Leurs Excellences

A lively epistolary portrait unfolds as a witty niece writes to her beloved aunt from the grand yet fading court of Sauer‑Apfel. Through her letters we wander past glittering garlands, formal receptions and the bemusing customs of princes, chanoines and a flamboyant chancellor, all rendered with a gentle, ironic eye. The narrator’s observations on poetry, etiquette and the peculiar “grand couvert” reveal a world where ceremony masks insecurity, and every courteous bow hides a hint of satire.

The correspondence also hints at underlying tensions—an uneasy shift in power, the prince’s mysterious dental woes, and the family’s nostalgic ties to distant emperors. Alongside charming descriptions of music, moonlit gardens and the ever‑present rivalry between tradition and progress, the letters invite listeners to savor a slice of 19th‑century aristocratic life, brimming with humor, cultural clash, and the delicate art of writing home.