Ghosts of Trianon [Illustrated] [Paperback]

C a E Moberley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 8, 1988

This is the true story of two Englishwomen getting caught up in one of the most fascinating and inexplicable "time travel" experiences ever recorded. After travelling down to the grand French palaces of Versailles, they proceed to take a walk along the various pathways and gardens outside, only to lose their way and on top of that, get lost in a time warp, literally. It takes them back in time to the palace gardens at the time of the French Revolution and to a face-to-face confrontation with Marie Antoinette, among others. No, this is not fiction, it purports to be fact. The two women, both prominent academics, give us a very convincing and staggering account of their claims. This book is their clear and thought-provoking explanation of exactly what happened to them. Were they mistaken? Was it a hoax? Was the experience real? You decide. This is a truly fascinating book, which quickly sold 10, 000 copies when it was first published. Here it is back in print again at long last.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Aquarian Press; illustrated edition edition (December 8, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0850307740
• ISBN-13: 978-0850307740
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,399,705 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars you can find it and you should, May 17, 2000

By 

lisatheratgirl "lisatheratgirl" (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Ghosts of the Trianon: The Complete "an Adventure" (Hardcover)

Let me start by saying I just came home from Paris where Ipicked up this book in French at Versailles and read it late everysingle night! If you want it in English, amazon.uk will special order it. I first saw this as a movie on PBS, "Mrs. Morison's Ghosts," about 20 years ago and never forgot it. At the time I didnt know if it was fiction or nonfiction and couldn't find the book because the title was different and the authors did not use their real names for the first edition. This book, published first in 1911 and many times since, was a best seller in England and France. "les Fantomes de Trianon" or "Ghosts of the Trianon" not only includes the original story, but the painstakingly detailed research the authors did to track down and authenticate everything they had seen, their three subsequent visits to Versailles, and various analyses of their experience, which amounted to stepping across a time warp. As my version points out, mankind has conquered the speed of sound and the speed of light, so why shouldn't we someday be able to break through the barrier of time? I found both the book and the movie thrilling and thought-provoking. This story has not had the publicity it deserves.

By the way, I've hung out in the gardens of Versailles on two occasions so far, and both times there were repairs in the area of the Petit Trianon, so I wasn't able to see if I could duplicate their experience. If I ever do, I'll let you all know!

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Did they really see the ghost of Marie Antoinette?, August 19, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Ghosts of Trianon (Paperback)

A thorough and absorbing re-examination of the curious story of two proper English ladies - Miss Moberly and Miss Jordaine - who went for a stroll one hot summer day in 1900 and came back convinced that they had traveled through time and seen Marie Antoinette. This is one of the world's great, unresolved ghost stories, and this slim volume does a very in-depth examination of exactly what these ladies may have seen and exactly how their story has been dealt with down through the decades. Thought provoking and very satisfying for the reader of true life ghost stories. I literally searched for this book for years and finally finding it was well worth my long, long anticipation. Highly recommended.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars We all need a little fantasy!, June 27, 2010

By 

Philoctetes "book lover" - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Ghosts Of Trianon (Paperback)

Well, I adore the Petit Trianon and stumbled on this story many years ago. My library had only one old copy and, at the time, it was nowhere else to be found, out of print. I actually copied the whole thing on my battered printer before returning it to the library. On a subsequent visit to the Petit Trianon, I actually tried to duplicate their route, just for the thrill of it. Of course nothing happened beyond the ordinary...but one can always dream.

Whatever they saw or thought they saw, their researches into the 1783 state of the gardens, gardeners' house, cottage, grottos and of the little mansion in relation to the Jeu de Bague and the Chapel (particularly as drawn in this book) are all wrong. A simple look at Mique's maps, available online and in other books, or a study of the Petit Trianon's plans will clarify that.

A disconcerting thing for me was "Miss Jourdain's" last visit. She claims that just as she was leaving the same old depression, accompanied by the same change in the surroundings they had experienced in 1901 began to happen...but she immediately decided to stick to her plan, and left (?) - in other words, while she admits a sense of awe at what seems to be happening again, she abandons the chance to experience it again, as in 1901, so as not to miss her tram! Very baffling, considering that they'd spent years trying to understand, if not re-live, their "time-warp" adventure and revisiting and researching Trianon. Never mind! Though I stopped taking it seriously after reading of Miss Jourdain's casual dismissal of this last chance-given opportunity, I'll always enjoy the story.

For an understanding of the gardens circa 1783, I recommend "Views and Plans of the Petit Trianon at Versailles" - essentially an album of views and watercolors Marie Antoinette was in the habit of presenting to important visitors as a souvenir.

Also, "Marie Antoinette and the Last Garden at Versailles" - recently published.

Both books have Mique's maps, and are available in Amazon.