Madame de Sévigné and Malicorne castle
And also
The tops
Madame de Sévigné often came here to visit the lady of the manor. She wrote:
Jamais je n'ai vu plus agréable maison. Il me fallait toute l'eau que j'y ai trouvée pour me rafraîchir du fond de chaleur que j'ai depuis 6 jours...
which means:
This is the nicest house I've ever seen. It's very hot here, and I found water to refresh myself...
Raised in the 11th century by Gaudin family, transformed by the Chaource one after the Hundred Years War, the estate fell to the Beaumanoir-Lavardin in 1609, after the death of the last Chaource.
Those Lavardin lords had a nice and peaceful lifestyle! They even welcomed king Louis XIII with his mother and all the royal court, in September 1614!
And of course, madame de Sévigné often came here in order to see her friend, the marquise de Lavardin.
The famous writer wrote they always served delicious food, in such a nice house. Did you know she called Malicorne and its castle "Sylvie"?
By marriage, Malicorne fell to the La Châtre family at the end of the 17th century. At that time, it was full of great and gorgeous parties.
The La Châtre and their friends liked to gather in order to perform theatre plays. They even wrote a "Regulation about the Malicorne's troupe"! They recorded costumes, performances hours...
Anyway, Lavardin lords were ruined, just before the Revolution... In 1780, the new owner, count of Choiseul-Praslin, demolished the old castle. Sir Cherouvrier, in the 19th century, rebuilt a new Classical castle.