The Happy Homemaker

Here is a king I would totally date!
I am now reading about Louis XIV, a king I haven’t read about in detail since high school. I love British monarchs, but from Charlemagne, the French monarchs are way more interesting.

My favorite books in high school were historical fiction books about French royalty like Catherine de’ Medici and Louis IV. I also loved Henri IV and Marguerite de Valois. It is so difficult to find a lot of books and movies about them that aren’t “R” rated. Of course it would be almost impossible to do a story about any monarch with a “G” rating. I guess we don’t have to see gory details and sex to make a story interesting.

I love making up stories but rarely write any down because I feel that I am not a very good writer. Once I begin to write a story my mind goes blank and I begin to feel like the story is going no where. However, years later I will find an unfinished story and read it and will wonder what happened next. Sometimes it takes me a second to remember that I wrote the story and then I wish I finished it A story that I feel is not 100% accurate I will stop writing only to find out a few years later that the story was completely accurate.

I guess that I am not meant to be a writer but just a girl with a crazy imagination. My favorite story in my head is one about the end of the Roman empire in what is currently France. A woman, named Julia who was once part of a wealthy family of Aquitaine find herself being a servant for a German princess. Previously, she is not sure of Christianity, the religion of her family and instead loves fine wine and cheese. She fears that the German prince will make her his mistress. He hears that she loves a certain expensive wine and brings it to her daily. She enjoys the fine food and is allowed to keep her old Greek servant where they discuss Neo-Platonism while carefully sipping the expensive vintage and nibble on the greatest cheese of the old Empire. She makes friends with a new female servant named Neena. Together they play pranks on the Princess and another new servant, the chaste Maria who takes Christian piety to a new level by always dressing plain and fasting and wearing no shoes on the cold floor. Finally the prince makes Neena his mistress and Julia notices the princess is hurt. She no longer plays pranks on the German princess though Neena still dislikes her. They still make fun of pious Maria. The prince gives Julia more and more attention. She is afraid for she hates the Germans who destroyed her property and killed her brother. She gets closer to the princess and teaches her how to read and writes letters for her. Neena gets angry and the two fight. Neena is angry that Julia will not conform. Neena goes to church with the prince’s family and begins to speak German and drink beer. Julia refuses and prefers the Roman church. She refuses to speak the Germanic language and eat like the Germans. She keeps her old ways of high culture and chastity. Jealous Neena plots to make the prince angry at Julia. The Princess tells Julia about the prince’s anger so she decides to be more like Maria. After a time she decides she likes the way of Maria’s religion as it brings her comfort after the loss of so much. She decides to want to become a nun with the princess’s support. The prince knowing her weaknesses does not believe her and Neena regularly tells him of her catching Julia not being so pious or saying an oath to a Pagan god, etc. Julia tries to “outchaste” even Maria by wearing rags and standing for hours in the cold without a hat. She is still always caught eating lots of nice food and discussing philosophy with her favorite Greek friends. Finally she donates her favorite wine and cheese to the nearby church. The prince knowing how much Julia loves that wine and cheese finally gives his consent. Maria soon joins her and other girls seek to be as the pious servants of the Germanic prince. Neena becomes a scullery maid. The Prince no longer takes a mistress to the Princess’s delight. They all live happily ever after.