Title: The Exchange of Princesses Author: Chantal Thomas
Published: July 7, 2015
Genre(s): Historical Fiction
Page Count: 336
Rating:
Summary from Goodreads:Philippe d’Orléans, the regent of France, has a gangrenous heart–the result of a life of debauchery, alcohol, power, and flattery. One morning in 1721, he has a brilliant idea to further appease his thirst for power: he decides to marry eleven-year-old Louis the XV to the daughter of Philippe V of Spain, who is only four. This, Orléans hopes, will tie his kingdom to Spain’s. But it could also have a more duplicitous effect: were Louis XV to die without begetting an heir–the likeliness of which is greatly increased by having a child—Orléans himself would finally be king. In exchange, Orléans tosses his own daughter into the bargain, the 12-year-old Mlle de Montpensier, who will marry the Prince of Asturias, the inheritor of the Spanish throne.
The Spanish court enthusiastically agrees and arrangements are quickly made. The two nations trade their princesses in a grand ceremony in 1722, making bonds that should end the historical conflict between them. Of course, nothing turns out as expected. In a novel that reads like a fairy tale, Chantal Thomas chronicles a time in French history when children were not children, but pawns in an adult’s game.
Exploring the initially optimistic (but ultimately dismal) marriages of two 18th century princesses, Chantal Thomas’s The Exchange of Princesses is a well-researched investigation of royal marriages and their consequences. Alternating chapters tell of Infanta Marianna of Spain and Princess Louise Élisabeth d’Orléans, two prepubescent girls who are sent abroad to marry young kings, sight unseen. Neither marriage ends happily, and the author explores why, and additionally attempts to shed light on the princesses’ thoughts in regards to their husbands and their marriages.
All meta-information regarding this book says its a novel but aside from a few dramatized scenes (which aren’t too unusual in biographies or memoirs) functions exactly like nonfiction. Excerpts from letters are included in block quotes, and Thomas presents events and people in a fairly clinical style. The characters themselves have no interiority, as the book only relays what facts can support. A biography by any other name is still a biography, and even though The Exchange of Princesses has a semi-narrative structure and a specific thematic focus, I wouldn’t classify this as fiction in any way—the presentation is too formal and not story-like.
Chantal Thomas’s writing took some getting used too as it’s not only clinical, but written in the present tense. Historical accounts always seem most natural in past tense, and the first few chapters were, as a result of this shift from expectations, a bit hard to get into. I never quite got over how jarring the verb tenses were, and I’m not sure that the author’s choice here added anything to the book (perhaps in the original French it does). I wouldn’t call the writing poor in quality or substandard in any other respect, but it was certainly different.
The Exchange of Princesses naturally has a very narrow focus, but within that sphere, the author’s attention to detail was superb. Because of the purely fact-based nature of the book, Thomas was able to provide endless context and information into the lives of the two princesses. Outside knowledge of the period is not required, but would perhaps be helpful, as the book does not provide a broader understanding of the historical period as a whole, though it obviously makes numerous references to the political situations in France and Spain.
The stated purpose of this book is to “inhabit these children’s hearts [and reveal] the emotional chaos their guardians’ routine betrayals and manipulations inflicted on them” (or so says Professor Martha Sexton in the introduction). Did it accomplish this? Perhaps. What The Exchange of Princesses does is to explore two spectacularly failed 18th century royal marriages. Because of the more detached style in writing, I wouldn’t go so far as to say Thomas went so far as to inhabit Marianna and Louise Élisabeth’s hearts. However, I do think this book succeeded at demonstrating the gameplay and machinations that went into royal marriages at the time, and the complete lack of power children had in regards to choice of spouse (even if you’re King of France).
As has been stated, the book is well-written and well-researched, not lacking in detail, context, or credibility in either way. I didn’t find The Exchange of Princesses to be a struggle to read; however, neither did I necessarily find it to be the most accessible or well-constructed text. That being said, I found the book to be interesting and enlightening and worthwhile, and highly indicative of European marriage politics of the era.
