Anne of France Lessons for My Daughter
“Anne of France: Lessons for My Daughter” by Anne (of France) is a reissue published by Tamesis Books in 2004, featuring 105 pages in English. This work presents the insights of Anne of France, the daughter of Louis XI, who was a significant political figure in the fifteenth century. After her father’s death, she guided France through various crises while maintaining influence even after ceding formal power to her brother, Charles VIII. The book comprises a series of lessons that Anne composed for her daughter, Suzanne of Bourbon, distilling her extensive reading and personal experiences into practical advice for navigating the complexities of political life as a woman.
Readers will find that these “enseignements” serve as both a personal memoir and a historical document, reflecting Anne’s understanding of governance and the role of women in politics during her time. The lessons not only prepare Suzanne for her future but also draw parallels to other political treatises of the era, such as Machiavelli’s writings. This edition includes a full introduction, commentary, and notes, providing context and enhancing the reader’s understanding of Anne’s life and the historical backdrop of her teachings.
Official synopsis Publisher
The daughter of Louis XI, Anne of France (1461-1522) was one of the most powerful women of the fifteenth century. Referred to by her contemporaries as ‘Madame la Grande’, she controlled the government of France for eight years after the death of her father, guiding the kingdom through a series of crises. While ceding formal power to her brother Charles VIII in 1491, she remained an active and influential figure in France throughout her life. As the fifteenth century drew to a close, Anne composed a series of ‘enseignements’, or “lessons”, for her daughter Suzanne of Bourbon. These instructions represent a distillation of her lifetime of reading and her own first-hand knowledge of the world; having managed to steer her own course successfully, she offered her daughter advice intended to help her negotiate the difficult passage of a woman in the world of politics Her lessons carefully prepare Suzanne to act both circumspectly and politically; in drawing her portrait of an ideal princess, Anne presents a guidebook on governance for Suzanne, one not altogether unlike Machiavelli’s more famous book of advice for a would-be prince, written some fifteen years later. The lessons are here translated into English for the first time and accompanied by full introduction, commentary and notes.
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