Marie Louise Victoire de Donnissan de La Rochejaquelein née ''marquise de Lescure'' (25 October 1772 - 15 February 1857), was a French

memoirist A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based in the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autobiog ...

. She is known for her memoirs, depicting her misfortunes and her part in the Vendée wars.

Life

She was born at

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, ...

as the daughter of the courtier Guy Joseph de Donnissan and the lady-in-waiting Marie-Françoise de Durfort-Civrac. She was a member of a court family, and the god-daughter of

Madame Victoire Madame may refer to: * Madam, civility title or form of address for women, derived from the French * Madam (prostitution), a term for a woman who is engaged in the business of procuring prostitutes, usually the manager of a brothel * ''Madame'' ( ...

. She and her mother left court after the outbreak of the French revolution in 1789, and retired to the family property in the country.

French revolution

In 1791, she married her cousin the marquis de Lescure, whith whom she had been engaged since childhood. The couple intended to emigrate in February 1792, but decided to stay in Paris on the request of the queen, and attended the royal court. She describe both the

Demonstration of 20 June 1792 The Demonstration of 20 June 1792 (french: Journée du 20 juin 1792) was the last peaceful attempt made by the people of Paris to persuade King Louis XVI of France to abandon his current policy and attempt to follow what they believed to be a more ...

as well as the

Storming of the Tuileries The Insurrection of 10 August 1792 was a defining event of the French Revolution, when armed revolutionaries in Paris, increasingly in conflict with the French monarchy, stormed the Tuileries Palace. The conflict led France to abolish the m ...

in her memoirs. She and her spouse left Paris before the

September massacres The September Massacres were a series of killings of prisoners in Paris that occurred in 1792, from Sunday, 2 September until Thursday, 6 September, during the French Revolution. Between 1,176 and 1,614 people were killed by '' fédérés'', g ...

. She accompanied her spouse during the

Revolt in the Vendée Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority. A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...

. She became a widow in 1793. She left for Spain in 1797.

Later life

She was able to return to France in 1799. When a conciliatory policy was adopted, she managed to save much of the property of herself and her late spouse. In 1802, she secondly married , the cousin of her first spouse, and retired with him to her estates, both refusing all offers to serve in any capacity under Napoleon. In 1814, the couple took an active part in the

Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of governm ...

movement in and about

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture ...

, when her spouse attempted to bring about another Vendan rising for

Louis XVIII Louis XVIII (Louis Stanislas Xavier; 17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824), known as the Desired (), was King of France from 1814 to 1824, except for a brief interruption during the Hundred Days in 1815. He spent twenty-three years in e ...

, for which he was killed. She died at

Orléans Orléans (;"Orleans"
(US) and Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture ...

in 1815. They are considered to give a remarkable picture of the war and the fortunes of the

Royalists A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of governm ...

References

1772 births 1857 deaths 18th-century French memoirists French marchionesses Cent People of the War in the Vendée {{France-nonfiction-writer-stub