Mémoires touchant la vie et les ecrits de Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, (4/6)

In this intimate memoir, a well‑known French noblewoman recounts a summer of travel and reflection in 1671, when she left the Paris court for the provincial estates of Brittany. Accompanied by family and loyal servants, she describes the long, horse‑drawn journey across the heart of France, the hospitality of the château at Malicorne, and the quiet joy of reading letters from her beloved daughter.

Beyond the road, she offers vivid observations of court life versus country solitude, the bustling assemblies of Breton nobles, and the careful work of improving her own estates at Les Rochers. Her affection for the garden, the gardener Pilois, and even her dog Marphise provides a warm, human touch, while her thoughts on duty, expense, and the changing political landscape reveal a sharp, thoughtful mind engaged with the world around her.