MEMOIRE POUR LOUIS-RENE-EDOUARD DE ROHAN, CARDINAL DE LA SAINTE EGLISE ROMAINE, EVEQUE AND PRINCE DE STRASBOURG, LANDGRAVE D'ALSACE, PRINCE-ETAT D'EMPIRE, GRAND-AUMONIER DE FRANCE, COMMANDEUR DE L'ORDRE DU SAINT-ESPRIT, PROVISEUR DE SORBONE, ANDC, ACCUSE, CONTRE M. LE PROCUREUR-GENERAL EN PRESENCE DE LA DAME DE LA MOTTE, DU SIEUR DE VILLETTE, DE LA DEMOISELLE D'OLIVA, AND DU SIEUR COMTE DE CAGLIOSTRO, CO-ACCUSES.

Target, Guy Jean-Baptiste (1733-1806), Rohan-Guemene, Louis Rene Edouard, prince de (1734-1803).

Published by De l'Imprimerie de Cl. Simon, Imprimeur de S.A.E. Monseigneur le Grand-Aumonier de France, rue Saint-Jacques, Pres St.-Yves. 1786., 1786

About this Item

Large 4to. (10.5 x 8.5 inches). 158, [2]pp. Stitched large paper copy with wide margins, uncut. Title and verso of rear blank page soiled. Else generally clean with minor spots of foxing/soiling. Good. Concerns the infamous necklace scandal that caused one of the sparks leading to the French Revolution. Just before his death, Louis XV had commissioned a luxurious diamond necklace for his mistress, Madame du Barry. The jewelers, Boehmer and Bassenge, were desperate to sell the impossibly expensive necklace after the king's death to avoid bankruptcy. They had hoped that the new king, Louis XVI, would buy it for his bride, Marie Antoinette. That didn't happen. This was an opportunity for Jeanne de la Motte, a swindler and thief. She convinced Cardinal Rohan, through forged letters and even a clandestine meeting with the queen at night (this was in fact, Marie d'Oliva, a prostitute pretending to be Marie Antoinette), that the queen wanted the necklace and that he should buy it for her and receive payments in instalments. The Cardinal fell for the ruse and the necklace was promptly taken to London by de la Motte's husband, broken up and sold. The Cardinal, de la Motte and others were arrested. Cardinal Rohan was acquitted, but Jeanne de la Motte was branded and imprisoned. The French public however, blamed Marie Antoinette and the extravagance of the royal family for the affair. [Diamond Necklace Affair, France, 1785].

Seller Inventory # 003516

Bibliographic Details

• Title: MEMOIRE POUR LOUIS-RENE-EDOUARD DE ROHAN, CARDINAL DE LA SAINTE EGLISE ROMAINE, EVEQUE AND PRINCE DE STRASBOURG, LANDGRAVE D'ALSACE, PRINCE-ETAT D'EMPIRE, GRAND-AUMONIER DE FRANCE, COMMANDEUR DE L'ORDRE DU SAINT-ESPRIT, PROVISEUR DE SORBONE, ANDC, ACCUSE, CONTRE M. LE PROCUREUR-GENERAL EN PRESENCE DE LA DAME DE LA MOTTE, DU SIEUR DE VILLETTE, DE LA DEMOISELLE D'OLIVA, AND DU SIEUR COMTE DE CAGLIOSTRO, CO-ACCUSES.
• Publisher: De l'Imprimerie de Cl. Simon, Imprimeur de S.A.E. Monseigneur le Grand-Aumonier de France, rue Saint-Jacques, Pres St.-Yves. 1786.
• Publication Date: 1786
• Language: English
• Binding: Soft cover
• Condition: Good