Researching her 2x great-aunt Catherine and her adoptive French family, Gill Shaw finds you can’t believe everything you read in the papers
It’s not often you come across stories about your ancestors when they were young. But when they’re wealthy or titled, and people want to write (and read) about them, then it’s surprising what you can find.
The Victorian press, though, seems as full of scandal and tittle-tattle as any of today’s tabloids, and the mischievously named Truth has more embroidery in one of its articles than in Vicomtesse Mina’s entire wardrobe.
Fittingly, the young Mina Sheppard is the star of this first piece from Truth. I can just picture those bouncy brown curls…
‘Mr Shepperd had a French wife and a very pretty and very lively daughter. The baptismal name of the youthful Miss Shepperd was Mina. Her parents came to live with her in Paris when Louis Napoleon rose to be Prince President of the French Republic. Mina was at this time well on in her teens, a wonderful linguist, dancer, gymnast, and a clever sprite in conversation. She was very small, and although now a blonde with a luxurious head of pale golden hair, had then a profusion of nut-brown tresses, which harmonised with dark eyes.
‘As Mr Shepperd was the best customer of the wine dealing firm with which he was connected… [I think that means Thomas liked a drink] she was left a good deal to herself… and profited by her liberty to make a serious conquest of Louis Napoleon. France had a narrow escape, if escape it can be called, of seeing the young Mina raised to the imperial purple.’
Wow, so our gossip columnist reckons young Mina fancied her chances of becoming Empress of France! At which point enter Vicomte Edgar, stage left…
‘The Emperor, preferring Mademoiselle de Montijo, helped on a match between her and Vicomte Edgar de Brimont. This sprig of French nobility was in the champagne business. which took him to Epernay and Chálons. As these towns were dull, and the camp not far off, Vicomte Edgar went with his charming young wife a good deal there. It was to be expected that the amiable and grateful Emperor should notice and make much of them… Her success gave rise to burning jealousy at the Tuileries and to misconception and injustice on the Vicomte’s part. He suddenly quarrelled with her and left her, never to return.’
Ah, so the writer blames the failure of the marriage on Mina’s little fl
