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The Siècle history podcast @thesiecle.com · 8h

(It may have been December 2017, now that I think about it.)

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The Siècle history podcast @thesiecle.com · 8h

Well, in 2018 I thought I'd start a little history podcast to occupy my time in between jobs. 552,000 words later...

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The Siècle history podcast @thesiecle.com · 27/09/2026

Here's the relevant passages from pages 333-4 of Puymaigre's memoirs. The full book is free online: play.google.com/store/books/...

C'est dans cet état d'anxiété qu'acheva de s'écouler
l'année 1829. Dans le mois d'octobre, j'eus l'honneur
de donner à déjeuner à madame la duchesse de Berry ,
qui passa un jour à Mâcon, allant au-devant de son
père, le roi de Naples. On lui fit fête, et comme elle ne
voulait pas sortir de son incognito , elle refusa un bal
que je lui offris , mais se montra fort satisfaite d'une
petite guerre de nuit dont le spectacle lui fut donné
par le troisième régiment d'infanterie légère en garnison
à Mâcon .
J'allai cet hiver à Paris ; si j'avais eu besoin de me
confirmer dans l'opinion que toute la France partageait
de la nullité du prince de Polignac , il m'aurait suffi de
la visite que je lui fis à cette époque, me croyant obligé
de lui dire la vérité sur les funestes avant- coureurs
d'une révolution dont les symptômes étaient partout.
Il reçut mes communications avec une suffisance qu'il
prenait pour de la fermeté, avec cet optimisme dont
l'homme imprudent fait parade en pensant qu'il a tout

prévu, tout jugé d'avance. Enfin ce ministre , de si
désastreuse mémoire , me parut ne connaître ni la
France, ni les hommes, ni ce qu'il fallait craindre,
ni les ressources qui restaient au Roi : ( «
Ils n'oseront
rien , ils ne feront rien , monsieur le préfet , tout se
passera en vains propos ; il n'y a qu'une ébullition à
la surface ; en soufflant dessus , tout disparaîtra . » Ge
fut la conclusion sur laquelle je le quittai en haus-
sant les épaules. Dès que je fus hors de son cabinet,
j'allai raconter mon audience au duc de Fitz-James et
au duc de Maillé. « Ce pauvre Jules , me dit le premier ,
se croit une autre pucelle d'Orléans envoyée pour le
salut de la France . Il perdra le Roi » ,
» , me répondit
le second. La prophétie s'est vérifiée .

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The Siècle history podcast @thesiecle.com · 27/09/2026

This quote also reinforces my claim in the episode that Polignac didn't need mysticism to believe there would be no revolution because he thought revolution would be a plot by elite conspirators, a plot Polignac would head off by catching them by surprise. "THEY will dare nothing."

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The Siècle history podcast @thesiecle.com · 27/09/2026

This doesn't change my conclusion that Polignac *probably* did not believe himself to be receiving visions, but it does support the idea that some version of this story was circulating in post-1830 salons, and that Fitz-James was probably one of those spreading it.

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The Siècle history podcast @thesiecle.com · 27/09/2026

Now, this is not a reliable claim from a direct eyewitness to Polignac talking about visions. There's still none of that — everything is 2 or 3 steps removed. But it is a reliable claim that a key vector in the transmission of the Polignac Visions story, Fitz-James, was thinking along those lines.

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The Siècle history podcast @thesiecle.com · 27/09/2026

The Maid of Orleans is Joan of Arc, who famously was motivated by visions she said were divine (though from the Archangel Michael and several saints, not Mary). So, hmmm.

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The Siècle history podcast @thesiecle.com · 27/09/2026

But Puymaigre continues to say that he left his meeting with Polignac and went to tell none other than the Duc de Fitz-James about what just happened. He says Fitz-James replied, "Poor Jules thinks himself another Maid of Orléans sent for the salvation of France."

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The Siècle history podcast @thesiecle.com · 27/09/2026

Note important context for all of this: Puymaigre is writing this account after the July Revolution; he calls Polignac someone "whose memory is so disastrous", and as a Legitimist has an obvious motivation to scapegoat Polignac for the fall of the Bourbon Restoration.

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The Siècle history podcast @thesiecle.com · 27/09/2026

Puymaigre says Polignac closed this meeting by saying: "They will dare nothing, they will do nothing, Monsieur le Préfet; it will all amount to idle talk; it is merely a surface agitation; a mere breath will make it all vanish."

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The Siècle history podcast @thesiecle.com · 27/09/2026

In Puymaigre's memoirs, published posthumously in 1884, he describes meeting with Polignac in the winter of 1829-30. Puymaigre says he came to warn the prime minister about discontent — "the ominous signs of a revolution." Polignac had "an air of self-importance [Polignac] mistook for firmness."

François Gérard, portrait of Jules de Polignac, 19th Century.

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The Siècle history podcast @thesiecle.com · 27/09/2026

That takes me to a memoir I uncovered today while researching something else entirely. Comte Alexandre de Puymaigre was close to Charles X's daughter-in-law the Duchesse d'Angoulême, and served as a prefect throughout the 1820s. Puymaigre was also an ultraroyalist who was skeptical of Polignac.

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The Siècle history podcast @thesiecle.com · 27/09/2026

Back in Fact Check 3, I found many of the claims about Polignac's visions traced back to the Duc de Fitz-James, a leading ultraroyalist. For example, Auguste Jal's 1877 memoirs describe meeting Fitz-James "often in 1831," and that Fitz-James there told him that Polignac claimed to see Marian visions

Jacques Étienne Pannier after Lizinska de Mirbel, “Édouard de Fitz-James, duc de Fitz-James,” 1835. Public domain via Wikimedia Commons.

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The Siècle history podcast @thesiecle.com · 27/09/2026

Earlier, I looked into the widespread claims that Jules de Polignac believed himself to be receiving visions from the Virgin Mary during the July Revolution. I tracked down all the claims I could find and found most of them dubious at best. But today I found some new information on this mystery!

thesiecle.com

Fact Check 3: Polignac's Visions

French prime minister Jules de Polignac believed he was receiving visions of the Virgin Mary during France's 1830 July Revolution — or so many sources claim....

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The Siècle history podcast @thesiecle.com · 18/09/2026

Hmm, looks like the first few minutes might have been cut off? I'll look into it.

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The Siècle history podcast @thesiecle.com · 18/09/2026

My first livestreamed aftershow is wrapped! If you missed it, you can watch the full discussion here:

youtube.com

Episode 51 live aftershow

YouTube video by The Siècle

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The Siècle history podcast @thesiecle.com · 17/09/2026

I thought Balzac's Père Goriot was a *fascinating* book, but I can't say I enjoyed reading it. I kind of had to force myself to keep going. But I'm 45 pages in to Raymond MacKenzie's recent translation of Lost Illusions and so far I'm loving it.

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The Siècle history podcast @thesiecle.com · 17/09/2026

Join me tonight for my first-ever aftershow!

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The Siècle history podcast @thesiecle.com · 16/09/2026

The cumulative word count of The Siècle episode transcripts by category. The x-axis is the order of all episodes, not just main ones (hence why the numbers go past 70 when I just released Ep. 51). "Excerpts" are readings of period books. "Supplemental" includes Fact-Check episodes.

A line chart titled "Cumulative word count by primary category"

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The Siècle history podcast @thesiecle.com · 15/09/2026

Got burning questions about Episode 51: The House of Orleans? Come join me Thursday at 6 p.m. Central Time (7 ET / 11 UTC) for a live aftershow. I'll take questions about the episode, my research process, anecdotes that didn't make the script, and more. (No need to be a Patreon backer to join!)

patreon.com

Episode 51 live aftershow this Thursday | The Siècle podcast

On Thursday, September 17, 2026, I'll be hosting a live aftershow to discuss Episode 51: The House of Orleans! Join me in the live chat with

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The Siècle history podcast @thesiecle.com · 14/09/2026

🎵 There is a house they call Orleans They keep on raising sons And it's been the ruin of the elder line They're gone, the old Bourbons 🎵

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The Siècle history podcast @thesiecle.com · 15/09/2026

As François & his family arrived for the dinner, they were suddenly pushed to the side by a group of armed soldiers, escorting a precious treasure they announced in a thundering voice: "La viande du Roi!" Or, roughly, "Make way for the King's meat!" Young François never forgot this moment.

François d'Orléans, "La viande du Roi!," 19th Century. Public domain via Wikimedia Commons.

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The Siècle history podcast @thesiecle.com · 15/09/2026

But François's most dominant memory of Louis XVIII's 1824 Twelfth Night party was not of finding the bean, nor of crowning his favorite aunt the evening's queen. It had to do with the supreme importance that Louis XVIII placed on food. (He was mocked as "Louis des huitres," Louis of the oysters.)

Unknown artist, detail from "Glorieux règne de 19 ans. Comme il gouverne depuis 15 ans," 1815. Public domain via Wikimedia Commons.

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The Siècle history podcast @thesiecle.com · 15/09/2026

Growing up in proximity to the royal court, François would later say King Louis XVIII featured in his earliest memory. The occasion is January 1824, at a Twelfth Night (Epiphany) dinner Louis hosted at the Tuileries Palace. François would find the bean in the galette du roi, a big deal for a kid.

Antoine-Jean Gros, portrait of King Louis XVIII, 1816. Public domain via Wikimedia Commons.

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The Siècle history podcast @thesiecle.com · 15/09/2026

This is François again, some 6-7 years earlier. He's the little child at far right. He and some of his siblings are being presented to France's then-king, Louis XVIII. François's dad is Louis XVIII's cousin.

Louis XVIII meets Marie, Louise, Louis, Clementine, and François d'Orléans, in the year or two before Louis XVIII's 1824 death. François d'Orléans, detail from "Présentation au roi Louis XVIII," 19th Century.

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The Siècle history podcast @thesiecle.com · 15/09/2026

This little scamp is François. He's 12 years old in this picture, and in two months his father Louis-Philippe will become King of the French. An older François was also the artist of this painting. He was a watercolorist and painted many scenes from his life, including voyages & revolutions.

A 12-year-old François d'Orléans climbs on the balcony of the Palais-Royal in Paris during a May 1830 party. François d'Orléans, detail from "Bonjour, mon peuple!," after 1830. Public domain via Wikimedia Commons.

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The Siècle history podcast @thesiecle.com · 14/09/2026

🎵 There is a house they call Orleans They keep on raising sons And it's been the ruin of the elder line They're gone, the old Bourbons 🎵

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The Siècle history podcast @thesiecle.com · 14/09/2026

A young man attends plays with a playwright. Sounds educational! But these two — the new Duc d'Orléans & Alexandre Dumas — were among the most notorious horndogs of their day, & their post-play chats focused more on actresses than scripts. Find out more in Episode 51: thesiecle.com/episode51/

Ary Scheffer, Ferdinand Philippe, Duke of Orleans (1810-1842), in hussar's uniform, circa 1830.

Achille Devéria, drawing of Alexandre Dumas, 1829.

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David H. Montgomery @dhmontgomery.com · 14/09/2026

Marie-Amélie, wife of future French King Louis-Philippe, was pregnant almost exactly 50% of the time over a 14-year period from December 1809 through July 1824. A fun new episode of my history podcast:

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The Siècle history podcast @thesiecle.com · 14/09/2026

NEW EPISODE: A handsome prince with a never-ending parade of mistresses. A woman slyly subverting gender roles to influence policy behind the scenes. A deaf sea-captain, sailing the world and fighting slavery. A... thrifter? Meet the July Monarchy's massive royal family:

thesiecle.com

Episode 51: The House of Orleans

A handsome prince yearning to be his own man as he moves from lover to lover. A woman slyly subverting gender roles to influence France from behind the scene...

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The Siècle history podcast @thesiecle.com · 14/09/2026

Merry Sièclemas to everyone who celebrates.

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The Siècle history podcast @thesiecle.com · 14/09/2026

Merry Sièclemas! (To Patrons only — everyone else can celebrate in an hour.)

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Elyse Graham @elysegraham.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

(professor voice) Students, I submit to you that the mid-19th century was anything but mid

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The Siècle history podcast @thesiecle.com · 11/09/2026

Ironically the correct pronunciation appears to be much closer to how I would have first guessed, before I started doing research and wandered down the wrong path.

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The Siècle history podcast @thesiecle.com · 11/09/2026

Yeah, something about it didn't seem right to me.

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The Siècle history podcast @thesiecle.com · 11/09/2026

I weirdly had more difficult with Apponyi this episode than I did with "Seweryna Sobańska," which was actually fairly straightforward to say once I worked out the phonetic spelling.

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The Siècle history podcast @thesiecle.com · 11/09/2026

Do any of my followers speak Hungarian? I'm looking for pronunciation help on the name "Apponyi" — one site said "a-PON-ee-eye" and I want to make sure before recording it.

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Pontifacts: Ranking the Popes @pontifactspod.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Where else will you have the opportunity to stay overnight in a monastery AND attend a papal audience?! Join the Pontifacts Tour of Italy now!! Jan 30-Feb 7, 2027 tinyurl.com/pontifactstour

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The Siècle history podcast @thesiecle.com · 10/09/2026

Printed a PDF of my upcoming episode's script for review. 10,000 words, 53 footnotes, and 29 pages including 27 different public domain works of art. Coming soon!

A promotional image for Episode 51 of The Siècle: The House of Orleans, featuring unknown artist, detail from portrait of King Louis-Philippe of France and his family, 19th Century. Public domain via Wikimedia Commons.

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The Siècle history podcast @thesiecle.com · 10/09/2026

I have a soft spot for the phrase, "The [X] of kings and the king of [X]." Jacques Laffitte was called the "banker of kings and the king of bankers." Artist François Gérard was the "painter of kings and the king of bankers." The antimetabole is delicious.

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