At least that is what the King of France, Louis XVI, feels. He might live in Versailles, in the most beautiful castle in the world, be at the heart of attentions and tributes, he feels a prisoner. A shame for an absolute monarch. Except on the occasion of his coronation in Reims, Louis never traveled. One fine day, against the advice of his closest advisers, the one who has the reputation of being an eternal hesitant decides to go to Normandy, to Cherbourg, to formalize the work of the deep water dyke. The purpose of this project is to found a leading naval base in order to be able to compete with the English on the seas. This Norman escape, which took place between June 21 and 29, 1786, was the only real trip to the provinces of his reign (if we except the failed escape from Varennes in June 1791).
Gérard de Cortanze's last novel is inspired by this relatively unknown episode of the reign of Louis XVI.
Very researched from a historical point of view, it skillfully melts what holds of the veracity
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