The Exchange Of Princesses

(Paperback)

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Philippe d'Orlans, the regent of France, decides to marry 11-year-old Louis XV to the daughter of Philippe V of Spain, who is only four. Were Louis to die without begetting an heir, Orlans himself would finally be king. Orlans tosses his own daughter into the bargain, the 12-year-old Mademoiselle de Montpensier, who will marry the Prince of Asturias, the heir to the Spanish throne. The two nations trade their princesses in a grand ceremony in 1722, making bonds that should end the historical conflict; but nothing turns out as expected.

Reviews

"This is one vivid, engrossing, weird little book...[O]ne of the most fascinating historical narratives Ive ever read."Diana Gabaldon,The Washington Post

"A meticulous and vivid chronicle." Kirkus Reviews

"This exchange of princesses is delivered with cool-eyed cinematic detail...A brightly polished portrait of royal pomp and custom for historical fiction fans with big-picture tastes." Library Journal

"[Chantal] Thomashas crafted a pointed and witty novel that sheds light on two eighteenth-century princesses trapped byfamilial obligations and the capricious whims of the court."Booklist

Chantal Thomas evokes with passion and clarity the cruel fates of two princesses exchanged for the greatest glory of France and Spain and treated like inanimate pawns. She evokes the four-year old infanta uprooted and parachutedto Versailles only to be disdained by her royal fianc, and gives a moving and glowing portrait of the French princess who refuses to submit to the harsh demands of the royal Spanish family. A rare and beautiful example of distant history brought back to life with verve and feeling. Anka Muhlstein, author ofMonsieur Prousts Library

King Louis XV plays at war; the Queen Infanta of France plays at dolls. He is eleven; she is four. Chantal Thomas has written a shocking and brilliant historical account of two sets of royal alliancesor, more accurately, misallianceswritten with verve, irony and whimsyeven the Infantas dolls weigh in on this absorbing tale of unrequited conjugal love and political venality. Lily Tuck, author ofI Married You for Happiness

Two child princesses may be pawns in a ruthless game of state, but they triumph as characters [through whom we witness the absurdities of fate] in Chantal Thomass shrewdly observed and hugely entertaining novel of 18th century Spain and France. Molly Haskell, author ofMy Brother My Sister: Story of a Transformation

Its a grim tale of the abuse of children for royal purposes, entertainingly told.A grippingand eventful novel, sad and at timesamusing. Martha Saxton, writer and professor of History and Womens Studies at Amherst College

[Readers will] devour this story like a fairy tale. Elle (France)

The exchange of these princesses is straight out of a Cold War spy novel, taking place on an island in the middle of a river that serves as the border between the two kingdoms. But none of these young protagonists will play the adults game and the princesses will end up going home. Chantal Thomas excels at humanizing history and exposing what is at stake (or revealing its relevance). How do these children, sold in such a way by their parents, feel Will they love or hate each other These are the universal, timeless, questions, that this historical novel plays with, and which render it strikingly contemporary. Vogue (France)

We love [The Exchange of Princesses] because, as always with Chantal Thomas, winner of the 2002 Prix Femina for Farewell, My Queen, her stories dance on volcanoes. In her, the mighty of our world finish by bumping their noses against the whims of fate...A must-read if you still shy away from historical novels. That will change. Le Parisien

Delicious like childhood and cruel like life. Tlrama

Chantal Thomas made history a pungent, political, and intimate epic, told by a narrator whose empathy does not detract from the satirical irony. Le Magazine littraire

[With this] little known episode in history, Chantal Thomas writes a superb novel about violence against women and children, [showcasing] marriages as absurd as they are forced. Phosphore

Impressive. La Vie

A fascinating novel. Lexpress

Through her voicesensitive, alive, contemporary, sometimes raw[Thomas] manages to recreate how these sacrificed children lived, felt, feared, hoped and suffered. Point de Vue (France)

[Thomas] mixes fact and fiction to create her own novelistic space of a time that is at once free and cruel What Thomas details here, in this story of lives in gilded cages, is the birthor rejection ofdesire in children who do not have the words to articulate it because they, too, are locked up in the absurdity of etiquette and formal rituals that have been imposed on them. La Croix

To take history seriously only to grasp its ironic tragedy, this is great art...With delicious detail Chantal Thomas explores the hidden indignities of a century that exploited childhood even as it was inventing it, a delight of the form that is now wholly her own. Le Figaro

Chantal Thomas, a scholar brought up on Sade and Casanova, has clearly chosen, in her past few books, to hone in on dying aristocraciesnot out of snobbery, but because what she has to say about our beautiful present is reflected through, in her mind, the traditions of the past. Le Point

With the verve and delicacy for which she is known, Chantal Thomas reaffirms in these intense, feverish, and sensual pages her eye for detail and the painting of a scene, and her ability to turn a phrase that snaps like a riding crop. Lire

Chantal Thomas [is a] philosopher who brings historical erudition, pediatric science, bright tales of the heart, and breathtaking stories to the art of the novel and to theater. Le Nouvel Observateur

To these sacrificed childhoods, these bruised fates, this history disdained by historians, Chantal Thomass beautiful novel grants a late and dazzling revenge. Sud Ouest

A beautiful saga.Madame Figaro

Thanks to Chantal Thomas for having crafted such a joyful book out of such sad fates. Libration Supplment (Livres)

As with Farewell, My Queen (winner of the 2002 Prix Femina) and Le Testament dOlympe (2011), [Thomas] avoids the pitfalls of the historical novel by combining historical documentsletters, excerpts from Saint-Simons Memoirswith fiction. Le Temps, Samedi Culturel

With elegance and subtlety, Chantal Thomas pursues sensitive evocations of eighteenth-century France. Le Journal du Dimanche

While very classic, her writing still surprises, distilling irony in each sentence like a poison
Like Saint-Simon revised and edited by Sade. Les Inrockuptibles

Author Bio

Chantal Thomas is a noted philosopher and writer. She has taught at a number of American universities and is the author of twenty-five works, including novels, histories, short stories, plays, and essays. Her internationally acclaimed novel Farewell, My Queen, a fictional account of Marie Antoinette's final days in Versailles, won the Prix Femina in 2002 and was made into an award-winning film by Benoit Jacquot, and starred Diane Kruger. A film adaptation of The Exchange of Princesses, to be directed by Marc Dugain,is currently in the works. John Cullen was the translator of many books from Spanish, French, German, and Italian, including Siegfried Lenz's The Turncoat, Juli Zeh's Empty Hearts, Patrick Modiano's Villa Triste, Kamel Daoud's The Meursault Investigation, and Philippe Claudel's Brodeck.