CUSTINE ROBERT DE Les Bourbons de Goritz et les Bourbons d’Espagne. Paris: Ladvocat, 1839.
Lot 77
600800
In-8.
Contemporary red half morocco, crowned monogram in gold in the centre of the covers, smooth spine, untrimmed.
Bound with the monogram of Marie-Louise, Duchess of Parma, herself in exile.
First edition.
In this work, Robert de Custine (cousin of Astolphe de Custine, author of La Russie en 1839) recounts a pilgrimage to Gorizia (Goritz), the city where Charles X went into exile following the July Revolution, and where he died in 1836. Custine describes the life of the royal family in exile and provides an extensive portrait of Henri de France, the grandson of Charles X and claimant to the French throne. Custine then travels on to Brunnsee in Styria to visit the Duchess of Berry, wife of Charles X’s son, who was also living in exile. The second and third parts of the work are devoted to the Spanish branch of the Bourbons.
In Salzburg, Custine gained access to the inner circle of Marie-Thérèse of France, Princess of Beira, who would later become the wife of the Infante Charles of Bourbon. In 1833, he proclaimed himself King of Spain under the name Charles V, and Custine describes their journey to France for their wedding in 1838. Following his defeat in the First Carlist War in 1839, Charles V sought refuge in France. He never acceded to the throne and died in exile in Trieste in 1855.