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Jaime Pasquier
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The Scandal That Shook the Throne
A Historical Novel Inspired by the Praslin Affair
A murder that shook a kingdom. A confession that rewrites history.
A Gripping Reimagining of the Murder That Helped Topple the French Monarchy
In August 1847, the murder of the Duchesse de Choiseul-Praslin by her husband, a Peer of France, helped bring down the French monarchy. Most retellings follow the governess. This novel turns the lens toward the one figure history tried to silence: the murderer himself — intimate, unsettling, and told from inside his mind.
Two Stories, One Murder: The Praslin Affair Through Opposing Lenses
For decades, the world has known the Praslin case through the governess, Henriette Deluzy-Desportes — the innocent heroine of Rachel Field’s 1938 bestseller and the Bette Davis film. The Scandal That Shook the Throne retells the same events from the viewpoint of the man accused of murder: Duke Charles de Choiseul-Praslin.
A New Perspective: The Duke’s Confession
What if the Duke did not die in 1847?
Drawing from French archival records and Nicaraguan family oral tradition, this novel explores a provocative premise: that the Duke escaped France, lived under an assumed name in Nicaragua, and carried the weight of his crime for another 35 years.
Through his confession, the novel examines:
• Power and its corruptions
• Obsession and its consequences
• The thin line between guilt, remorse, and self‑preservation
• How the powerful evade justice while the innocent pay the price
This is not just a retelling — it is a reckoning.
Where Documented History Meets Family Legend
Author Jaime Pasquier brings together 15 years of genealogical research, 19th‑century archival material, and inherited family memory to reconstruct a version of the Praslin Affair that history never recorded.
The result is a narrative that blends:
• Verified historical events
• Oral tradition passed down through generations
• The hidden movements of aristocrats in exile
• The moral ambiguity of a man seeking redemption for an unforgivable act
This intersection of fact and legend creates a story that feels both historically grounded and hauntingly personal.
What Readers Say
“Richly detailed and gripping. Pasquier blends meticulous research with vivid storytelling, turning a real scandal into a sweeping narrative about power, corruption, and the human cost of privilege.” — Cajetan, Verified Amazon Purchase ★★★★★
“I did not expect the narrative to be so revealing, including the perspectives of everyone involved.” — Elizabeth Valdez ★★★★★
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Continue the Story
The Last Aristocrats follows the Duke’s escape from France and his thirty-five years of exile in Nicaragua. Spanish readers can find El escándalo que sacudió el trono and Cuarenta y Siete Puñaladas.
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