author
Duchesse de Louise Elisabeth Tourzel
1749–1832
A close witness to the final years of the French monarchy, she served as the last governess to the children of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. Her memoirs preserve a vivid, personal view of court life, revolution, imprisonment, and survival.
2 Audiobooks
Mémoires de Madame la Duchesse de Tourzel, tome second Gouvernante des enfants de France pendant les années 1789 à 1795
by Duchesse de Louise Elisabeth Tourzel
Mémoires de Madame la Duchesse de Tourzel, tome premier Gouvernante des enfants de France pendant les années 1789 à 1795
by Duchesse de Louise Elisabeth Tourzel
About the author
Born in Paris in 1749, Louise Élisabeth de Croÿ became the Marquise de Tourzel and later Duchess de Tourzel. She is best remembered for serving as the last governess of the royal children of France, a role that placed her at the center of the court during the most dramatic years of the French Revolution.
She remained loyal to the royal family and accompanied them during the tense move from Versailles to Paris in October 1789. In 1791, she and her daughter were part of the royal family's attempted escape known as the Flight to Varennes, traveling in disguise alongside the king, queen, and their children.
Tourzel later wrote memoirs that have made her an important firsthand voice for readers interested in Marie Antoinette, Louis XVI, and the fall of the ancien régime. Her writing is valued not just for political history, but for its human detail: the fears, routines, and private strain of a family living through catastrophe.