The Parisian historian is a specialist in the figure of Marie-Antoinette and the period of the Ancien Régime. The one we know thanks to the program Secrets d’Histoire and her numerous books lends her expertise on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the inscription of Place Stanislas, Place Carrière and Place d’Alliance as heritage world of UNESCO.
Laura Max – Today at 06:00
Listening to it is the assurance of wanting to know more. Find out more about these “stars of an era” that are Louis XIV, Marie-Antoinette, Louis XVI… If we know their names, Évelyne Lever dives into the heart of their intimacy. This historian specializing in the Ancien Régime joined the CNRS (National Center for Scientific Research) at the age of 25. At the same time, she writes. She inherited this desire to write from her journalist father. As for passing on, it was his grandmother who, through pieces of Great History told like tales, inspired him to want to tell stories in turn.
If the majority of her works are devoted to Marie-Antoinette, it is also the “decision process” that fascinates the historian. What events and influences led one historical figure to make this decision and not another? How do personal life and emotional life mix with political life? This almost psychological approach requires intruding as much as possible into the privacy of the queens and kings studied. “It’s when we want to get into the heads of the Greats that we realize all the richness that the correspondences offer,” underlines Évelyne Lever, who published those of Marie-Antoinette.
“Know how to talk to your contemporaries”
When she mentions his latest book , the one that gave her “the most fun”, she transforms distant historical figures into “shooting stars”, “stars of an era”. The incredible lives of the Princesses Mazarines, the seven nieces of Cardinal Mazarin, arouse the reader’s curiosity thanks to this approach. Because Évelyne Lever wants above all to “bring history to life”, and for that it must be well anchored in its time. History, for Évelyne Lever, is also “knowing how to talk to your contemporaries”.
Colorful blouse and impeccable look, Évelyne Lever commands respect, and we feel that each of her words is carefully weighed. But her brilliant career at the CNRS, the impressive list of her books or that of her interventions in the famous program Secrets d’Histoire do not distract her from an accessible pedagogy, free from any condescension.
This is what, with her expertise, made her an obvious choice for illuminate, last June, three classes of CP and CE1 from the Jules Ferry school in Nancy on heritage and cultural life in the 18th century. This meeting is part of the festivities marking the 40th anniversary of the inscription of Place Stanislas, Place Carrière and Place d’Alliance as UNESCO world heritage sites.
The 18th century in the spotlight
Returning to Nancy at the beginning of September to present The Mazarin Princesses at the Book on the Place, perhaps the Parisian scholar will further increase her visits before the end of the festivities which honor the three Nancy squares. In the meantime, Nancy will still be animated on this theme thanks to the Ephemeral Garden in the shape of the UNESCO logo , or thanks to the exhibition “Gold, art and science”, visible from October 18 at the Museum of Fine Arts. The celebrations will last until the end of December, with the festivities of Saint-Nicolas organized on the theme of the 18th century.
Évelyne Lever is one of those who know the 18th century best. But what makes her best able to share it is that she can talk to 6-year-old children as well as 66-year-old adults. Her deep desire to understand makes her a translator. She understands the customs of an era to make them intelligible to her contemporaries. Adapting to your audience is the secret of storytellers…
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