Ile de la Tortue
Apr. 4th, 2019 10:26 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
chocolatepotDamp air trapped in limestone caverns, heady greenery, hothouse orchids, nicotiana blossoms, bois de chandel, elemi, palm wine, garambullo, pega-pega, flame of the forest, and a swirl of Haitian vetiver.
I know what almost none of this smells like and can't pick out any notes (even wet stone or greenery), but it is definitely a warm, tropical floral! I feel like I'm getting some kind of citrus, too. Eventually (after lunch) faded into something that just tickles my nose.
Haven't been up for writing much at AH lately due to the work drama, and then the busyness of everyday life. But I did just answer this one: Louis XV kept a place called Parc-aux-Cerfs (The Deer Park): a harem of young women he could have sex with. What was it like and what kind of life would the women of the deer park have? (The answer is, of course, "wow, you're wrong," as per usual.)
I know what almost none of this smells like and can't pick out any notes (even wet stone or greenery), but it is definitely a warm, tropical floral! I feel like I'm getting some kind of citrus, too. Eventually (after lunch) faded into something that just tickles my nose.
Haven't been up for writing much at AH lately due to the work drama, and then the busyness of everyday life. But I did just answer this one: Louis XV kept a place called Parc-aux-Cerfs (The Deer Park): a harem of young women he could have sex with. What was it like and what kind of life would the women of the deer park have? (The answer is, of course, "wow, you're wrong," as per usual.)
no subject
Date: 2019-04-06 11:53 am (UTC)Sweden only ever had one official mistress (though of course kings had mistresses, just not openly) and it was a HUGE scandal in puritan Sweden. And poor Hedvig Taube didn't have a very fun life. She was basically sold to Frederick I when she was 17 and he was 55
no subject
Date: 2019-04-10 08:13 pm (UTC)Do you know of any English-language books on her? I'm trying to get out of my England/France box and be able to talk about royalty and women's lives in other European countries.
no subject
Date: 2019-04-11 09:22 am (UTC)But historical biographies, if not about a king, is a really neglected field in Sweden. It's like Gustav Badin who was one of the most fascinating members of the Royal court in the late 18th century. Born a slave he was brought to Sweden when he was about 10 and given as a present to Queen Lovisa Ulrika. Well, technically he became free as soon as he set foot on Swedish ground, but a child isn't exactly autonomous. She took a great liking to him, and he was raised as a playmate to the royal children, allowed to treat and talk to them as equals. Also, Lovia Ulrika, who was a great fan of Rosseau, decided to raise him exactly after Rosseau's directives. AFAIK this is the only example where Rosseau's theories were made practical. I didn't work. Badin becomes so unmanageable it was decided he need some boundaries. He grew up into a very intelligent, charming and well-educated man. He stayed in Lovisa Ulrika's household until she died; one of the few who could handle her because she was notoriously difficult and quarreled with just about everyone. He then went into the household of his foster sister Princess Sophia Albertina. She never married, and yes, there were rumours they were lovers, but nothing has ever been proven.
And is there anything written about him? Oh, two or three articles, that's all.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustav_Badin