Chantal Thomas's Novel 'Le testament d'Olympe' Explores 18th-Century France

Chantal Thomas, a CNRS research director and novelist, has published 'Le testament d'Olympe' with Éditions du Seuil. The novel is set during the reign of Louis XV and the Seven Years' War in Bordeaux. It follows two sisters, Apolline and Ursule, raised in a religious milieu where work is considered sinful, leading to poverty. Apolline is placed in a convent, while Ursule escapes to Paris, renames herself Olympe, and dreams of a theater career. The libertine Duke of Richelieu offers her to Louis XV, and she mistakenly bets on becoming a royal favorite. After six years apart, Apolline finds Ursule dying, and Ursule recounts her adventures. Thomas, known for her essays on Casanova and Sade and her novel 'Les Adieux à la Reine', blends historical erudition with imagination to capture the sounds, colors, and smells of the era. The novel is described as a superb testimony to the Enlightenment.