(no subject)

[misatheredpanda.livejournal.com]

Hello. Some little things - which I suppose are easier to take for granted...

First: I somehow feel guilty asking this, since it's not very useful either way (yes, let me deprecate myself a moment more) - else I might have brought it up earlier as it's been bothering me vaguely for years - but since I'd like to finally strike it off my 'wtf' list, I'm just going to put it out there: I recall reading on this site (incidentally, is it gone?) that Desmoulins was a "rumored" bisexual. Since then I have found this addressed in all of one place: Mantel's novel. Somehow, a work of fiction and the internet just don't do it for me, so I was wondering if anyone here knows of any reference to Camille's sexuality coming from a legit source? Or anything that isn't fictional outright, at least? Or is it just something the author of that site might have absorbed from fiction? Or both?!

Second: Okay, maybe this is just silly. But can anyone tell me more about the lock of Robespierre's hair at the Musée Carnavalet? ...and why it's white?

By the way, I'd like to suggest that since this community has separate tags under "desmoulins" and "camille desmoulins" that they be merged together. (Of course I am stupid about such things.)

Comments

[misatheredpanda.livejournal.com]

Dude, I am so jealous about those socks. I'm not even going to try to hide it. (I wonder where they ended up, anyway? Or how he got ahold of them?)
Haha, that sounds fantastic, honestly. Sometimes the writers themselves are as fun as the history! (Hence my love for Carlyle, which I'm still not sure whether I should be ashamed of or not.)

I haven't read Ruth Scurr - I keep feeling like I should, if only because it's recent, but then everything I've heard about it has so turned me off! Maybe some day, if I have the opportunity not to pay for it.

[victoriavandal.livejournal.com]

I don't think Scurr has come up with anything new, so it's probably not worth it unless you find it cheap!
The only thing I know about the socks is from whoever wrote the Amazon 'Desmoulins' page...he doesn't say in his book, by the way, I have her socks...I sleep with them on...or anything like that! Maybe they're languishing in a museum archive somewhere...

[livviebway.livejournal.com]

I think he got them from one of Horace's kids. He had some other things too, like Camille's snuff box and his cockade and tricolor scarf. No idea where they are now!

[misatheredpanda.livejournal.com]

Horace had children?? (This is another obsessive point where I keep getting stuck, alas. Everything I know about his life comes from the French wikipedia entry which is no longer there!)

SNUFF IS A VICE, CAMILLE. D:<

[livviebway.livejournal.com]

He married Zoé Villefranche and had 4 children, Adolphe, Camilia (who married a Monsieur Boom), Lucile (who married a Monsieur Garraud), and Horace Camille. The daughters had children, but the sons didn't, so while Camille and Lucile do having living descendants today, the name died out.

[misatheredpanda.livejournal.com]

I have a picture of the socks somewhere on my hard drive, although I can't remember where it came from. I should look for it. They seem cozy.

[victoriavandal.livejournal.com]

Googling for something else, I just found this: sock! http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://home.nordnet.fr/blatouche/tabatiere.jpg&imgrefurl=http://home.nordnet.fr/blatouche/JH4.html&start=99&h=155&w=200&sz=12&tbnid=3gclbZaoFjR69M:&tbnh=81&tbnw=104&hl=en&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dcamille%2Bdesmoulins%2Brevolutions%2Bde%2Bfrance%26start%3D80%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26client%3Dsafari%26rls%3Den-us%26sa%3DN&um=1&usg=__flyhQfhcTp2H-apY53hMkOxgHtw=

[misatheredpanda.livejournal.com]

And it has the snuff box, too! (Ugly little thing.) Thank you for giving me to squeal pointlessly over today. XD

[victoriavandal.livejournal.com]

I had a friend at university who used to take snuff (you can still buy it!) - it wasn't very sexy to watch...

[misatheredpanda.livejournal.com]

I imagine it isn't. Perhaps that's why I never associated it with Camille. Although this is of keen interest to me, as I am an ardent enthusiast of Camille's enormous pink nose.