The Spanking Writers

I unearthed a quite fascinating account of the life story of one Sophie Dawes, born in 1792 on the Isle of Wight, who became known as “The Queen of Chantilly.” It reads rather like a straight version of some Sarah Waters novel!

Her father, a smuggler, died and left his family destitute. Sophie’s family, including her elder sister, were destined for the House of Industry – the local workhouse. Our heroine, a pretty girl in her mid-teens, instead found a job as a chambermaid at the George Hotel in Portsmouth, before making her way to London. Unfortunately, she was dismissed from her first post there, as a milliner, but “was dismissed after an affair with a young water-carrier”. Soon, she was taking to the boards as an actress – and by 1812 she “was the concubine of a wealthy gentleman at Turnham Green”.

Things then took an interesting turn:

When he tired of her she became a harlot in a Piccadilly brothel, it was here that she first attracted the attention of a certain Monsieur Guy, the personal servant of an exiled French nobleman. He thought that the young St. Helens girl would make an excellent companion to his master. Louis-Henri-Joseph. Duc de Bourbon…

Graciously, she played the part of the adoring mistress, submitting to his every whim; even allowing him to play cards with the Duke of Kent, using herself as a stake. In his turn, the infatuated Frenchman lavished money, gifts, and affection upon her. He had her educated at vast expense. She was taught French, Greek, and Latin, Music, dancing and deportment.

The Duc returned to France in 1814 after Napoleon’s death, succeeding his father as Prince de Conde four years later. However, because she was of common blood, Sophie could not be seen to be his official mistress. An ingineous solution was devised:

Instead, it was decided that she was to be known as his “illegitimate” daughter. She was introduced to a Monsieur Adrian de Foucheres, an officer in Louis XVIII’s Guards. The unfortunate dupe fell in love with her. They were married, and allowed to live in the Prince’s palace. The masquerade of respectability was complete…

The Prince was happy, and so was her husband, unaware that his loving wife was also the former’s mistress. With petulant vanity, Sophie lived in the lap of luxury. She staged her own private theatrical, playing all the leading parts herself. She travelled the length and breadth of France, visiting the Bourbon estates and becoming known as the Queen of Chantilly.

However – and this is where this merits a mention on “The Spanking Writers”:

At length, Sophie’s real relationship with the Prince reached the ears of her trusting husband. In thunderous rage he horse-whipped and divorced her.

She then conspired – with the co-operation of the French king – to kill off the Prince, eventually having him murdered by her latest lover. The King’s influence meant that the court’s verdict was suicide, and “Sophie had narrowly escaped the guillotine.” She lived on until 1840 when, in her will:

To her much-wronged husband Adrian de Foucheres, she left 10 thousand pounds. The memory of his cruel whip had not destroyed the sense of guilt she felt for the way she had used him. The proud officer refused to receive a penny of it, however, and it was passed on to a niece of the deceased named Sophie Thavaron.