The English version of Yalom's book (I say version, because it's not just a translation of the French version. Or the French version isn't a translation of the English - I'm not sure which came first) is called Blood Sisters; the French version is called Le temps des orages. Unfortunately, the vast majority of both books are comprised of aristocratic memoirs, for a number of reasons which have more to do with their availability and abundance than Yalom's choices. In any case, the chapters on Élisabeth Le Bas, Charlotte Robespierre and Manon Roland are interesting, as are the few mentions of Mmes Jullien and Cavaignac.
Guffroy seems like a pretty repulsive character even without attempting to break up Élisabeth and Le Bas. Apparently he was something of an ultra (who was however, somehow close to the Dantonistes - Camille Desmoulins praises him in his journal at the same time that they're pursuing opposite objectives: Camille calls for indulgence, Guffroy writes that the Terror should be "augmented") turned rabid Thermidorian and was on the committee that created Courtois's report. That said, Guffroy was also, like Le Bas and Robespierre, from Artois, which depending on how well Le Bas new his character at this point, might have made him more willing to trust him. As for Guffroy's motives, it's hard to say. Was he trying to get Le Bas away from Robespierre? That would make some sense if he already hated Robespierre by this point, but there's little evidence that he did. You're probably right, though, to suspect that there's something more complicated going on here that Élisabeth doesn't know about.
You also do get the feeling that Élisabeth feels herself valued by her family, it's not quite the dismal picture of girls being a curse to marry off to the first person to ask in the Duplay household, which is rather to their credit. I feel rather like saying "Take that, Hilary Mantel!" here. But it's true, Mme Duplay does seem more protective of her Élisabeth than anything else.
perhaps Mme Duplay was saying she wasn't getting her scatty, innocent youngest tied up with a political husband until Robespierre thought it was safe to marry Éléonore. It's an interesting theory. Obviously, Robespierre himself didn't agree. But it's quite probable that if that was his reason for not marrying Éléonore, he didn't think of it as applying to other politicians, only to himself.
As for Sophie, she married Antoine Auzat, a lawyer from Issoire, but curiously, the only source I can find that says when she was married claims that it wasn't until 9 October 1791, which would contradict all the other sources that claim she was already out of the house by the time Robespierre arrived. (Though I suppose it's theoretically possible that she could have been out of the house during what was presumably her engagement, staying with friends or relatives, the way Élisabeth claims to have done in her memoirs.) However that may be, it would certainly seem more to confirm than to invalidate your theory that Mme Duplay was more wary of political marriages than marrying her youngest off before her eldest per se.
if I had to fanfic it, that's how I'd write it. You should. It would be interesting to see your take on it in action, as it were.
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Guffroy seems like a pretty repulsive character even without attempting to break up Élisabeth and Le Bas. Apparently he was something of an ultra (who was however, somehow close to the Dantonistes - Camille Desmoulins praises him in his journal at the same time that they're pursuing opposite objectives: Camille calls for indulgence, Guffroy writes that the Terror should be "augmented") turned rabid Thermidorian and was on the committee that created Courtois's report. That said, Guffroy was also, like Le Bas and Robespierre, from Artois, which depending on how well Le Bas new his character at this point, might have made him more willing to trust him. As for Guffroy's motives, it's hard to say. Was he trying to get Le Bas away from Robespierre? That would make some sense if he already hated Robespierre by this point, but there's little evidence that he did. You're probably right, though, to suspect that there's something more complicated going on here that Élisabeth doesn't know about.
You also do get the feeling that Élisabeth feels herself valued by her family, it's not quite the dismal picture of girls being a curse to marry off to the first person to ask in the Duplay household, which is rather to their credit.
I feel rather like saying "Take that, Hilary Mantel!" here. But it's true, Mme Duplay does seem more protective of her Élisabeth than anything else.
perhaps Mme Duplay was saying she wasn't getting her scatty, innocent youngest tied up with a political husband until Robespierre thought it was safe to marry Éléonore.
It's an interesting theory. Obviously, Robespierre himself didn't agree. But it's quite probable that if that was his reason for not marrying Éléonore, he didn't think of it as applying to other politicians, only to himself.
As for Sophie, she married Antoine Auzat, a lawyer from Issoire, but curiously, the only source I can find that says when she was married claims that it wasn't until 9 October 1791, which would contradict all the other sources that claim she was already out of the house by the time Robespierre arrived. (Though I suppose it's theoretically possible that she could have been out of the house during what was presumably her engagement, staying with friends or relatives, the way Élisabeth claims to have done in her memoirs.) However that may be, it would certainly seem more to confirm than to invalidate your theory that Mme Duplay was more wary of political marriages than marrying her youngest off before her eldest per se.
if I had to fanfic it, that's how I'd write it.
You should. It would be interesting to see your take on it in action, as it were.