My Mother, My Father and His Wife Hortense

My Mother, My Father and His Wife Hortense PDF Author: Dialta Alliata-Lensi Orlandi
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN: 9781491039922
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
In this fierce and poignant book, the author, drawing on sources that include her grandmother's richly erotic diaries, unveils intimate details of the Acton dynasty in Florence, the illicit love affair of Arthur and Elsie, and the controversial legal aftermath that continues to this day. A true family saga played out against the backdrop of Florence's celebrated Villa La Pietra. The struggle over the billion dollar estate of one of the 20th century's most notable aesthetes, Harold Acton, pitted New York University, against first Liana Beacci, Acton's illegitimate half-sister, and since her death in 2000 her daughter, Princess Dialta Alliata di Montereale, who lives in Honolulu. It began its progress through the Italian legal system soon after Acton's death in 1994 with more downs than ups for the family. But a recent reworking of Italian inheritance laws, to make them internally coherent and to bring them into accord with European protocols, promises a dramatic conclusion - and sooner rather than later. It was always a story in which reality was more colourful than fiction. You will find it in My Mother, My Father and His Wife Hortense: The True Story of the Villa La Pietra (Amazon), a vivid book by Dialta, published under her family name, Dialta Lensi Orlandi, who is now Princess Dialta di Montereale. In fifty chapters, against the historical and social backdrop of art, glamour, war, and international intrigue, the lives of the Beaccis and the Actons are woven together through the eyes of a third-generation family member, Dialta Lensi Orlandi, granddaughter of Arthur Acton and daughter of Liana Beacci. The tale encompasses the fate of Acton's estate, an appalling betrayal, and the continuing fight to restore justice and dignity to Acton's legacy and the Beacci family name. Arthur Acton, Dialta's grandfather, was an art dealer, married to Hortense Mitchell, a Chicago heiress, but who came to dislike both art and her husband's home in Florence. Dialta's mother was born to Arthur Acton's lifelong mistress, Ersilia. Her half-brother, Harold Acton, the model for Anthony Blanche in Evelyn Waugh's Brideshead Revisited, and who had been host at La Pietra to Princess Diana and Pablo Picasso, was acquainted with his relations and tried to thwart their inheritance. In 2003 the court of Florence allowed the bodies of Liana and Arthur to be dug up for DNA tests. These established with "the highest degree of probability" that Liana was Arthur Acton's daughter--and a surprise ending.

My Mother, My Father and His Wife Hortense

My Mother, My Father and His Wife Hortense PDF Author: Dialta Alliata-Lensi Orlandi
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN: 9781491039922
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Get Book Here

Book Description
In this fierce and poignant book, the author, drawing on sources that include her grandmother's richly erotic diaries, unveils intimate details of the Acton dynasty in Florence, the illicit love affair of Arthur and Elsie, and the controversial legal aftermath that continues to this day. A true family saga played out against the backdrop of Florence's celebrated Villa La Pietra. The struggle over the billion dollar estate of one of the 20th century's most notable aesthetes, Harold Acton, pitted New York University, against first Liana Beacci, Acton's illegitimate half-sister, and since her death in 2000 her daughter, Princess Dialta Alliata di Montereale, who lives in Honolulu. It began its progress through the Italian legal system soon after Acton's death in 1994 with more downs than ups for the family. But a recent reworking of Italian inheritance laws, to make them internally coherent and to bring them into accord with European protocols, promises a dramatic conclusion - and sooner rather than later. It was always a story in which reality was more colourful than fiction. You will find it in My Mother, My Father and His Wife Hortense: The True Story of the Villa La Pietra (Amazon), a vivid book by Dialta, published under her family name, Dialta Lensi Orlandi, who is now Princess Dialta di Montereale. In fifty chapters, against the historical and social backdrop of art, glamour, war, and international intrigue, the lives of the Beaccis and the Actons are woven together through the eyes of a third-generation family member, Dialta Lensi Orlandi, granddaughter of Arthur Acton and daughter of Liana Beacci. The tale encompasses the fate of Acton's estate, an appalling betrayal, and the continuing fight to restore justice and dignity to Acton's legacy and the Beacci family name. Arthur Acton, Dialta's grandfather, was an art dealer, married to Hortense Mitchell, a Chicago heiress, but who came to dislike both art and her husband's home in Florence. Dialta's mother was born to Arthur Acton's lifelong mistress, Ersilia. Her half-brother, Harold Acton, the model for Anthony Blanche in Evelyn Waugh's Brideshead Revisited, and who had been host at La Pietra to Princess Diana and Pablo Picasso, was acquainted with his relations and tried to thwart their inheritance. In 2003 the court of Florence allowed the bodies of Liana and Arthur to be dug up for DNA tests. These established with "the highest degree of probability" that Liana was Arthur Acton's daughter--and a surprise ending.

The Comédie Humaine: Poor parents (Cousin Betty, Cousin Pons)

The Comédie Humaine: Poor parents (Cousin Betty, Cousin Pons) PDF Author: Honoré de Balzac
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 424

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The Poor Relations

The Poor Relations PDF Author: Honoré de Balzac
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 452

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La Comédie Humaine of Honoré de Balzac: Scenes from Parisian life: Cousin Bette

La Comédie Humaine of Honoré de Balzac: Scenes from Parisian life: Cousin Bette PDF Author: Honoré de Balzac
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 596

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French Classics - Boxed Set: 100+ Novels, Short Stories, Poems, Plays & Philosophical Books

French Classics - Boxed Set: 100+ Novels, Short Stories, Poems, Plays & Philosophical Books PDF Author: Stendhal
Publisher: DigiCat
ISBN:
Category : Literary Collections
Languages : en
Pages : 22275

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Book Description
DigiCat presents to you a unique collection of the greatest classics of French literature: A History of French Literature François Rabelais: Gargantua and Pantagruel Molière: Tartuffe or the Hypocrite The Misanthrope The Miser The Imaginary Invalid The Impostures of Scapin... Jean Racine: Phaedra Pierre Corneille: The Cid Voltaire: Candide Zadig Micromegas The Huron A Philosophical Dictionary... Jean-Jacques Rousseau: Confessions Emile The Social Contract De Laclos: Dangerous Liaisons Stendhal‎: The Red and the Black The Charterhouse of Parma... Honoré de Balzac: Father Goriot Eugénie Grandet Lost Illusions The Lily of the Valley A Woman of Thirty Colonel Chabert The Magic Skin The Unknown Masterpiece... Victor Hugo: Les Misérables The Man Who Laughs The Hunchback of Notre-Dame Toilers of the Sea... George Sand: The Devil's Pool Mauprat Alexandre Dumas pere: The Three Musketeers Twenty Years After The Vicomte de Bragelonne Ten Years After Louise de la Valliere The Man in the Iron Mask The Count of Monte Cristo... Alexandre Dumas fils: The Lady with the Camellias Gustave Flaubert: Madame Bovary Salammbô Bouvard and Pécuchet Sentimental Education... Émile Zola: Thérèse Raquin The Fortune of the Rougons The Kill The Dram Shop A Love Episode Nana Piping Hot Germinal His Masterpiece The Earth The Dream The Human Beast Money The Downfall Doctor Pascal... Jules Verne: Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea Around the World in Eighty Days The Mysterious Island Journey to the Centre of the Earth From the Earth to the Moon Around the Moon In Search of the Castaways Guy de Maupassant: A Life Bel-Ami (The History of a Scoundrel) Mont Oriol Notre Coeur Pierre and Jean Strong as Death The Necklace The Horla Boul de Suif Two Friends Madame Tellier's Establishment... Charles Baudelaire: The Flowers of Evil Anatole France: The Revolt of the Angels The Gods are Athirst (The Gods Will Have Blood) Penguin Island Thaïs Gaston Leroux: The Phantom of the Opera The Mystery of the Yellow Room The Secret of the Night The Man with the Black Feather Marcel Proust: Swann's Way

French Literature Classics - Ultimate Collection: 90+ Novels, Stories, Poems, Plays & Philosophy

French Literature Classics - Ultimate Collection: 90+ Novels, Stories, Poems, Plays & Philosophy PDF Author: Stendhal
Publisher: Good Press
ISBN:
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 19527

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Book Description
French Literature Classics - Ultimate Collection: 90+ Novels, Stories, Poems, Plays & Philosophy is a monumental anthology that showcases the rich tapestry of French literature, ranging from the keen psychological insights of Stendhal to the intricate societal critiques of Émile Zola. This collection spans diverse literary styles, including the romanticism of Victor Hugo, the naturalism of Zola, and the existential questions posed by the works of Jean-Jacques Rousseau. It provides an unparalleled opportunity to explore the breadth of French literary achievements, highlighting significant movements and themes such as the quest for personal identity, the complexities of human nature, and the critique of social conventions. Notable works include the biting satire of Molière, the haunting narratives of Gaston Leroux, and the poetic innovations of Charles Baudelaire, making this collection an essential compendium for any literary scholar. The contributing authors and editors of this anthology represent the crème de la crème of French literary history, their lives intertwined with the very fabric of French culture and the literary movements they helped shape. From the early modern period with Rabelais and Corneille through to the philosophical enlightenment of Voltaire and Rousseau, and into the richly complex worlds of Proust and Dumas, this collection encapsulates a lineage of thought and creativity that has significantly influenced not only French but global literature. It is a testament to the enduring power and diversity of French literary voice, capturing pivotal moments in literary development and the individual and collective quest for understanding human experience. This anthology invites readers to embark on a profound journey through the landscapes of French thought and expression. It offers a unique opportunity to engage with the multitude of voices, styles, and themes that have shaped both the literary canon and the broader discourse on society, politics, and the human condition. Encouraging a deeper understanding of the interplay between individual creativity and cultural movements, French Literature Classics - Ultimate Collection is an invaluable resource for students, educators, and anyone with a passion for exploring the depths of human expression through literature. The collection promises not only academic enrichment but also the sheer joy of discovering the interconnectedness of stories, ideas, and the universal quest for meaning that ties humanity together.

Chariot

Chariot PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Fraternal organizations
Languages : en
Pages : 230

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Cousin Betty

Cousin Betty PDF Author: Оноре де Бальзак
Publisher: Litres
ISBN: 5040758138
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 630

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Poor parents (Cousin Betty, Cousin Pons)

Poor parents (Cousin Betty, Cousin Pons) PDF Author: Honoré de Balzac
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 414

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The Selected Works of Honore de Balzac

The Selected Works of Honore de Balzac PDF Author: Honore de Balzac
Publisher: Library of Alexandria
ISBN: 1465527745
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 19641

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Half-way down the Rue Saint-Denis, almost at the corner of the Rue du Petit-Lion, there stood formerly one of those delightful houses which enable historians to reconstruct old Paris by analogy. The threatening walls of this tumbledown abode seemed to have been decorated with hieroglyphics. For what other name could the passer-by give to the Xs and Vs which the horizontal or diagonal timbers traced on the front, outlined by little parallel cracks in the plaster? It was evident that every beam quivered in its mortices at the passing of the lightest vehicle. This venerable structure was crowned by a triangular roof of which no example will, ere long, be seen in Paris. This covering, warped by the extremes of the Paris climate, projected three feet over the roadway, as much to protect the threshold from the rainfall as to shelter the wall of a loft and its sill-less dormer-window. This upper story was built of planks, overlapping each other like slates, in order, no doubt, not to overweight the frail house. One rainy morning in the month of March, a young man, carefully wrapped in his cloak, stood under the awning of a shop opposite this old house, which he was studying with the enthusiasm of an antiquary. In point of fact, this relic of the civic life of the sixteenth century offered more than one problem to the consideration of an observer. Each story presented some singularity; on the first floor four tall, narrow windows, close together, were filled as to the lower panes with boards, so as to produce the doubtful light by which a clever salesman can ascribe to his goods the color his customers inquire for. The young man seemed very scornful of this part of the house; his eyes had not yet rested on it. The windows of the second floor, where the Venetian blinds were drawn up, revealing little dingy muslin curtains behind the large Bohemian glass panes, did not interest him either. His attention was attracted to the third floor, to the modest sash-frames of wood, so clumsily wrought that they might have found a place in the Museum of Arts and Crafts to illustrate the early efforts of French carpentry. These windows were glazed with small squares of glass so green that, but for his good eyes, the young man could not have seen the blue-checked cotton curtains which screened the mysteries of the room from profane eyes. Now and then the watcher, weary of his fruitless contemplation, or of the silence in which the house was buried, like the whole neighborhood, dropped his eyes towards the lower regions. An involuntary smile parted his lips each time he looked at the shop, where, in fact, there were some laughable details. A formidable wooden beam, resting on four pillars, which appeared to have bent under the weight of the decrepit house, had been encrusted with as many coats of different paint as there are of rouge on an old duchess' cheek. In the middle of this broad and fantastically carved joist there was an old painting representing a cat playing rackets. This picture was what moved the young man to mirth. But it must be said that the wittiest of modern painters could not invent so comical a caricature. The animal held in one of its forepaws a racket as big as itself, and stood on its hind legs to aim at hitting an enormous ball, returned by a man in a fine embroidered coat. Drawing, color, and accessories, all were treated in such a way as to suggest that the artist had meant to make game of the shop-owner and of the passing observer. Time, while impairing this artless painting, had made it yet more grotesque by introducing some uncertain features which must have puzzled the conscientious idler. For instance, the cat's tail had been eaten into in such a way that it might now have been taken for the figure of a spectator—so long, and thick, and furry were the tails of our forefathers' cats. To the right of the picture, on an azure field which ill-disguised the decay of the wood, might be read the name "Guillaume," and to the left, "Successor to Master Chevrel." Sun and rain had worn away most of the gilding parsimoniously applied to the letters of this superscription, in which the Us and Vs had changed places in obedience to the laws of old-world orthography. To quench the pride of those who believe that the world is growing cleverer day by day, and that modern humbug surpasses everything, it may be observed that these signs, of which the origin seems so whimsical to many Paris merchants, are the dead pictures of once living pictures by which our roguish ancestors contrived to tempt customers into their houses. Thus the Spinning Sow, the Green Monkey, and others, were animals in cages whose skills astonished the passer-by, and whose accomplishments prove the patience of the fifteenth-century artisan. Such curiosities did more to enrich their fortunate owners than the signs of "Providence," "Good-faith," "Grace of God," and "Decapitation of John the Baptist," which may still be seen in the Rue Saint-Denis.