Have you ever heard of La Maupin? You should, because she's a badass.
This book purports to have Julie-Emilie d'Aubigny, a.k.a. La Maupin, telling her crazy life story on her deathbed to a parish priest before she goes. We don't hear the father speak, but he must be having a lulu of a time hearing all of this. The book switches back and forth between acts and scenes and her narration and third person scenes describing the action. Julie started out as a teenager with an unusual upbringing, having an affair with her father's boss, being tokenly married off to a guy who's barely in her life, kidnapping a hot girl from a convent, and having a sweet opera career while periodically getting in duels. She's a blast. She has her dudes, she has her ladies (though she still feels bad about the girl she had to leave behind), she has a very loud and noisy time before she goes. Don't we all wish we had that kind of nerve?
Quote Corner:
- "I was a star, once. Did they tell you that? I was a goddess. Or am I just another sinner to you? I was a monster, once. That was my real sin. That was my downfall. Well, shut up and I"ll tell you."
- "Where do you want me to start? Do I have to confess my entire sordid life, or do you just want the highlights?"
- "Always please the audience, that's my motto. Give them what they want, or they'll tear you limb from limb."
- "I'll put on a show, if that's what you're after. If you want a doomed heroine, you have found her.
- "My life has been impossible. A fantasy. He didn't envisage any of it. Nobody could have. This life--my life--has never been lived before. No woman has ever soared to such heights, circled the planets as I have done, nor sunk to these--O Father, look at me, pity me--these utter depths."
- "From that moment on, it was all I wanted. Not much. Grandeur. Passion. Immortality. Music."
- "But to some people greatness comes naturally, just as inevitable as autumn after a brilliant summer. We must accept it. It's our burden."
- "I promise you, I have never sought anyone's death but my own."
- "I dressed not as a man, not as a woman--just as myself. As a chevalier who happened to be born female. I wore the clothes and the sword of a gentleman, but I wore them as a woman. I never let anyone forget who I truly was--am. Julie-Emilie. Mademoiselle d'Aubigny. Madame de Maupin. La Travesti. Nobody else. Me."
- "I've played many roles, many great women, queens, goddesses. But I am my own greatest creation. La Maupin."
- "Doesn't matter whether you're a baker's wife or a whore or a princess--if you have the strength, you can take a lover, write a motet, lead an army, rule a country."
- "It's my story that matters."
- "So Thevenard is not really surprised to find his dressing-room floor covered in horse shit."
I should direct you to the author's note:
"You probably think I made this up. I didn't. This novel is an interpretation of the life of the very real Julie d'Aubigny. All of the episodes described in this novel are based on documented events in her life. That doesn't mean that they really happened, because there are so many different accounts of her life it's now impossible to sift fact from what my grandmother used to call "romancing the truth." She created a few characters here and there or gave unnamed folks names.
"La Maupin's fame and infamy wax and wane--sometimes it seems she's been forgotten but she comes back fighting, notably in times of social change and debate around women's lives and sexuality. During her lifetime her exploits were recorded in diaries, gossip sheets and letters, plays and songs and stories; and later in dozens of almanacs and biographical encyclopaedias, books on the history of opera and fencing, biographies and novels, a ballet, feminist theory, at least one movie and even a French television series. Quite recently she was named "Badass of the Week" online, leading to a flurry of interest and an outpouring of fan illustrations and blog posts--even a skateboard design. She fascinates and defies her audience and her biographers. What is it about her? This novel is only one answer.
It has been a delight to spend several years in her company. I'm not sure what I'll do without her voice echoing in my ears. She is an exhilarating, often challenging, companion and I hope I've done justice to her life and her voice. She deserves it."
So yeah, this is a fun read, especially for ladies. Four stars.
Comments