain Marie Antoinette must've felt and the uphill battle she had in defending herself in front of a jury.

After the executions, Louis-Charles was still kept away from his sister. The abuse the child king suffered, as Cadbury noted “…mirrored the growing brutality in the rest of France as the Terror was increasing its grip.” After the revolution, Marie-Thérèse was able to reclaim some of her life without being haunted by the uncertainty of the fate of her younger brother. It's at this point that Cadbury recalls the emotional and mental turmoil Marie-Thérèse suffered for the rest of her life, including the turmoil felt from impersonators claiming to be her brother. Since no one could truly prove the young king's identity, Marie-Thérèse dismissed the impersonators whose stories seemed credible. It was easy for rumors to surface since conspiracy theories surrounding the young king were that he was secretly rescued and replaced with a child with the same physical qualities. By this time, Louis-Charles was so much abused that his physical health had declined horribly.

The novel goes on to outline the stories of the imposters, their credibility, and the investigations made on the subject when DNA and DNA testing was first being discovered. Once DNA testing was fortified, several tests were conducted to find out the fate of the young king.

Though finding out the true and interesting story of Louis-Charles, the world Cadbury pieces together—the devastating journey leading up to and after the French revolution—is heart wrenching, especially since it deals with a young, innocent life. Overall, the work is well researched and, above all, passionate about the injustices served to a young child.

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Deborah Cadbury is an award-winning journalist specializing in the fundamental issues of science and history and their effects on today’s society. She is also the author of the highly acclaimed books Terrible Lizard and The Estrogen Effect. She has produced science programs for BBC television and has won numerous international science film awards, including an Emmy. She lives in London.