Henriette-Lucy, Marquise de La Tour du Pin Gouvernet
Encyclopedia
Henriette-Lucy, Marquise de La Tour du Pin-Gouvernet (25 February 1770, Paris-2 April 1853, Pisa
), (also known as Lucie), was a French aristocrat
famous for her memoirs entitled Journal d'une femme de 50 ans. The memoirs are a first-hand account of her life through the Ancien Regime, the French Revolution
, and the Imperial
court of Napoleon, ending in March 1815 with Napoleon’s return from exile on Elba
. Madame de la Tour du Pin, as she is frequently called, was a witness to the private lives of the royals, and her memoirs serve as unique testimony to much unchronicled history.
military family in France. She was daughter of Arthur Dillon
colonel-proprietor of the Dillon Regiment
and his first wife, Therese-Lucy de Rothe (1751 – 7 September 1782). Her father had been born in England, so she was often regarded in France as English. However the family, of Norman descent
, was linked to the Dillons of Costello-Gallen
and the lords of Drumraney in Ireland, who were granted lands in County Westmeath
in the thirteenth-century. She married Frédéric, comte de Gouvernet, later Marquise de La Tour du Pin, an army officer and diplomat, in 1787. He was the son of Jean-Frédéric de la Tour du Pin-Gouvernet
, a French Minister of War
.
to Marie Antoinette
, Queen of France, from the age of 16. From the memoir a strong self-portrait emerges of a simple but straightforward woman of charm, heroism, and breeding
.
During the French Revolution, many of her friends and family were executed and she fled Paris for the family estate of Le Bouilh in the Gironde
region. From there she, aged 24, and her husband passed into exile, (though they were never officially listed as émigrés, Frédéric had been living in hiding prior to departure), for a new life on a dairy farm near Albany
in Upstate New York
. This she saw as her happiest time. She vividly describes the reality of owning slaves, and life amongst the local Dutch families and the few remaining Native Americans of the area. She was close to Talleyrand during his exile in the United States, and like him she returned to France after the establishment of the Directorate
. She left as her husband wanted to resume his career in public life and shore up the family fortunes. She was able to promote his career under Napoleon, who was looking for aristocrats to lend legitimacy to his court.
. They went into effective exile after their son, Aymar, became involved in the anti-Orleanist
plot of Caroline Ferdinande Louise, duchesse de Berry in 1831, in the Vendée
. He escaped France but was condemned to death in his absence. The family sold up its possessions in France soon after. After her husband died in Lausanne
, in 1837, she moved to Italy, where she died in Pisa. Her memoir was written as a letter to her only surviving child after the age of fifty. It remained in the family and was not published until 1906.
She is the subject of a biography by Caroline Moorhead published in 2009.
Pisa
Pisa is a city in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the right bank of the mouth of the River Arno on the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa...
), (also known as Lucie), was a French aristocrat
French nobility
The French nobility was the privileged order of France in the Middle Ages and the Early Modern periods.In the political system of the Estates General, the nobility made up the Second Estate...
famous for her memoirs entitled Journal d'une femme de 50 ans. The memoirs are a first-hand account of her life through the Ancien Regime, the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
, and the Imperial
First French Empire
The First French Empire , also known as the Greater French Empire or Napoleonic Empire, was the empire of Napoleon I of France...
court of Napoleon, ending in March 1815 with Napoleon’s return from exile on Elba
Elba
Elba is a Mediterranean island in Tuscany, Italy, from the coastal town of Piombino. The largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago, Elba is also part of the National Park of the Tuscan Archipelago and the third largest island in Italy after Sicily and Sardinia...
. Madame de la Tour du Pin, as she is frequently called, was a witness to the private lives of the royals, and her memoirs serve as unique testimony to much unchronicled history.
Family connections
Henriette-Lucy Dillon was born into a prominent Irish JacobiteJacobitism
Jacobitism was the political movement in Britain dedicated to the restoration of the Stuart kings to the thrones of England, Scotland, later the Kingdom of Great Britain, and the Kingdom of Ireland...
military family in France. She was daughter of Arthur Dillon
Arthur Dillon (1750-1794)
*Biographie moderne, Paris Eymery Éditeur ;...
colonel-proprietor of the Dillon Regiment
Dillon Regiment
The Dillon's Regiment was first raised in Ireland in 1688 by Theobald, 7th Viscount Dillon for the Jacobite side in the Williamite War. He was then killed at the Battle of Aughrim in 1691....
and his first wife, Therese-Lucy de Rothe (1751 – 7 September 1782). Her father had been born in England, so she was often regarded in France as English. However the family, of Norman descent
Normans
The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
, was linked to the Dillons of Costello-Gallen
Viscount Dillon
Viscount Dillon, of Costello-Gallen in the County of Mayo, is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1622 for Theobald Dillon, Lord President of Connaught. The Dillons were an Hiberno-Norman landlord family from the 13th century in a part of County Westmeath was called 'Dillon's...
and the lords of Drumraney in Ireland, who were granted lands in County Westmeath
County Westmeath
-Economy:Westmeath has a strong agricultural economy. Initially, development occurred around the major market centres of Mullingar, Moate, and Kinnegad. Athlone developed due to its military significance, and its strategic location on the main Dublin–Galway route across the River Shannon. Mullingar...
in the thirteenth-century. She married Frédéric, comte de Gouvernet, later Marquise de La Tour du Pin, an army officer and diplomat, in 1787. He was the son of Jean-Frédéric de la Tour du Pin-Gouvernet
Jean-Frédéric de la Tour du Pin-Gouvernet
Jean-Frédéric de La Tour du Pin Gouvernet was a French nobleman and politician. His full titles were Comte de Paulin, Marquis de la Roche-Chalais et de Cénevières, Vicomte de Calvignac, Comte de Chastelard, Vicomte de Tesson et d’Ambleville, Baron de Cubzac, Seigneur du Cubzaguais, Seigneur de...
, a French Minister of War
Secretary of State for War (France)
The Secretary of State for War was one of the four or five specialized secretaries of state in France during the Ancien Régime. The position was responsible for the Army and for overseeing French border provinces...
.
Early life
Following her mother she served as an apprentice lady-in-waitingLady-in-waiting
A lady-in-waiting is a female personal assistant at a royal court, attending on a queen, a princess, or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman from a family highly thought of in good society, but was of lower rank than the woman on whom she...
to Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette ; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was an Archduchess of Austria and the Queen of France and of Navarre. She was the fifteenth and penultimate child of Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa and Holy Roman Emperor Francis I....
, Queen of France, from the age of 16. From the memoir a strong self-portrait emerges of a simple but straightforward woman of charm, heroism, and breeding
Manners
In sociology, manners are the unenforced standards of conduct which demonstrate that a person is proper, polite, and refined. They are like laws in that they codify or set a standard for human behavior, but they are unlike laws in that there is no formal system for punishing transgressions, the...
.
During the French Revolution, many of her friends and family were executed and she fled Paris for the family estate of Le Bouilh in the Gironde
Gironde
For the Revolutionary party, see Girondists.Gironde is a common name for the Gironde estuary, where the mouths of the Garonne and Dordogne rivers merge, and for a department in the Aquitaine region situated in southwest France.-History:...
region. From there she, aged 24, and her husband passed into exile, (though they were never officially listed as émigrés, Frédéric had been living in hiding prior to departure), for a new life on a dairy farm near Albany
Albany, New York
Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...
in Upstate New York
Upstate New York
Upstate New York is the region of the U.S. state of New York that is located north of the core of the New York metropolitan area.-Definition:There is no clear or official boundary between Upstate New York and Downstate New York...
. This she saw as her happiest time. She vividly describes the reality of owning slaves, and life amongst the local Dutch families and the few remaining Native Americans of the area. She was close to Talleyrand during his exile in the United States, and like him she returned to France after the establishment of the Directorate
French Directory
The Directory was a body of five Directors that held executive power in France following the Convention and preceding the Consulate...
. She left as her husband wanted to resume his career in public life and shore up the family fortunes. She was able to promote his career under Napoleon, who was looking for aristocrats to lend legitimacy to his court.
Later life
She continued to follow her husband to his various diplomatic appointments after the Bourbon RestorationBourbon Restoration
The Bourbon Restoration is the name given to the period following the successive events of the French Revolution , the end of the First Republic , and then the forcible end of the First French Empire under Napoleon – when a coalition of European powers restored by arms the monarchy to the...
. They went into effective exile after their son, Aymar, became involved in the anti-Orleanist
House of Orleans
Orléans is the name used by several branches of the Royal House of France, all descended in the legitimate male line from the dynasty's founder, Hugh Capet. It became a tradition during France's ancien régime for the duchy of Orléans to be granted as an appanage to a younger son of the king...
plot of Caroline Ferdinande Louise, duchesse de Berry in 1831, in the Vendée
Vendée
The Vendée is a department in the Pays-de-la-Loire region in west central France, on the Atlantic Ocean. The name Vendée is taken from the Vendée river which runs through the south-eastern part of the department.-History:...
. He escaped France but was condemned to death in his absence. The family sold up its possessions in France soon after. After her husband died in Lausanne
Lausanne
Lausanne is a city in Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland, and is the capital of the canton of Vaud. The seat of the district of Lausanne, the city is situated on the shores of Lake Geneva . It faces the French town of Évian-les-Bains, with the Jura mountains to its north-west...
, in 1837, she moved to Italy, where she died in Pisa. Her memoir was written as a letter to her only surviving child after the age of fifty. It remained in the family and was not published until 1906.
She is the subject of a biography by Caroline Moorhead published in 2009.