In the Footsteps of Marie-Antoinette | Conciergerie | TORCH | The Oxford Research Centre in the Humanities

Painting by William Hamilton (1794) of Marie-Antoinette taken to her execution, pleadingly gazing to the sky, wearing a simple white dress and bonnet, her hands tied at the back by a guard. On her right a priest and in front of her four soldiers.

Catriona Seth Marshal Foch Professor of French Literature at the University of Oxford, heads for Paris in her pursuit of Marie-Antoinette.

First stop is the Conciergerie, where Marie-Antoinette spent her final days before being executed on 16 October 1793 at the age of 37, to meet Cecile Rives (Administratrice Conciergerie/Sainte-Chapelle/Tours de Notre-Dame de Paris). Then it's on to see Chantal Thomas, author of best-selling novel, 'Les Adieux a la Reine' (later made into a film by Benoit Jaquot), and 'La Reine Scelerate, Marie-Antoinette dans les Pamphlets'.

Music | Excerpts from 'Alceste' by Gluck, licensed courtesy of Naxos Music UK Ltd.

Cover image | Wikimedia Commons - Marie-Antoinette being taken to her execution by William Hamilton (1794).

Production | ChromeRadio for TORCH / Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages, University of Oxford | Producer - Catriona Oliphant.

℗ TORCH / Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages, University of Oxford

In the Footsteps of Marie-Antoinette | Conciergerie

Podcast Series | Episode 3