Jeanne du Barry went down in history as the favorite of Louis XV. She adored luxury and diamonds so much that today her name is associated with the “extravagant and extravagance of Versailles.” Du Barry went from being a street vendor to a beautiful countess, changing several surnames, houses, and lovers.
At the age of seven, Zhanna entered a convent
Jeanne’s mother, Anna, worked as a simple seamstress. When the girl was four years old, Anna brought her from her hometown of Vaucouleurs to Paris. There she got a job as a cook for a wealthy financier and army contractor, Billard-Dumouseau. The beauty of little blonde Jeanne struck him so much that he became the girl’s unofficial guardian. Several years later, Dumuseau arranged for Jeanne to be placed in the Saint-Or convent for women.
A strict routine awaited Jeanne at the monastery: rising at five in the morning, mass at seven, lessons in literacy, reading, drawing and embroidery, lights out at nine in the evening. Like all the pupils, she wore a uniform: a simple white dress, a black woolen hood and a veil. Playing, having fun and even laughing loudly were forbidden in the monastery – they were punished for this. Jeanne studied in such an atmosphere from the age of seven to fifteen.
The monastic upbringing did not go to waste for Jeanne. Later, she sacredly honored the church traditions and even built several chapels in different departments of France. She generously gifted one of them (in Louveciennes) with candles, paintings and decorations.
Before Versailles, Jeanne worked as a street vendor, milliner and courtesan.
After leaving the monastery, Jeanne returned to her mother. By that time, she had married a man named Ranson. The family lived in extreme poverty. To earn some money, fifteen-year-old Jeanne sold various trinkets on the street. She went from door to door and offered snuffboxes, artificial pearls, and pin cases to passersby.
Anna Ranson wanted a better fate for her daughter, so she got her a job as a student and assistant to a young hairdresser, Monsieur Lametz. He willingly agreed to help Jeanne (and according to some authors, even fell hopelessly in love with her). Several months of training flew by carefree. But then the young man’s mother became jealous of her son: he began to spend less time with her. Madame Lametz accused Jeanne of seducing the young man. Thus, the girl lost her first real job.
Soon after this incident, Jeanne became the companion of a wealthy elderly widow, Madame de la Garde. She lived with her in a luxurious villa on the outskirts of Paris. The girl held this position for two years – until she was accused of having affairs with her mistress’s married sons.
After yet another scandal, Jeanne got a job as a milliner for Monsieur Labille, the owner of a fashion store. She spent her days among beautiful ribbons and lace frills, and at night, together with other girls, she went up to the dormitory on the top floor. How long Jeanne worked like this is unknown . What exactly she did for the next couple of years is also unknown . The most common version is sex work. According to some authors , Jeanne worked in Parc-aux-Cerfs (a brothel for aristocrats). According to others , she was hired by the famous procuress Marguerite Gourdan to work in her brothel. One way or another, Jeanne gained the reputation of a “woman of the streets” – that’s what sex workers were called.
Like other “women of the streets”, Jeanne often visited the gambling house on Bourbon Street. When she was twenty, she met Count Jean Dubarry there – a forty-year-old adventurer, card sharper and dandy. Jean had a “hobby”: he seduced young beauties, taught them manners and good manners, and then got rid of them – “sold” them to noble men. He immediately saw potential in Jeanne. Later, she became his most profitable “investment”.
To obtain the title of the king’s favorite, Jeanne became a countess and forged documents
Jeanne and King Louis XV first met when she was twenty-five. She charmed the monarch not only with her beauty. He was attracted by the girl’s good nature. She did not have the affectation of noble ladies that Louis disliked so much. However, he could not officially bring his chosen one closer to him. According to unspoken rules, the king’s favorite had to be married and noble. Jeanne, the daughter of a seamstress, did not fit these criteria.
Jean Du Barry could have married his protégé, but he already had a wife. A solution was found quickly: Jean’s brother, a bachelor named Guillaume Du Barry, became the girl’s husband. Before their wedding, Jeanne was given a new birth certificate. The document “rejuvenated” her by three years and “gave” her a father – a certain clerk, Jean-Jacques Gomard de Vaubernier. Jeanne went down the aisle with this surname. Thanks to her status as a married countess, she was able to officially appear at court. The marriage was formal. Jeanne managed her own affairs and finances, which was quite unusual for a woman in 18th-century France. And just four years after the wedding, the Paris parliament officially allowed her to live separately from her husband.
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Jeanne du Barry made many enemies, including Marie Antoinette
King Louis doted on his favorite. Next to Jeanne du Barry, he forgot that he was almost sixty years old. According to those around him, he looked more in love than ever in his life.
However, Jeanne did not manage to charm everyone. The ladies of the court avoided her. They were repelled by the low and illegitimate origins of the newly-minted countess, her “street past” and “low moral purity”. It was believed that communication with the Countess Du Barry could tarnish one’s reputation. At the same time, she was often gossiped about.
Jeanne’s main opponent at court was the future Queen of France, Marie Antoinette. She showed with her whole appearance how unpleasant she was to the favorite of King Louis XV. In one of her letters to her mother, Marie Antoinette described the countess as “the most stupid and shameless creature imaginable.” She did not speak to Du Barry for a long time. And only under pressure from her mother and King Louis XV did she once drop the phrase in her address: “There are many people in Versailles today.” This somewhat defused the court situation. In fact, Jeanne was accepted into the circle of ladies of the court after the young princess spoke to her.
Prime Minister Etienne-François de Choiseul took a dislike to Jeanne. After their first meeting, he noted that she was “only moderately beautiful” and “not to his taste.” He added that her manners betrayed a young provincial. Choiseul’s contemporary, the French commander Louis François Armand du Plessis, named a possible reason for such hostility in his memoirs . Choiseul allegedly believed that the title of “the king’s mistress” should only be borne by a noble lady. And he saw his sister, the Duchess of Grammont, as a candidate.
Dubarry used her influence several times to save those condemned to death.
According to researchers, Jeanne did not have great political power. But she still influenced the king and his entourage. And sometimes she used this influence to help others.
One day, Jeanne learned that a poor girl, Apolline Gregois, had been sentenced to death because of a stillborn child. The law of the time required that a woman inform the authorities of her pregnancy. Apolline had not done so. In addition, her guilt was aggravated by several petty thefts.
Upon learning of what had happened, Jeanne immediately wrote to the chancellor: “I understand nothing of your laws; but they are barbaric and contrary to all reason and humanity. This poor girl deserves mercy. I beg you to at least change her punishment.” The favorite was heard: the execution was replaced by imprisonment for several years.
After some time, Jeanne Dubarry saved the “criminals” again. This time, the elderly Count Louesme and his wife were convicted. The family lived very poorly and owed money. When they came to arrest them, they defended their home with weapons and accidentally shot the bailiff. At that time, such behavior was considered a rebellion against the king, so the Count and Countess were doomed.
Louesme’s friend turned to Du Barry, hoping that she would show the same mercy as she had shown in the case of Apolline. And so it happened. Jeanne rushed to the king, fell on her knees before him, and said that she would not rise until he heard her plea. Louis raised her up, saying, “I am glad that the first favor you asked of me was an act of mercy.”
The sentence of the Count and Countess Louesma was commuted to prison. They were locked up in a castle, and the costs of their upkeep were imposed on their relatives. After nine years, the couple was released and exiled. But King Louis XVI even granted them a pension.
Jeanne du Barry did not escape the fate of Marie Antoinette
As the king’s favorite, Jeanne du Barry amassed a considerable amount of jewelry. One day, part of the collection disappeared from her castle in Louveciennes. According to one version, the countess was robbed. According to another, she planned the “theft” to pretend to be broke and take her capital out of the country (under new laws, nobles had to pay property taxes). A month after the incident, the countess was allegedly informed that the jewelry had been found in England. She went to London four times under the pretext of returning it.
While traveling, the countess, according to historians, could take valuable information, money and people out of France. Foreign trips played against Du Barry when the Great French Revolution happened. Jeanne Du Barry was arrested and accused of aiding the counter-revolution. Among the accusations were the following points :
- Madame Dubarry maintained contacts with the enemies of the revolution.
- She corresponded with emigrants and gave them money.
- She always hated the revolution and defended the royalists.
- In London she wore mourning for the “tyrant” (the last king).
- The mysterious theft gave her an excuse for frequent trips to London.
- She lied about her condition.
- In the area she was always considered an emigrant.
- She squandered the wealth of the state.
During interrogation, Jeanne Dubarry confessed to some things, and denied others. For example, she said that she had indeed received letters from emigrants, but had never responded to them. At the same time, Jeanne emphasized that she had traveled abroad on business and had never intended to emigrate.
Madame Dubarry’s words did not save the situation. She was doomed. The Revolutionary Tribunal sentenced her to death. When the Countess heard the sentence, she cried out in complete despair. Two gendarmes led her to the prison cell.
According to legend, Jeanne du Barry did not meet her last days very steadfastly. She sobbed and begged for her life. Walking to the guillotine, she resisted so much that she had to be dragged by force. The Countess kept repeating: “Please, don’t hurt me.” Her last words are considered to be the phrase: “Just a minute more, Mr. Executioner!”