La Duchesse

"A lively and instructive portrait of Marie de Vignerot, the niece, confidante, and heiress of Cardinal Richelieu,...[that] sheds light on the religious passions and political intrigues of seventeenth-century France."

  -- The New York Review of Books
"An engaging biography of Marie de Vignerot, duchesse d’Aiguillon. As an active patroness, Marie shaped the Catholic Church in France and overseas. McShea cuts defly through stereotypes to present a complex figure in a seventeenth-century France very different from that of the following centuries. Bronwen McShea has dispelled these shadows with a vivid biography that brings Marie’s accomplishments into focus within the context of their time." -- William Anthony Hay, The New Criterion
"The first biography of this estimable figure.  With her vivid chronicle, Ms. McShea has given a newly prominent place, in the rich tapestry of 17th-century France, to Maria de Vignerot, Duchesse d'Aiguillon.  She was, as we see, intelligent, loyal, discreet, and benevoluent, committed to good works throughout her long life." -- Allan Massie, The Wall Street Journal 
"Bronwen McShea relates this extraordinary vignette toward the end of La Duchesse, her new biography of this magnificent grande dame. Heiress to one of the most hated men in history and a lady who could stare down the Sun King, Vignerot might seem a severe subject for a biographer, but McShea’s authorial relationship with her duchess is one of affection and intimacy. McShea has done a great service with this rich, deeply researched, and lively book. Though a definitive biography of luxuriant detail, La Duchesse is disciplined by short and vivid chapters. It argues convincingly that Marie de Vignerot shaped both the Catholic Church and the French state at pivotal moments in their histories but has been unjustly forgotten by both." -- First Things
"La Duchesse lived a full life, and, as McShea illustrates, she exemplified how some iron-willed aristocratic women—Marie de’ Medici, Anne of Austria, and Henrietta Maria of England, to name just a few others—were able to shape events in ways that defy the stereotypes often projected back on the seventeenth centuryMcShea has not only brought back to life someone who has long deserved such a thorough biography. She has also demonstrated that power wielded from behind the scenes is often the most consequential." -- Samuel Gregg, Modern Age
"The very best historical biographies fire the imagination and read like great novels. What Bronwen McShea achieves so memorably with the life of Marie Madeleine de Vignerot in La Duchesse simply proves the point."

  -- The Catholic Thing
"The life and achievements of magnanimous French duchess and governor Marie-Madeleine de Vignerot du Pont de Courlay are finally explored in intimate detail after centuries of being overlooked. This biography transports readers to seventeenth-century France, absolutely immersing them in the enmeshment of royal politics, religion, and gender roles as Marie masters and changes each one of them forever, cementing her place in French history. Perfect for readers of French, women’s, and religious history as well as biography." 

  -- Booklist
"This book is a meticulously researched work that reads like a novel. It is exceptionally well-written with rich details of 17th-century France. This is a fine work that sheds light on the nearly forgotten story of a consequential figure in French history." -- Library Journal, starred review
“Filled with dramatic, often violent, seventeenth-century court and clergy intrigues, Bronwen McShea’s La Duchesse is meticulous. Adds much to church history and restores its intriguing and formidable subject to seventeenth-century France’s center stage.” -- Foreword Reviews
"In this jewel of a book,  Bronwen McShea brings a remarkable woman and her world to life so vividly that one can easily feel transported to seventeenth century France.  Painstakingly researched, beautifully written, perfectly paced, this is biography at its very best."

 

  -- Carlos Eire, author of Waiting for Snow in Havana, National Book Award 2003