The youth of Madame de Longueville, or new revelations of court and convent in the seventeenth century

Step into the swirling world of 17th‑century French aristocracy through the eyes of a remarkably private young woman. This listening experience draws on a trove of unpublished letters and court documents that let her voice shine beyond the usual histories. Madame de Longueville's upbringing in the Carmelites of Rue Saint‑Jacques is rendered with vivid intimacy, showing how a convent could be both refuge and training ground for wit and ambition. The narrator weaves these sources into a narrative that feels like eavesdropping on whispered confidences.

We follow her early years at the grand balls of the Louvre and the refined salons of the Hôtel de Rambouillet, where she mingles with poets like Voiture and playwrights such as Corneille. Her friendships with figures like Mademoiselle Du Vigean and the future Prince de Condé reveal a network of love, rivalry, and intellectual exchange that shaped her character. These chapters capture the delicate balance between the glitter of courtly gallantry and the disciplined rhythm of religious life.