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Francis the First: First Gentleman of France
Book by Francis Hackett
448 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1934
About the author
Francis Hackett
71 books1 followerFrancis Hackett was born in Kilkenny, Ireland in 1883 to the daughter of a farmer and a medical officer. He is most famous for writing a detailed book about Henry VIII but was also a noted critic and published several other books most of which were either non-fiction or biographies.
He was educated in St Kieran's College, where Thomas MacDonagh was his teacher.
He married the Danish writer Signe Toksvig, and the couple lived in Ireland in the early years of the State, and then moved to Denmark, to the US during World War II, and back to Denmark.
"Hackett immigrated to the United States in 1901 for various reasons, among them being his dissatisfaction with the British Government ruling Ireland, and his family’s inability to finance his college education. When he arrived in New York he published articles in Standish O’Grady’s All Ireland Review, Arthur Griffith’s United Irishman, and Samuel Richardson’s The Gael. Hackett took a series of jobs as a clerk in a law firm, for the advertising department of Cosmopolitan Magazine, and literary editor of various periodicals, such as the Chicago Evening Post. In 1906 Hackett moved into Hull-House and taught English to Russian Immigrants. As writer and critic, Hackett attacked Chicago’s genteel and commercial cultures, racism, and the subordination of women. He left his position as literary editor of the Post in 1911 to pursue a career as a novelist."
-Wikipedia
He was educated in St Kieran's College, where Thomas MacDonagh was his teacher.
He married the Danish writer Signe Toksvig, and the couple lived in Ireland in the early years of the State, and then moved to Denmark, to the US during World War II, and back to Denmark.
"Hackett immigrated to the United States in 1901 for various reasons, among them being his dissatisfaction with the British Government ruling Ireland, and his family’s inability to finance his college education. When he arrived in New York he published articles in Standish O’Grady’s All Ireland Review, Arthur Griffith’s United Irishman, and Samuel Richardson’s The Gael. Hackett took a series of jobs as a clerk in a law firm, for the advertising department of Cosmopolitan Magazine, and literary editor of various periodicals, such as the Chicago Evening Post. In 1906 Hackett moved into Hull-House and taught English to Russian Immigrants. As writer and critic, Hackett attacked Chicago’s genteel and commercial cultures, racism, and the subordination of women. He left his position as literary editor of the Post in 1911 to pursue a career as a novelist."
-Wikipedia
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
November 12, 2016
Rarely does a biography's subject get matched by the writing style of the author, but this book is just that. Francis I was a Renaissance prince who lived a florid lifestyle and Francis Hackett writes with a florid pen. It's a great matchup.
Thus he lived in the garden he had created from a kingly worship....
Francis the First was the hinge upon which the history of France turned. Prior to him, there were a few mad kings and Louis XI, the Spider King. But King Francis departed from the medieval past and prepared France for the future, which meant Henri IV, Louis XIV, and Napoleon. Hackett the author presents Francis as the true predecessor of the Sun King, in that Francis loved art, architecture, gardens...and failed wars. For all of his Renaissance virtues, Francis I just couldn't win the big ones, and he squandered away most of the monies left from the frugality of Louis XI. In other words, it was Francis who started France down the path toward the haves and have-nots, leading to the Revolution more than 200 years later.
But the crow seems to fly by one law and the swallow dart by another.
I admire a writer who has the audacity to compare one of the most notorious European royal personages to a bird and then notating that while a crow is 'bourgeois', the King most certainly was not. Hackett's writing style and complete devotion to his subject can throw the reader, however, as you end up paying more attention to the writing than the subject. Still, that's a plus, and it reflects the mid-20th century when this book was written.
He was building castles on earth while Calvin was building castles in heaven that had dungeons in hell.
While the author stays focused on the French king, the other major players of this historical age also get some attention, which enhances the events surrounding Francis while also piquing the reader's interest. Jean Calvin, Rabelais, Machiavelli, Henry VIII, Charles V, and the Medici Popes all play their roles and makes one wonder how anyone stayed alive long enough. Even when describing Pope Clement's last years ("the meagre soil had worn away"), the author lays bare the personality and weakness of each historical character.
For me, this book started slowly, as I tended to be overwhelmed by the writing, but then it all came together, and it was hard to put down, especially toward the end when the King's only surviving progeny, Henri II, made me yearn for a sequel of sorts. Hackett has the gift of the Irish pen, and I am now looking for more of his works.
Book Season = Year Round (what a family)
Thus he lived in the garden he had created from a kingly worship....
Francis the First was the hinge upon which the history of France turned. Prior to him, there were a few mad kings and Louis XI, the Spider King. But King Francis departed from the medieval past and prepared France for the future, which meant Henri IV, Louis XIV, and Napoleon. Hackett the author presents Francis as the true predecessor of the Sun King, in that Francis loved art, architecture, gardens...and failed wars. For all of his Renaissance virtues, Francis I just couldn't win the big ones, and he squandered away most of the monies left from the frugality of Louis XI. In other words, it was Francis who started France down the path toward the haves and have-nots, leading to the Revolution more than 200 years later.
But the crow seems to fly by one law and the swallow dart by another.
I admire a writer who has the audacity to compare one of the most notorious European royal personages to a bird and then notating that while a crow is 'bourgeois', the King most certainly was not. Hackett's writing style and complete devotion to his subject can throw the reader, however, as you end up paying more attention to the writing than the subject. Still, that's a plus, and it reflects the mid-20th century when this book was written.
He was building castles on earth while Calvin was building castles in heaven that had dungeons in hell.
While the author stays focused on the French king, the other major players of this historical age also get some attention, which enhances the events surrounding Francis while also piquing the reader's interest. Jean Calvin, Rabelais, Machiavelli, Henry VIII, Charles V, and the Medici Popes all play their roles and makes one wonder how anyone stayed alive long enough. Even when describing Pope Clement's last years ("the meagre soil had worn away"), the author lays bare the personality and weakness of each historical character.
For me, this book started slowly, as I tended to be overwhelmed by the writing, but then it all came together, and it was hard to put down, especially toward the end when the King's only surviving progeny, Henri II, made me yearn for a sequel of sorts. Hackett has the gift of the Irish pen, and I am now looking for more of his works.
Book Season = Year Round (what a family)
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September 24, 2016My book has a different cover but was published the same year.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews