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joachimnapoleon · 4 years

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@histoireettralala and I have to decided to try our hands at an alternating Caroline Bonaparte/Napoleon AU, centered around the courtship of Caroline and Joachim Murat. We were planning on debuting this a couple days ago on Murat Day, but I write at a glacial pace, so, yeah. >_>;; Anyway, here’s Part One!

***

If only Madame Campan could see me right now, Caroline thinks, gleaming with satisfaction. This is the first time she’s ever been inside an actual bar. Before tonight, she had only ever seen them on TV. Having crossed that threshold for the first time, she finally feels like a real adult, at long last. She takes in the scene--loud rock music fills the room; some people are dancing, others sitting and eating, others lounging at the bar with drinks of all kinds. There are pool tables in the back, all occupied by a large group of young men who seem to be having a party of their own.

She suddenly realizes that Hortense is not beside her. Turning back towards the doorway, she frowns at her friend disapprovingly. Hortense hovers in the doorway, staring inside with wide eyes.

"Well?" Caroline asks. "Are you coming in?"

Hortense looks at her nervously.

"I don't know if this is a good idea, Caroline. Think of what Madame Campan would say!"

"Oh that's exactly what I'm thinking of," Caroline says, laughing. "Just imagine the look on the old buzzard's face if she saw us in this place!"

Hortense pales. "You shouldn't say such terrible things."

Caroline rolls her eyes. Madame Campan has trained her friend well; Hortense is turning into a proper stick in the mud.

"Well at the very least," Hortense pleads, "think how unhappy it will make Napoleon if he finds out we were here."

Ah, there it is. The Napoleon Card. Caroline grits her teeth.

"He's paying good money for you to go to Madame Campan's academy!" Hortense piles on.

That settles it. Caroline is now resolved. "I'm going to celebrate my birthday by getting drunk. With or without you." She proceeds towards the bar.

Moments later, Hortense warily seats herself on the stool beside her. She has, Caroline, thinks, the air of a hen inside a fox den.

"Oh just relax! There's nothing to be worried about."

"But most of these people are drunk!" Hortense whispers loudly.

"Yes, it being a bar, it would make sense that they would be," Caroline says dryly.

The bartender asks their pleasure. Caroline, without missing a beat, orders a strawberry daiquiri (she's never had one, but she's heard of it on TV and it sounds delicious). Hortense requests a glass of cranberry juice. The bartender is visibly amused. The drinks are produced in short order.

Caroline is relishing her first sip when a burst of loud cheering erupts from the group gathered by the pool tables. She glances over. The young men are celebrating something. Mugs are raised in a toast.

"Happy birthday Joachim!"

Caroline is intrigued. One of the young men is celebrating his birthday today too? Which one? All the mugs are raised towards...

Caroline's breath catches.

A handsome young man, tall and muscular, with sky-blue eyes, curly dark hair, and a gleaming smile, is thanking his friends for treating him to such a great time today.

"He's... beautiful."

"Who?" Hortense asks.

Caroline cringes. She hadn't meant to blurt it out like that. But it's too late, Hortense is already following her line of vision.

"Oh no," Hortense says. "Not him." She regards Caroline with visible alarm.

"Yes, him. He's the most gorgeous man I've ever laid eyes on. Why 'not him?'"

"Caroline, that's... Joachim Murat. He's a business associate of Napoleon's. He's got a bit of a... reputation."

"A reputation for what?"

"For, well," Hortense is rapidly reddening, "everything Madame Campan has ever warned us against. Gambling, drinking, and... womanizing. Lots of womanizing."

"Does he now?" So. A man of worldly experience. She studies him with a fascination that is all the more rapt as Hortense elaborates further on his hedonistic lifestyle.

"He's even... flirted with my mom," Hortense continues, with the tone of one discussing a man who has committed unfathomable crimes. "And there are other, even more sordid rumors about them going around, but Napoleon doesn't believe them. Or at least he says he doesn't."

"And what does your mother say about these... rumors?"

Hortense is astonished. "Well, of course she denies them! You know my mother isn't that type of woman."

Caroline takes a sip of her daiquiri to conceal her amusement. She knew nothing of the sort, not if what her other brothers told her was true. Even with Napoleon's obsessive sheltering combined with Madame Campan's near-superhuman efforts, Caroline couldn't be half as naive as her schoolmate. Not when she had Paulette as an older sister.

I'll have to ask Paulette if she knows Joachim, Caroline thinks, unable to tear her gaze from him.

And suddenly his eyes are on her.

Mortified that he's caught her staring at him, she tries to look away, but can't.

His eyes remain fixed on her intently. He smiles slightly as she continues to hold his unwavering gaze. Caroline can feel her heart pounding in her ears. She has never experienced a feeling like this; it is as if she has been ensnared by some bizarre, powerful, wonderful enchantment.

He says something she can't hear to one of his friends, and then--

"--He's coming over!" Hortense exclaims, as distressed as if the bar was a blazing inferno around them. "Oh Caroline, I told you we shouldn't have come here!"

"Oh will you just hush," Caroline snaps.

A moment later he is standing before her, even taller up close than he appeared from across the bar. Broad shoulders and bulging biceps are immaculately framed by a form-fitting, forest-green polo shirt. His eyes--the brightest, warmest blue eyes she has ever seen--have her mesmerized.

"Hello Joachim," Hortense greets the man with the politeness Madame Campan has instilled in her.

"Hi Hortense," he returns the greeting with a charming smile. "I must say, I'm quite surprised to see you in a place like this." He either can’t hide his amusement or doesn’t care to.

Hortense's face is beet red. "I, that is, we, um--"

"We're here to celebrate my birthday," Caroline interjects. "Did I hear correctly that it's your birthday too?

"It is! And how delightful to share my birthday with such a pretty girl. Happy birthday!"

"To you as well!"

"And may I ask your name?"

"Caroline. Caroline Bonaparte."

The blue eyes widen in surprise. "Bonaparte? You're one of Napoleon's little sisters?"

"His youngest, yes."

"Well, this truly is a pleasure. Hortense might've already told you, but I'm Joachim. Your brother and I... collaborate from time to time, on various projects."

"She might've mentioned it," she glances at Hortense with a wink. Hortense's blush only deepens further.

"Would you like to dance?"

Caroline blinks. Why, yes. Yes she would.

She passes the next--half hour? hour?--with Joachim as if in a daze. They have an instant chemistry on the dance floor, and he is surprisingly graceful and agile for a man of his size. By the third dance she feels enough at ease with him already to let things get a little more physical; soon he is twirling her around the floor; she stumbles at one point, only to be caught by a pair of strong arms. The blue eyes twinkle. Are you okay? Perfectly fine, she assures him. He doesn't let go of her until he is certain she is steady again.

After dancing, they talk over a drink. She talks about her family and Madame Campan's school. He talks about growing up in the country and working with the horses in his father's stable and the time he recently spent in Egypt with Napoleon on one of his biggest business ventures to date. He tells her about the pyramids and the Sphinx and all the other fascinating monuments and ancient ruins. He even got to ride camels! She is captivated.

Hortense finally works up the nerve to intervene. She doesn't mean to interrupt them but hasn't Caroline noticed what time it is? We really need to leave. Like, now.

Caroline turns to Joachim apologetically. If it were her choice, she'd stay, but...

He understands. He's had a lovely evening with her; it was the highlight of his birthday.

"Mine too," she assures him. "Will I see you again?"

"Do you want to?" His curvy lips twitch slightly; the blue eyes twinkle once more.

"Very much so," her voice is barely above a whisper.

His lips part into a broad smile. "Good. I'm sure we'll find a way to meet again soon. Goodnight, Caroline."

"Goodnight, Joachim."

She steps out into the cool night with Hortense. They haven't even been walking for a full minute when her phone vibrates. Probably one of her big brothers sending her a frantic WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU AT THIS HOUR message. She takes a deep breath before glancing at the screen.

She has received a Facebook friend request from Joachim Murat.

Without hesitation, she opens the app and accepts the request. I'm going to need a lot of coffee for class tomorrow, she realizes. Because she fully intends to spend the rest of the night looking through the photo albums of this gorgeous young man whose birthday she shares.

#Caroline AU #@histoireettralala

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poresorpixels · 6 years

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Berberian Sound Studio (2012)

The Duke of Burgundy

(2014)

lulbuozets: Giallo meets Brakhage, sensssoohaahlity, style as substance, savory>sweet, brittle grasps, (p)lush interiors, asmr, vixens, dominance/submission, sedate hysteria, dissociative gracenotes, tuff luv, dream illogic, september/may

In a sense, English director Peter Strickland is a sort of executive lounge perv - like those chin stroking suits in Enemy, watching high-heeled women squish exotic spiders in a secret, dark room. Not unlike Cronenberg, he's an unapologetically glazed over sensationalist, dragging the intrepid moviegoer into his tantric hedonism kaleidoscope. Both of his films here are the sort where you are more likely taken for a blind ride by their signature quality than premeditatedly engaged. They don't offer expansiveness in the traditional sense, more often content to snuggle up to their vividly rendered seedy spaces and graze.

He is tremendously good, so far, at doing him. Already having a calling card style is quite astonishing, given an ouvre standing at two as I write this. Though it is technically his third film (with one on the way). Sadly, his first - 2009's Katalin Varga, is available next to nowhere (in the uk, on region 2 dvd). It seems like something else entirely, which has me abuzz with curiosity. Hopefully it will turn up somewhere soon.

Berberian Sound Studio has much to love and explore. The soundtrack contains the last work of the fantastic early 2000's group, Broadcast, its production sadly coinciding with lead singer Trish Keenan's sudden passing. It is a fine thing, and their hard-charging harpsichord title sequence song is arguably the most exciting passage in the film. The sequence cleverly (perhaps confusingly for some) contains credits for the film within the film, which i'll annotate forthwith.

producer: Francesco Coraggio (Cosimo Fusco) A vile mysoginist, who doesn't have anything positive or neutral to say about anyone or anything.

director: Giancarlo Santini (Antonio Mancino) A self-aggrandizing, work averse glad-hander. Doesn't seem that interested in post-production studio rigors, beyond pawing at his female cast.)

Il Vortice Equestre (The Equestrian Vortex) In Santini's witch torture-fest, this title never comes to mean a damn thing. Not even some foley coconuts - which is hilarious.

music: Hymenoptera (Broadcast) Defined as a large order of insects, comprising sawflies, wasps, bees and ants. This never comes to any sort of significance either, and Burgundy is preoccupied with lepidopterology. I'm guessing its something to do with the gynecological root of the word.)

The doleful, adorable puss of Toby Jones is a special thing, and Strickland surely isn't the only one to've capitalized on this fact. But I don't know if I've ever seen him oogled quite to this extent, at one (seemingly signicant) point being rippled and mushed like a wad of celluloid playdough. Perhaps his sweet, daddy long-leg rescuing Gilderoy is too sympathetic for a film so resistant to a storyline. His disgust with the lurid set pieces he is producing sound for is a hook of sorts, but it doesn't pay off. Despite his grounding of a winningly surreal setting full of clunky vintage gear and sudden power outtages, Strickland seems content to merely fold him up like wallpaper origami. The shift to him, and his increasingly dire letters from mum, being the subject of another film within a film, comes off like a solipsistic punch-out.

But it's a fun mess, with all its noisome fruits and veggies and demented, face contorting soundbooth histrionics (was reminded of Mike Schank's blood curdling soundbooth howl in American Movie). One I was sure I'd enjoy more than the S&M love affair of his next film. But I was decidedly wrong. Where Berberian Sound frustrates, and lunges for a cheap beginning-to-end loop with its blurry film reel image, The Duke of Burgundy is an impressively well rounded circle.

Again there is repetition. But rather than mere recurring visuals (that flashing "SILENZIO" sign of diminishing returns) it is direct reckoning with the practice. Particularly, when it fails to make perfect. Perfection in role playing seems to be the goal in the relationship on display. But despite fooling us with their act at the onset, it becomes clear that the imperiously beautiful Cynthia (Borgen's imperiously beautiful Sidse Babett Knudsen), who is older, is mostly driven by the desire to make Evelyn (an eerily faux-innocent Chiara D'Anna) happy. We see their routine, day-spanningly meticulous as it may be, going from refinement to going through the motions.

The world of moths and butterflies seems infinite to Cynthia, the imagery of her studies juxtaposed with her more traditional gratification from Evelyn when the play is done. In these moments, there are whispered devotions (uncannily spooky, like those of Let's Scare Jessica to Death) that we do not see Evelyn mouthing. When we see the fear in Cynthia's eyes, it comes clear that these reassurances are in her head. When the strain of trying to keep up the charade later reaches its peak, these whisperings shift to one word: "pinastri" (Sphinx pinastri aka the pine hawk-moth). Their safe word, a discouraged protest for Evelyn, becomes Cynthia's haunted keening on the doubt infesting and devouring her love's foundation.

Perhaps Evelyn tries to be accomodating, but she is unmistakably insatiable in everything she does. Even her delvings into encyclopedic butterfly trivia feel like but a fetishized extension of Cynthia's confectionarily domineering role for her. Cynthia has to be someone else, while Evelyn only need be served. Even after Cynthia finally breaks down in tears under the rigors of keeping up the routine and Evelyn vehemently consoles her, the older woman knows its 'either buck up, or let this girl slip through your fingers'.

Much moreso than his previous work, The Duke of Burgundy expertly arranges its drama, deadpan humor and surrealist chills into a satisfyingly seamless whole. And even more compellingly, these elements are often interchangeable. Cynthia's sonorous snoring, for example, is both a funny contrast to her sleek routine and a touchingly sad tell after she has exhausted herself to the utmost for her love's devotion. Elsewhere, acts that might be repulsive are rendered kind of bittersweet. Without bespoiling his (their) heightened tableau, he gives the unglamorous rigors of human frailty their full thematic due.

Once again, we are graced with a drop dead gorgeous soundtrack, this time from the duo, Cat's Eyes (awesome cat in this movie as well, who is content to just look on). The opening Belle & Sebastianesque piece is particularly winning (there's that harpsichord again) with its distinct use of a single clipped breath on the downbeat. It closes with a much sadder, Julee Cruise kind of thing, which is fitting given that Cynthia will likely keel over in mid face-sit some day.

Worth mentioning as well is the welcome return of instantly striking Romanian actress Fatma Mohamed, who plays a kink specialist carpenter with unnerving, Lynchian command. She was a spirited, camera-beloved highlight of Berberian, giving no quarter to her dickhead bosses. Luckily she's back for this year's release, In Fabric, along with Knudsen, Gwendoline Christie (Brienne of Tarth herself), Julian Barratt and Marianne Jean-Baptiste (who played one of the best characters ever with the lovable, all-suffering Hortense Cumberbatch in Mike Leigh's Secrets & Lies). With that cast, and the significant improvement ratio between these two films, I'm chomping at that bit to see what that dirty birdy Strickland has in store.

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kathywaller1 · 4 years

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You’ve seen those “How Many of These Books Have You Read?” quizzes that populate the Internet? You click on the titles and the little people inside the website tally them and tell you what percentage you’ve read. I’m sure their purpose is to make me feel inferior.*

Some do more than count. One calculated my age. Imagine my surprise/embarrassment/shame when I learned that, based on the number clicked, I’m in my twenties.

Boy, did they get that wrong.

But the fault is mine—I haven’t been reading much as I should.

To remedy that, on January 1, 2020, I resolved to read more** books.

###

Book Report

In January, I read the following:

The Bloody Bead, co-written by Helen Currie Foster and Manning Wolfe, part of the Bullet Books Speed Reads*** collection. When sweet Miss Cherry goes missing, garbageman Juan Agosto reports his suspicions to his older sister, Teresa, a police officer. The investigation that follows provides a suspenseful read. And a fast one—like the other Bullet Books, it’s a novella, designed for busy people who want short reads. Or, for that matter, idle people who want short reads.

No spoilers here, but I will say there are some things Juan Agosto would prefer not to find in a garbage bin.

***

Broke,***** by Kaye George. In this third volume of the Immy Duckworthy series, wannabe private eye Immy moves out of the double-wide where she and her daughter, Nancy Drew, have been living with Immy’s mother, retired librarian Hortense. The three-story house Immy rents—the one she can afford on what she earns as (real) PI Mike Mallet’s secretary—looks like it’s about to fall down, and some parts of it are. But it’s filled with antique furniture. Plus a room filled with dusty old books. Plus a ghost. Plus, on the third floor, something that doesn’t belong there at all.

Immy’s policeman boyfriend, Ralph, is his same, dependable self, but the gorgeous Vance Valentin proves a formidable competitor, sort of. Also present are pet pig Marshmallow and Larry Bird, the vicious hen.

And then there’s the body.

***

The Whole Family: A Novel by Twelve Authors, edited by Elizabeth Jordan. This collaborative novel, conceived by author and editor William Dean Howells, concerns the effect an engagement has on an entire family. The book comprises twelve chapters, each by a different author. Each chapter is written from the point of view of a different character. Chapter I, written by Howells, introduces Mr. Talbert, the father of the prospective bride, and alludes, briefly, to the others in his household. One of these is Mr. Talbert’s sister, described as “a lady of that age when ladies begin to be spoken of as maiden.”

Here’s where the fun begins.

Chapter II, entitled “The Old Maid Aunt,” was written by Mary E. Wilkins Freeman. Mrs. Freeman was forty-nine when she married a man seven years younger than she. One critic reports that Mrs. Freeman didn’t appreciate the phrase maiden lady, so she scrapped the stereotype.

The aunt she created is young, attractive, and vibrant. And she has a past—she and the prospective groom have recently engaged in a flirtation—or something. We don’t know exactly how serious the relationship was, but it was serious enough to make the visiting groom turn white when he sees her— and to catch the first train out of town. To complicate things further, the Talbert’s new neighbor had once threatened to shoot himself if the aunt wouldn’t marry him. Neighbor’s wife is not amused.

In other words, Mrs. Freeman hijacked the plot.

The rest is a romp, with each character—the bride, her mother, her grandmother, her teenage sister and pre-teen brother, her older brothers and their wives, the groom, and others—weighing in with their own descriptions of events, opinions of other characters, and plans to help fix things. There’s a lot to fix and they are oh, so helpful.

The Whole Family was published in 1908, so, compared to contemporary novels, it begins slowly. When the maiden aunt appears in Chapter II, however, things pick up considerably.

An Amazon note: One Amazon reviewer, who gave the book four stars, writes, “I would say they [the authors] did very well , except for one, who’s chapter was so rambling and unintelligible I had to just scan the paragraphs to get any sense out of it. But, all in all, it was a good book.”*****

My note: The “unintelligible” chapter was written by Henry James. With all due respect to Mr. James, don’t feel bad if you have trouble getting sense out of it. It’s been said that Mr. James “chewed more than he bit off.” (Attributed to Oscar Wilde, Mrs. Henry Adams, and the author’s brother William) All in all, it’s a good book.

* Important to consider when deciding how inferior to feel: Lists vary according to the whims and biases of the makers. Pride and Prejudice, Wuthering Heights, and Winnie the Pooh show up on all the lists I’ve examined. The Twits appears on just one.

** Goals and objectives should be quantifiable, and this one isn’t, but I’ll deal with that later. The way I’ve been going, more might mean three.

*** As I’ve mentioned before, numerous times, I co-wrote a Bullet Book, too. See the sidebar.

**** Read my review of Choke, the first Immy Duckworthy mystery, here.

***** I would link directly to the review, but when I do, an enormous picture of the book cover appears on this page.

###

The authors: Helen Currie Foster, Manning Wolfe, Kaye George, William Dean Howells, and Mary E. Wilkins Freeman

###

So that’s January. According to Kindle, I’m now 40% through Elizabeth George‘s A Banquet of Consequences.

Already Read 2020: January You've seen those "How Many of These Books Have You Read?" quizzes that populate the Internet? You click on the titles and the little people inside the website tally them and tell you what percentage you've read.

#books and reading #Broke #Bullet Books Speed Reads #Helen Currie Foster #Kaye George #Manning Wolfe #Mary E. Wilkins Freeman #reading lists #The Bloody Bead #The Whole Family: A Novel by Twelve Authors #William Dean Howells

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wikitopx · 4 years

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Only eight kilometers west of Paris, Rueil-Malmaison is an affluent and leafy suburb loaded with French imperial history.

That's where you can get to know Joséphine de Beauharnais better, Napoleon's wife until they divorced in 1810. You’ll discover the palatial home that she shared with the Emperor, wander the spacious grounds around it and pay your respects at the church containing her tomb. Rueil-Malmaison is practically overrun with green space, in its fine gardens, deep forests and on the verdant banks of the Seine. So if you’re in search of a serene home from home on a trip to Paris with its own share of sights, Rueil-Malmaison would be a great option. Let's explore the best things to do in Rueil-Malmaison.

[toc]

1. Château de Malmaison

Joséphine acquired the Château de Malmaison in 1799 and over the next few years spent astronomical money to improve the house and enrich the base. Between 1800 and 1802 it was even a seat of the French government.

Joséphine meanwhile lavished most of her attention on the gardens, planting 250 varieties of rose and setting up a menagerie with zebras, llamas, antelopes, and kangaroos. Later, following her death and the defeat at Waterloo, Napoleon stayed here during the 100 days before going into exile.

It’s a marvelous property, drenched in the history of this charismatic family. The interior is a museum with sumptuous decor, furniture, musical instruments and Sèvres dinnerware belonging to Joséphine and Napoleon.

2. Bois-Préau

From the day Joséphine bought Château de Malmaison she had her eye on this neighboring property.

But the banker’s daughter who owned it refused to sell, and Joséphine wouldn’t get hold of it until the neighbor was found drowned in the pond in 1808. These 17 hectares are now a gorgeous public park in the English style with generous lawns and mature trees like the Turkish hazels that have been here since Joséphine’s time.

There’s a statue of the empress by the eminent 19th-century sculptor Vital-Dubray, and the stage is set by the 18th-century Château de Bois-Préau, which contains a Napoleon museum currently closed for renovations.

3. Château de la Petite Malmaison

When the Château de Malmaison’s enormous grounds were divided up this sumptuous pavilion became a separate property and so is now a distinct attraction. It was built in 1805 by Louis-Martin Berthault, who would go on to design Joséphine’s tomb.

The Empress was deeply involved in the work because it went hand-in-hand with her passion for botany, and one wing of the building was taken up by a hothouse for growing rare tropical plants.

On a visit, you’ll learn about the explorer and botanist, Aimé Bonpland who brought back all of these plants from his travels. It is also a second home for artist Pierre-Joseph Redouté, who described the Joséphine rose as still popular as postcards today.

4. Église Saint-Pierre-Saint-Paul

This solemn Renaissance church is best known for housing the tombs of Joséphine and her daughter Hortense. Joséphine’s funeral was held here on 2 June 1814, and her tomb would be completed 11 years later in 1825.

It was a joint effort between architect Louis-Martin Berthault and sculptor Pierre Cartelier and carved from Carrara marble. Hortense was Joséphine’s daughter from a previous marriage (her former husband was killed in the Revolution), and she went on to marry Napoleon’s brother, Louis Bonaparte.

Hortense died in 1837, and her resplendent mausoleum was inaugurated by her son, Napoleon III in 1858.

5. Bois de Saint-Cucufa

The bulk of the Malmaison grounds is a 200-hectare forest, which was finally bought by the state in 1871 to become a public park. There’s some Joséphine trivia here too because it was after a walk on a cold night beside the park’s pond that she contracted pneumonia that caused her death.

There’s now a two-kilometer interpretation trail informing you about the park’s history, as well as bike trails and of course that large pond, which is more than two hectares in size. So you can visit for a jog, easy stroll or take a picnic by the water.

6. Mont-Valérien

In 1841 Paris invested in a ring of artillery fortifications to prepare for an attack from what is now Germany.

This fortress atop Mont-Valérien, the main rise to the west of Paris, was involved during the Siege of Paris in 1870 and the fight to suppress the Paris Commune in 1871. But its darkest days came during the Second World War when more than a thousand members of the French Resistance and other prohibited groups were executed here.

Later the site was preserved by Charles de Gaulle as a war memorial with an eternal flame and a trail retracing the final steps of these fighters, as well as a chapel with graffiti by condemned men.

7. Musée d’Histoire Locale

The old town hall is the home for a museum that covers the history of the city, including some of the ways of life and personalities that might otherwise be forgotten. For instance, there are details about Rueil-Malmaison’s old winemaking industry, which was killed off by the phylloxera blight at the end of the 1800s.

You can also get perspectives about the Franco-Prussian War and the Siege of Paris, and if you have any lingering curiosity about Empress Joséphine you can indulge it here. Also from the Napoleonic era is a set of 1,600 figurines representing the Emperor’s Grand Army.

Finally, there’s a whole room dedicated to Édouard Belin, whose Belinograph from 1913 was the predecessor to the wire photo, capable of sending images down phone lines, long before the invention of the fax.

8. Musée des Gardes Suisses

The Swiss Guard was a corps of Swiss mercenaries founded by Louis XIII in 1616 and tasked with protecting the king.

These soldiers were renowned for their loyalty, and during the Revolution, almost 900 were massacred attempting to defend the Tuileries in 1792. This museum is in one of the three barracks built for the corps in the middle of the 18th century, and every week a detachment would leave this building for Versailles to relieve the “piquet d’honneur ” there.

The building is recognized as a French “historic monument” and has uniforms, documents and other memorabilia relating to the corps.

9. Parc de Saint-Cloud

If Rueil-Malmaison is all about the empire, the neighboring suburb of Saint-Cloud has a Royal flavor. You can see this legacy at the Parc de Saint-Cloud, which is a prestigious French “Jardin Notable” and praised as one of Europe’s loveliest gardens.

On top of that, there’s a view of Paris that will knock your socks off from the La Lanterne lookout, with the Eiffel Tower and Sacré-Cœur rippling on a clear summer’s day.

And as for royalty, the park used to be the grounds for the Château de Saint-Cloud, a royal palace destroyed during the Siege of Paris in 1870. Marie Antoinette had been especially fond of the house and planted the flower garden that is still there today.

10. Atelier Grognard

This building is a curious 19th-century factory that once forged thousands of copper, zinc and tin plates for engraving.

Those days are long gone, and the two large halls in the Atelier Grognard are now an evocative venue for temporary art exhibitions.

You should find out what’s on when you come to Rueil-Malmaison because the art is high-quality: In recent years, there have been inscriptions of Dubuffet, sculptures of Miró, Impressive works of the Seine, Abstract Expressionism from the 50s and works of the famous Welsh family.

More ideals for you: Top 10 things to do in Roubaix

From : https://wikitopx.com/travel/top-10-things-to-do-in-rueil-malmaison-709662.html

#Wikitopx #Wikitopx - Feed

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popculturebuffet · 4 years

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The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck: The Last of the Clan McDuck! Review “It Was Worth THE Dime”

This is one of my faviorite comic book stories of all time. Given i’m a massive comics nerd, for both books and strips, that is the highest praise I can give this wonderful, epic, beautifully drawn and deeply emotoinal story. I first discovered it in the local library that had the second volume, and found the rest online at a now long dead fan site. And while it took me longer than I care to admit to really dig into Duck Comics, and even now i’ve only scratched the surface, I can say without a doubt this story is the reason I’m so deeply attached to Scrooge as a character, and that I was excited as I was for Ducktales 2017. This comic showed me just what Scrooge McDuck should be at his core as a character, and showed me what a wonderful character that is. So with all that glowing praise as you can guess i’ve been wanting to cover this for years, and even considered though back when I was more primarily a comic book reviewer last year. Any time i’ve reviewed stuff before now, i’ve considered it, and with Scrooge’s Sisters Hortense and Matilda presumably and definitely debuting on Ducktales soon, and it’s about damn time, the timing could not be better or clearer to dig into this utter triumph. But before we can take a look at the story itself we naturally have to take a look at the man behind it: Writer and Artist Don Rosa. Don Rosa is easily one of the best Duck Comics writer out there, seen by many as only second to his own faviorite duck comics writer and God of Ducks, Carl Barks. For those 1 of you who do not know, Barks was the man who created pretty much everything in the duck universe comics wise and a bit in animation too: He created Daisy, Scrooge, Gladstone, Magica, The Beagle Boys, The Junior Woodchucks, Gyro, Little Bulb, Glomgold, Rockerduck, and the list goes on. While he didn’t make EVERY duck, he made so many that it’d be impossible to imagine either version of Ducktales being possible without him. So of course Rosa was a fan and while he took up the family buisness, he was also an artist and duck comics fanboy on the side. So when, even if it meant a paycut, the opportunity to actually write and draw them came up, he lept at it and thus became one of their publishers go to guys, even if said publisher published the stories overseas where the Duck Comics are far more popular and still going to this day, and ironically where most duck comics printed nowadays get their stories from. Rosa was known for his meticous historical research and gorgeous art that he took his time drawing to get just perfect and showed on the page. The man has easily some of hte best and most detailed duck art around and I still haven’t found a duck artist that can match him.. and if you have or found one close i’d genuinely love to see that. He is a genuinely talented, spirited guy who was sadly mistreated by disney and that, coupled with tragically failing eyesight, eventually ended his career. He’s still around and I genuinely hope to meet him some day as he still does conventions. The man is not without fault: I don’t get his hatred of superhero comics, as while I get them overshadowing funnybooks and that around the time of his career they were in decline, but it’s just as unfair to write off Superhero comics as mindless. garbage as it is for people to write off the Duck Comics as “only for kids” and I genuinely wish he’d see that and see how the medium has evolved so much since then. I also grumble a bit as his refusal to allow anything besides barks into his bubble, and having to be forced to include fethry on the family tree, but that’s more personal preference. I like using as much material as you got. IT’s why i’ve wanted to, and hopefully will eventually get around to, write a sonic fanfic using bits of all the various universes that for legal, ken penders being an absolute waste of a human being, and sega being stupid reasons can’t be used anymore. I like taking everything in a franchise and putting it in a blender and it’s why I love the reboot. But there’s nothing wrong with taking things as is, not stepping on toes canon wise, but still being awesome. We’re just diffrent people and that’s okay. And a lot of his fanboy showing actually lead to REALLY good things: Goldie O’Gilt was a one off character, and while used ocasoinally overseas, didn’t really pick up as a character again until a combination of Ducktales 87 and Rosa’s work with her, as he always loved the character, and fleshing her out lead to her being used more, and gaining a sizeable fandom. He also gained the Cablleros an even bigger fandom by giving them two stories of their own, and fleshing them out a bit more. And this very comic is the peak of that, taking EVERY mention of scrooge’s past from various backstories to set up adventures, every tiny scrap, and to his credit going to both Barks Himself and various other Barks Experts Rosa was friends with to check his work, especially difficult given he likey had to find these stories in issue or pullt hem from disney archives, and complied it into one long epic that not only uses all this info effortlessly, but spins a compelling story that gives us a clear vision of what Scrooge should be, how he became the man he is, and how he lost himself only to find himself again with the help of three precocious boys and a cynical 30 something duck. So taint all bad is what i’m saying. As for how this got started, thankfully rosa himself provided the origin story for this project in the back of the volume of his works that contained the first 7 chapters of life and times, as well as detailed notes for every chapter. At the time Rosa was working for Egmont, the big european publisher who handles Disney’s much larger european comics market, hence why most of his stories appeared years earlier in Europe before debuting here. The american publisher at the time , and an old friend of his, called Rosa with an idea: A 12 issue Maxi-Series focusing on Scrooge’s history, since at the time they were all the rage.. and really even today mini series are still a viable market and many indie titles just have several minis instead of an ongoing. So it wasn’t a bad idea, Rosa just simply offered a tweak: He’d tell his publisher at Egmont about the idea, and let her get a crack team of writers and artists to do this proper, and thus Disney could publish it for free once it was done and for no extra cost. Rosa gave his publisher a fax detaling both the idea and the fact that it needed to be done right, given to the best person possible, and done with the greatest care. She agreed.. and naturally handed it to him, as he admits he hoped. She made the right call, a legend was born and here we are. One last bit before the read more and before I get to the first story itself at last: Since barks wrote a lot of side stories that fit into the canon, I COULD slot them in between chapters, but have instead chosen to review the original 12 part story as was, and do the various side stories and two epilogues, the utterly fantastic “Dream of a Life Time”, easiliy one of my faviorite comics ever, and the also really great “Letter From Home”, which will likely on some level be the basis for the upcoming at the time of this review “Battle for Castle McDuck!”, after completing the story. In other words i’m probably going to be at this for years. so join me under the read more won’t you as I begin the journey of a thousand miles with a single step as we look at the humble start of a legend.

We begin, after a fun short teaser with present Day scrooge saying his past is no one’s buisness only to get hit with an oh yeah?, with a scrap book title for the issue, something I want to bring up since while I got that’s what it was what I never got, and must’ve glanced over when I first read rosa’s notes when I got this copy, was that it isn’t SCROOGE’S scrap book, but his sister Matilda’s who dutifully and happily catologued her brother’s adventures. It’s a really sweet moment.. and something that will hit VERY hard when we reach Chapter 11. If you haven’t read this story or heard of it.. .that’s this story’s equilvent of “Last Crash of the Sunchaser” and clearly Frank and Matt drew from that story a bit for it, but we can get more into the parallels when we get there. A smaller but fun note is that Rosa had specific coin drawing templates, for different indentions and what not he used, and used them for the coins in these intro bits. Yes he admitted he has a problem and yes that’s damn impressive anyway.

It’s Scrooge’s 10th birthday, and his father Fergus has taken him up to see the family land, Dismal Downs to tell him of the mighty Clan McDuck and show him the ancestral lands, graveyards and Castle. He admits to having taken this long because the Clan McDuck currently lives in Glasgow so it’s kind of a long trip just to show your son “Hey look at the decay and rot that’s our ancestral homeland”. The Clan is on hard times, as a bad shipping deal, the backbone of a rather good barks story and I wont’ be interjecting for every barks reference as it’d get rather tiring though for what it’s worth Rosa provided tons of detailed footnotes in the back of each Fantagraphics collection, so good on him. Speaking of which though they do include 10 pages of Mc Duck family history that was supposed to open this story.. until Rosa’s editor wisely pointed out the story isn’t about them but scrooge and having read his roug draft, yeah.. there’s a good gag here and there, as well as “Dirty” Dingus McDuck, scrooge’s Grandpa and the reason Dewey is cursed with that middle name. Why anyone thought Dingus was a good name is beyond me, nor why Donald thought that was a good middle name back in 2009 is again, beyond me. Good on Don though for getting that past the censors. But yeah with no money they can’t buy the land back and they were scared off it years ago by a mystical ghost dog, the hound of the whiskervilles. There is treasure in the castle, Sir Quackly’s gold, but he accidently sealed himself into a wall while sealing his treasure in there. Their interrupted by the town assholes, the Whiskervilles who have been grazing sheep on the land and are naturally behind the hound, using the sound of it to scare off Fergus once they realize he’s a McDuck. Because apparently you can keep a Scooby Doo style hoax up for Centuries if you don’t have meddling kids around. Who knew. Back in Glasgow, we meet the rest of Scrooge’s family: His Uncle Jake, his sisters Matilda and Hortense, and his mother Downy. Jake hasn’t really been mentioned at all in Ducktales and I know next to nothing about him, which given I share a name with the guy you’d THINK I would. I mean I know a decent amount about this Jake.

But nothing about who the hell Jake McDuck is or why he lives with his brother and his family. Here, you guys watch the dancing Jake, i’m going to probably do that for hours after this review is done, i’m going to go sort this out. Okay one google and finding the Scrooge Mcduck wiki page on him, Jake shows up here likely because he was referenced in the story “A Christmas For Shacktown” and apparently borrowed from Scrooge and never paid it back. Otherwise.. there’s not a lot about him and unlike the rest of Scrooge’s family he really dosen’t do much that I can remember. Except like 2017 Scrooge, he apparently has become extremely long lived, as Scrooge and Donald STILL think he’s alive in the 1950′s.. and likely is STILL alive in some form in the Don Rosa stories, given his take place after Barks and thus in the 40′s and 50′s where Barks stories were set. Hence why unlike the Reboot, Scrooge isn’t inexpecilbly over 210. But Jake McDuck sure as heck is. Maybe this highlander is a highlander.. you know the movie and tv show type. Maybe someone cut off his head. That’s what i’m going with.

This does bring me to another point about this story: While Barks gave all of scrooge’s family their names, it’s where Rosa got them after all, it’s Rosa who really made them into characters. Fergus as a loving father ashamed his family legacy has fallen and wanting his son to do better than him, Downy as an equally loving wife and mother, Matilda as his sweet and caring sister and later her brother’s moral center, and Hortense.. well here she’s just a babbling baby but her character will become clear and glorious as we go. She is adorable here though and we do get some great bits with her. Getting back to the plot now i’ve made my points, Jake is riled up wanting to understandably kick the Whiskerville’s asses with Scrooge, who even as a sweet innocent ten year old still has the family temper already, agreeing.. but Downy gently shoots them out pointing that two middle aged-ish men and a 10-year old just aren’t enough to fight an army of them and while she doesn’t mention it the fight would just tire them out for work and accomplish nothing as while it is the McDuck’s land the combination of the hound and the lack of money to move back means it’s pointless. She also mentions their younger brother Pothole, who went to America. This will be important later.

Scrooge storms off and Fergus laments, in a scene that’s more painful the more I think about it, how his clan has fallen, with he and his brother lamenting their chances at glory are long gone.. but Fergus has hope his son can do better, and for his son’s birthday makes him a shoeshine kit in the hopes of inspiring him to greatness. This scene still resonates since many of us are poor, struggling and not doing so good money wise. I’m sure many parents have doubts and regrets about not being able to do more for their kid.

Not only that but the story carefully avoids the trap of Fergus accidently being abusive by you know, pinning his family’s future on one 10 year old. While yes he is asking a lot of Scrooge, to restore their family name.. it’s very clear he mostly just wants his son to do better than him. Even if Scrooge was just slightly more successful, Fergus would likely be happy with that. He’s not using the legacy as a “This what you must be” like say the Gems in steven universe did for Steven with Rose’s Legacy, the kind where it sort of suffocates you till youc an make it your own. He’s just saying “this is what you can be” He believes his child can be great and simply once him to reach his full potetial and is simply giving him a means to hopefully do so, a simple home made shoe shine kit. While Jake scoffs, the narration notes the idea isn’t worth a dime.. it’s worth THE dime. The dime that would set Scrooge’s destiny in motion.

The next morning, Fergus goes to check up on his son and his new buisness but Scroogey’s having no luck and about ready to just quit, the poor child. Also Matilda is dragging her baby sister around like a doll and it’s entirely precious as it is funny.

But as for those Dorty Boots, Matilda wonders why her dad dosen’t just tell Scrooge that Burt the Ditch Digger is coming. Fergus tells her to quite and then explains his plan: he’s sending Burt to scrooge, with an American dime Fergus and Matilda found, to teach his son a lesson: By giving him a hard days work, he’ll teach him what hard work truly means.. and by having Burt “cheat” him with the American dime, it’ll give him the motivation to keep going and to nto be as wide eyed and trusting. It’s a well meaning if harsh lesson, and the kind you’d expect from 1900′s parenting and fits the origin well: Scrooge still earned his first money square, as he still did work.. but his getting cheated being a lesson dosen’t diminish what it taught scrooge, and helps flesh out what I talked about above, Fergus knowing his son has great potential he just needs inspiration to reach it. And instead of just telling him that he does a con job but it’s the 1900′s. This orign, and Fergus’ part in it would be entirely untouched in Ducktales 2017, the first scrooge based adaptation since this comic came out, and I bless them for it. Frank even said this comic was used as a bible by the writers and while theirs clear deviations, and we’ll get to that, they were mainly done for good reason, and it’s very clear that while scrooge’s history is very VERY diffrent in the reboot, the core of his past is still there.

So the plan is on and young scrooge spends half an hour killing himself to get Burt’s shoes clean before getting his dime.. and realizing he’s been had, makes this proud decleration that will be the bedrock of his entire life and character.

Scrooge being naturally stubborn as you can see takes his cheats a leson: There will always be hard honest work, and he will be there to do it and he’ll be tougher and sharper than anyone trying to cheat him out of his pay. Fergus’ plan has the intended effect, and Scrooge having learned a hard lesson now has the drive and determination we know him for. As for why it gives it to him.. I had to think on it a bit but it makes sense: For some a setback like this would make them quit.. for Scrooge it’s just proof he CAN find customers, he CAN do this job, or any at his hardest and instead takes this as a lesson to be prepared ot out think and outfight anyone who dares cheat him again, and to not earn his money by being the kind of guy who cheats a kid out of an honest days pay, but as a good honest duck like his father and his father before him. =He will make his money square so he can be the kind of person this seeming stranger SHOULD have been. Granted we’ll see Scrooge doesn’t end up as the best person at times but .. we’ll get there. So with the fire inside turned from a spark into the flame Scrooge soon got to work, and by the next panel we see he’s eventually worked his stand up from a small box given to him by his dad, to a three seater shoeshining bench, who he wipes all at once by stretching one of his mother’s girldes over a light pole, a detail I didn’t get the first time around but now love. Naturally being a good kind boy much like his Nephews, Scrooge always gave his proud father a portion of his earnings, if with a full receipt for tax purposes. Because he’s still scrooge after all. His dad wonders he did too good a job while Hortense glxbit’s in agreement.

As the years go on, a now tween Scrooge is eventually able to save up for a horse cart, and starts selling Fire Wood up in the city. He eventually realizes Peat, an earthy subtance found in bogs I only know about because I had to look it up for this review, is more profitable and with some snappy marketing moves into selling Peat for the rich instead, also showing the young lad already has a grasp of how to sell to obnoxious rich people.

But while his business is booming, our young hero can’t resist visiting his family’s ancestral home and longing for it, hoping one day to have it for himself and in a nice show of how despite his temper and tenacity forged over the last few years he’s still at hear the kind, sweet optimistic lad he was just a few pages ago, he decides to tidy up the Clan’s Cemetary while he’s here.

Unfortunately as proof that Donald and Della’s terrible luck comes from both sides of the family the Whiskervilles are sub-glomgold levels of human beings.. or Dogfaces in this case, and are digging up the McDuck Clan’s graves to hunt for treasure. Scrooge tries to simply do the smart thing and flee, but the asshole brigade catch sight of him and mistkaing him for a peat burgalar chase after him.. and spend WAY too much time and energy chasing a teenage boy over some fucking bog grass you clearly aren’t selling yourselves. I mean spare a thought for how dumb this is: They could easily sell of of that peat to put up a fence or chop down some trees to get the material if their really that concerned about someone getting in the bog. Then again this isn the 1800 and 1900′s where the child death toll was simply “Yes”, so they likely thought whose gonna notice one more dead child on our property?

Scrooge heads toward the castle and is gestured in by a friendly mystery duck who gladly shows him around and can tell he’s a McDuck just by look, showing the castle is still in glorious condition as the whiskervilles are too spooked to go in, hence why they didn’t chase Scrooge inside. I’d say being afraid of ghosts but not murdering a child is weird but these are the same guys who thought murdering a child was plan A. We’re not dealing with a brain trust is what i’m saying. So the mystery duck shows Scroogey around, showing off some colorful stories about his ancestors recycled from that scrapped prologue I mentioned. THe mystery man, who brushes off Scrooge thinking he’s a McDuck asks Scrooge what he’s doing to restore the family glory and while Scrooge points out he’s already working on it, Mystery Duck points out he’s still missing something: He has the drive and the dream, but peat and shoeshining, while getting him good money for his family, aren’t the thing you can build a fortune or a future off of. He then points out where Scrooge’s dime comes from: America.. and that gives the boy the idea to head to the states. As for what he could possibly DO there to start, the mystery guy mentions his uncle pothole. So Scrooge has the dream, the drive.. and now a plan: Go to america, work for his uncle on the riverboats, and work his way up from there till he finds his fortune and restores his family name. But while his future is settled, the present is still an issue and Scrooge wants to teach the child murder club a lesson and thus borrows, though MM wisely points out it’s all his property a horse and some armor, and stuffs the armor with peat. As for what his plan is.. welllll

That.. is fucking awesome. And far from the last fucking awesome moment in this thing. It also shows off even as not quite a teen yet, Scrooge is still a badass already, and while he doesn’t have his trademark strength or fighting skills quite yet, his ingenuity is already there.. and that will always trump both. The Whiskervilles run away and into some quicksand and Scrooge vows to return one day as laird and reclaim his family land. But that’s a story for a few chapters down the line. As for who the mystery duck is, he’s naturally Sir Quackely himself, or rather his ghost, who was simply guiding Scrooge and didn’t give him the treasure as simply handing him the money wouldnn’t restore their family’s good name or continue their bloodline now would it?

For now Scrooge returns to work for a bit before finding his way to America: A cattleboat to New Orleans looking for a Cabin Boy. And so Scrooge bids farewell to his family. His Dad, feeling bad he can’t even give his boy shilling, gives him the family pocketwatch with jake pitching in with the family gold dentures. While Scrooge naturally refuses to sell the watch, he does plan to sell the teeth as soon as possible for good reason. We then get some sweet goodbyes with him, his sisters (With hortense uttering her first words to everyone’s astonishment) and loving mother as he wonders just what awaits him in America.

And there he stands on the bow of a ship, heading for a new land, in New Orleans he can be a new man. And we’ll see just what kind of man he becomes as this series continues. For now this is the end of a chapter but the beginning of a lifetime.

Final Thoughts on Last of the Clan McDuck:

This story is excellent. While there are even better chapters to come, this one is still one of the most memorable and most joyous, showing just how Scrooge became what he is, where some of his values come from, others will be instilled along the way , and beginning to flesh out his family. We see Scrooge’s love of wealth comes from starting from the bottom, growing up with a family that barely had anything and badly needed everything, but was loving and instilled fine morals in him. We also see a Scrooge far removed from the bitter old man he is in present day, an optimistic naïve young lad who only wants best for his family. It’s a nice stark contrast to who he’ll become, good and bad, and a nice way to both compare him to Huey Dewey and Louie and break your heart as his own hardens before briefly turning black later on. The art, as is standard for this series and Rosa, is breathtaking, and the story isn’t lacking in good jokes, their just downplayed so the story itself can take center stage. There’s nothing really more to say: it’s an excellent start to an even more excellent tale and stands proud among an already stellar story as one of it’s finest outings.

NEXT RAINBOW: Scrooge goes down to the mighty Missipi to work on the riverboats and meets one of his signature Rogue’s for the first time in their first form, as well as Gyro’s dad.. or grandpa.. or possibly both I don’t know his family tree. Point is, tune in next time for some riverboat hyjinks. Until then if you’d like to comission an episode of any animated show, especially ducktales and the various other duck related disney shows, or another Duck Comics story you really like from Rosa, Barks or whoever you want really, I take commissions for 5 dollars a review, with 5 dollars off your full order when you put in for more than one episode or issue. You can also follow me on patreon.com/popculturebuffet and for just two bucks a month get access to polls (which i’ll start once we have at least three patreons), and my exclusive discord server. And if you liked this review be sure to reblog it to show off. My self promotion done until next time: There’s always another rainbow.

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