Quotes and Images From Memoirs of Cardinal De Retz

Jean François Paul de Gondi, Cardinal de RetzProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 3.0

Word count: 4.2K words
Chapters: 1

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971, and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today. Quotes and Images From Memoirs of Cardinal De Retz by Retz. Author: Retz, Jean François Paul de Gondi de, 1613-1679. Language: English. Class: DC: History: General and Eastern Hemisphere: France, Andorra, Monaco. Release Date: Feb 1, 2005

Editor's review

This book is Project Gutenberg's English-language compilation of excerpts and images from the Memoirs of Cardinal de Retz. De Retz stood at the heart of the seventeenth-century French Fronde, and his memoirs are known for vivid character portraits and political observation. This collection gathers passages that stand on their own, together with images, so readers can quickly encounter the tone and perspective of the original. Its strengths are brevity and easy lookup; it suits as supplementary material for courses on French history or as a source of quotations for writing. Its limits are equally clear: the excerpts are cut off from the narrative thread, so historical background and personal relationships must be supplied by the reader, and the correspondence between images and text is not strictly annotated. It is better suited to readers with a definite purpose in consulting it than to beginners encountering modern French history for the first time and expecting a systematic account.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Researchers of modern French history who need to locate key quotations from the memoirs quickly
University history teachers and students using it as supplementary reading for topics on the Fronde
Writers and translators seeking source language for seventeenth-century political narrative
Readers of public-domain ebooks interested in Project Gutenberg's organization of historical sources

Not a good fit for

Beginners new to French history, who will struggle to understand the excerpts without background
Readers expecting a systematic historical narrative, since an excerpt collection offers no continuous thread
Researchers needing scholarly annotation and textual criticism, as the book's commentary is limited

Reading tips

First learn the basic outline of the Fronde, then read the excerpts to reduce obstacles to understanding
Group quotations by person or event and read them alongside relevant histories
Browse images and text together, noting the compiler's choices and arrangement
The excerpts suit card-style note-taking but should not replace a close reading of the full memoirs

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this a complete English translation of de Retz's memoirs?

No. It is an English-language compilation of excerpts and images assembled by Project Gutenberg, selecting passages from the memoirs rather than a complete translation. To understand the work systematically, seek out a full edition.

Can readers without knowledge of French history understand this book?

With some difficulty. The excerpts are detached from the narrative thread and involve figures and events of the Fronde. It is better to acquire background in seventeenth-century French history first, then consult this book.

What is the purpose of the images in this book?

The images help convey the atmosphere of the period and the tone of the text, and are suitable for classroom display or as reference illustrations for writing. However, the book does not annotate the images in detail, so users must verify sources and context themselves.

Is this excerpt collection suitable as a primary source for historical research?

It can serve as a source of leads and quotations, but should not be used alone as a primary source. Rigorous research should return to the full memoirs and authoritative editions to check context and differences in translation.

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Jean François Paul de Gondi, Cardinal de Retz Author · French · 1613–1679

Jean François Paul de Gondi de Retz (1613–1679), commonly known as Cardinal de Retz, was a French churchman, politician, and memoirist from the Florentine-descended Gondi family. He served as coadjutor archbishop of Paris, took an active part in the Fronde, and later became a cardinal. In his later years he lived in retirement and devoted himself to writing; his Memoirs are noted for their vivid narrative and sharply drawn characters and are regarded as a classic of seventeenth-century French literature. The collection holds the complete Memoirs and Volumes 1 to 4, along with a selection of quotes and images from the Cardinal de Retz Memoirs, six titles in all. Public information is limited, so further biographical details are omitted here.