‘The Ghosts of Versailles,’ An Illustrated Lecture

Strother Purdy, a retired Professor of English who lives in Bridgewater with his wife Evelyne, will be the guest speaker at C.H. Booth Library on Sunday, April 24. At 5 pm that afternoon Mr Purdy will offer a lecture he called “The Ghosts of Versailles.”

The public is welcome, free of charge. The program is being sponsored by Alliance Française of Northwestern Connecticut.

The lecture will be in English, but there will be opportunities for French conversation between attendees following the presentation.

Mr Purdy’s program will concern one of the most famous unsolved ghost stores in English experience.

In 1901 on a visit to the Château of Versailles, two English ladies became lost somewhere between the Grand Trianon and their goal, Le Hameau de la Reine, Marie Antoinette’s toy village. They never got there. What is more, disturbed and a little frightened, when they got back to the château, they came to realize that the details of what they had seen bore no connection to the Versailles of 1901.

They returned the next year to get to the bottom of the matter, but could find none of the landmarks of their 1901 experience, which now, they became convinced, had taken them to 1789 and given them sight of the doomed queen as she sat drawing by the Petit Trianon.  The matter has engaged the minds of many investigators over the years and remains the most famous unsolved ghost story in English experience.

Light refreshments will be served following the program.

Reservations are not necessary. The library, at 25 Main Street in Newtown, can be reached by calling 426-4533.