Chapter Summaries

Joseph introduced the August 1788 Model Percussion Cap Rifle and planned a factory near Paris, funded by Louis XVI, to produce it. At Versailles, Joseph learned that Talleyrand’s promotion was stalled because the Queen objected to his past remarks about her, leaving Joseph a chance to recruit him.

• The police academy instructors tested the Percussion Cap Guns, and Friant and the other officers praised their power, firing speed, and reduced smoke.
• Joseph named the weapon the August 1788 Model Percussion Cap Rifle and credited Louis XVI with making it, earning the King public acclaim.
• Louis XVI agreed to provide five hundred thousand Livres for a new factory near Paris, and Joseph planned to recruit skilled craftsmen from Charleville and Saint-Étienne.
• Joseph considered using North Africa to train his Royal Guard Legion and wondered how he could intervene without opposition from the Englishmen.
• At Versailles, Joseph asked why Talleyrand was waiting outside, and Louis XVI explained that the Queen had delayed signing his promotion to Archbishop.

Joseph discussed weapons development with Louis XVI, then met Brienne to address diplomatic appointments and a new Identification Card system. Catherine II’s letter urged France to join Russia’s war against the Ottoman Empire, giving Joseph a possible opening involving North Africa.

• Joseph promised Louis XVI a future Rifled Gun design that would be easier to load than existing models.
• Joseph told Brienne that Count Nicoé was unsuited to diplomacy and proposed having him plan Identification Cards for French citizens.
• Joseph and Brienne agreed that Vergennes should remain sidelined and that the Minister of Foreign Affairs should be replaced by one of their allies.
• Brienne gave Joseph Catherine II’s letter urging France to support Russia and declare war on the Ottoman Empire, and reported her hint at a Russo-French marriage alliance.
• Joseph considered how France might use Russia’s war against the Ottoman Empire, whose nominal territories included Algiers, Tunis, and Egypt.

Joseph discussed an alliance with Russia and plans to protect France’s food supply with Brienne, then helped Talleyrand win Queen Mary’s forgiveness. Talleyrand apologized to the Queen and was pardoned.

• Joseph urged Brienne to propose an alliance with Russia and consider declaring war on the Ottoman Empire.
• Joseph told Brienne to monitor potato irrigation, establish parish banks for farmer loans, and build strategic grain reserves in major cities.
• Talleyrand asked Joseph for help after Queen Mary blocked his promotion to Archbishop because he had repeated rumors about her.
• Joseph suggested that Talleyrand thank the King by helping with the planned Firearm Manufacturing Plant.
• Joseph brought desserts to Queen Mary and persuaded her to forgive Talleyrand, who then apologized to her and received her pardon.

Joseph learned about the Barbary Pirates from Talleyrand and began shaping a French strategy to attack their North African strongholds. He proposed a diplomatic role for Talleyrand in a campaign he claimed would make money rather than cost France much.

• Talleyrand explained the political conditions in Morocco, Algiers, and Tunis, including their ties to piracy.
• Talleyrand described how the Barbary Pirates raided merchant ships, seized hostages, and enslaved people across the Mediterranean.
• Joseph recalled the future Barbary Wars and considered attacking the pirates with support from the United States, Spain, and Russia.
• Joseph concluded that France could turn pirate territory into spoils of war while limiting Britain's ability to intervene.
• Talleyrand warned that suppressing the pirates would be expensive, but Joseph said the campaign would make money and suggested Talleyrand take a diplomatic post.

Joseph assigned Talleyrand a diplomatic mission to negotiate American payments for French help against the Barbary Pirates and arrange a Russia-bound arms shipment to support cooperation against the Ottoman Empire. He then directed carriage makers to build a new leaf-spring suspension for the Public Carriage before Paris Fashion Week.

• Joseph appointed Talleyrand as a diplomatic adviser and sent him to the United States to arrange a 600,000-livre annual fee for French naval assistance against the Barbary Pirates.
• Joseph instructed Talleyrand to demand the return of French flintlock guns, along with gunpowder and bullets, and have the Americans pay to ship them to Russia.
• Joseph ordered Talleyrand to accompany the guns to Russia and help secure Russian support for French operations in the Mediterranean Sea.
• Joseph showed Paris carriage makers how to construct a suspension from stacked steel strips and ordered them to install it on the Public Carriage before the following week's Paris Fashion Week.

Joseph planned to expand carriage production and market royal-certified models, while the cabinet debated France’s role in the Russo-Turkish War. The discussion ended with Joseph proposing that France target Ottoman naval forces and bases near the Barbary Coast.

• Joseph instructed Laspina to recruit skilled craftsmen, focus the workshop on chassis, and advertise luxurious custom-built carriages as royal-certified.
• Joseph planned to price the new carriages below spring-suspension models and considered licensing the design if demand exceeded production.
• Queen Mary approved Talleyrand’s appointment as Senior Diplomatic Adviser, and Brienne briefed the cabinet on the Russo-Turkish War.
• Brienne argued that France should intervene against the Ottoman Empire, while Joseph proposed acting on its western flank instead of sending forces to Crimea.
• Joseph urged the navy to target Ottoman forces in the western Mediterranean, including the Barbary Pirates and their naval bases.

Joseph secured support for a joint campaign against the Ottoman Empire and funding for grain reserves, while Vergennes was assigned a dangerous mission to Constantinople. After the cabinet meeting, Joseph remembered he had promised to show the Two Sicilies Princess around Paris.

• Joseph proposed that the United States fund a Mediterranean operation and buy French frigates, while Spain supplied warships for a joint campaign against the Barbary Pirates.
• Queen Mary approved the plans and ordered Brienne to prepare the operation; Brienne assigned Leonidas to negotiate with Russia and Vergennes to travel to Constantinople.
• Joseph warned Vergennes to arrange for the French ambassador and embassy staff in the Ottoman Empire to return home, leaving Vergennes resentful about the dangerous mission.
• The cabinet approved the grain proposals, and Joseph secured an additional appropriation of 3 million livres to purchase grain.
• Joseph recalled that he had promised to show the Two Sicilies Princess around Paris and went to greet her.

Queen Mary learned that Joseph had gone to Paris with Princess Maria and urged Clementine to hurry there, while Joseph took Maria shopping and then brought her to Eden Amusement Park. Maria delighted in riding the carousel as reporters began covering the pair’s outing.

• Queen Mary heard that Joseph and Princess Maria had left Versailles for Paris, and she sent a message urging Clementine to travel faster despite her delayed journey.
• Joseph took Maria to the Paris Angel Boutique, gave her a gold card worth one thousand livres, and bought her cosmetics and health oral liquid.
• Joseph brought Maria to Tuileries Palace to see preparations for Paris Fashion Week, and reporters wrote about their visit and his gift.
• Joseph invited Maria into Eden Amusement Park and explained the Ferris Wheel and other attractions.
• Joseph helped Maria onto a wooden swan on the Steam Engine-powered carousel, and she laughed with excitement as it turned.

Princess Maria enjoyed the amusement park with Joseph, but fainted from fear of heights at the top of the Ferris Wheel before she could confess her feelings. After she recovered, a young girl and Count Fanano hurried toward Paris, where the girl confidently dismissed Queen Mary's concern about the Two Sicilies Princess.

• Maria rode the amusement park attractions with Joseph and clung to him in fright inside the Haunted House.
• Maria read the Ferris Wheel sign about kissing a beloved at the highest point and asked Joseph to ride with her.
• As the Ferris Wheel reached its peak, Maria realized she was afraid of heights and fainted before she could kiss Joseph.
• Joseph caught Maria, and Doctor Perna later examined her at the Tuileries Palace as she woke and saw Joseph beside her.
• A young girl traveling with Count Fanano read Queen Mary's letter and said her aunt was worrying unnecessarily about the Two Sicilies Princess's favor with Joseph.

Clementine arrived in France and met Joseph, charming the welcoming party with her mishaps and gifts before reaching Versailles Palace. There, she introduced her cat, Mr. Mustache, to Princess Therese.

• Clementine arrived on King's Road, where Joseph and a large force of guards welcomed her.
• Clementine stumbled while getting out of her carriage, then gave Joseph a supposed Confucius-era folding fan that she had bought for 120 ducats.
• Clementine handed out gifts to members of the welcoming party before rain began and Joseph brought her into his carriage.
• Clementine's carriage axle broke, so she rode with Joseph and offered him her confectioner's vanilla peppermint candy.
• At Versailles Palace, Clementine greeted Queen Mary and Louis XVI, shared candy with her aunt, and introduced her cat, Mr. Mustache, to Princess Therese.

Joseph rejected the idea of choosing Maria or Clementine as a bride, telling Louis XVI that he wanted to focus on strengthening France. When Clementine’s cat escaped during the ball, Joseph joined the search, which led the guards through the palace and to a room where Minister of the Interior Mono was staying.

• Louis XVI asked Joseph which princess he preferred as a wife and worried that his son might have a physical problem or prefer men.
• Joseph told Louis XVI that he had not met the right person and wanted to postpone marriage while he focused on France.
• Clementine searched for her missing cat, and Joseph directed Kexer and the Swiss Guard to help find it.
• Joseph joined Clementine in searching Versailles Palace, where the guards interrupted nobles in private rooms.
• Clementine knocked on a second-floor South Hall room and pleaded to search it, while Joseph recognized the voice inside as Minister of the Interior Mono.

Joseph helped Count Monod try to keep his affair secret while joining Clementine’s search for Mr. Mustache. The next morning, Mirabeau reported rapid industrial progress and urged Joseph to work toward abolishing France’s internal tariffs, a proposal Joseph agreed to consider despite financial and political obstacles.

• Count Monod begged Joseph to keep his affair with the Countess Messayer and the Marchioness of Saint-Priest secret, and Joseph warned him that Clementine might talk.
• Joseph and Clementine searched Versailles Palace for Mr. Mustache and found the cat in Princess Therese’s reception room, where Clementine rescued him and was scratched.
• Mirabeau told Joseph that the Paper Mill had begun production, sold its first batch of paper, and received enough orders to fill five months.
• Mirabeau reported that construction had begun on the Lyon Paper Mill and that Nancy’s Industrial Development Zone had nearly completed its core area, including the French United Steam Engine Company’s factory.
• Mirabeau proposed abolishing regional tariffs to unify France’s domestic market, and Joseph agreed to consider how to overcome the financial and political obstacles.

Paris Fashion Week opened at the Tuileries Palace with Queen Mary in attendance, and its innovative runway shows and on-site sales captivated the international audience. After the first show, guests had placed so many orders that staff worked until four in the morning processing them.

• Walsh and his wife admired the Tuileries Palace before Barandon delivered the opening address and Queen Mary welcomed the crowd.
• Queen Mary departed after her speech, and a singer performed before the first runway show began.
• Models presented new fashions while display boards listed details and prices, and staff offered guests the chance to order outfits.
• Mrs. Walsh bought three outfits and a dark blue suit for her husband, leaving Walsh with a bill of nearly 40 Pound Sterling.
• Fashion Week's twenty-three presales employees worked until four in the morning sorting the guests' orders.

The Walshes toured Paris, where Mr. Walsh considered buying a villa before deciding against it, while Mrs. Walsh attended the fashion show. A British journalist became so absorbed in the play Refining the Firmament that he forgot his Fashion Week assignment, and Count Bobrinsky’s relentless gambling at the arcade drew concern from Viscount Flesselles.

• Mrs. Walsh and Mr. Walsh toured Paris, admired its clean streets, and learned that public lavatories helped keep them that way.
• A guide tried to persuade Mr. Walsh to buy a villa in the Royal Garden, but Walsh resisted because of the cost.
• Mrs. Walsh attended the fashion show while Mr. Walsh went to play the Slot Machines in the Arcade Hall.
• The British journalist watched Refining the Firmament, bought a pass for its consecutive performances, and decided to translate it for London.
• Count Bobrinsky gambled frantically at four Slot Machines, and Viscount Flesselles asked him to rest before leaving after his bodyguards pushed the group back.

Joseph proposed that Alexei partner with him in a France-Russia trading company to keep Alexei occupied with business and expand trade between the countries. Alexei became interested after Joseph outlined the company’s trade plan, Russian shipping protections, and promised tariff concessions.

• Alexei asked Joseph what nonpolitical matter he had in mind, and Joseph suggested that Alexei start a business in Paris.
• Joseph proposed that they establish a trading company to exchange Russian raw materials for French goods, with professionals handling its operations.
• Joseph explained that Russian-flagged ships could use the Armed Neutrality policy and outlined a route carrying Russian goods to Marseille and French products back to Crimea.
• Alexei questioned whether the company could compete with existing traders, and Joseph argued that France’s industrial reforms would sharply increase demand for Russian goods, especially flax.
• Joseph promised Alexei substantial tariff concessions, and Alexei showed interest in the proposal.

Princess Maria and Clementine competed for the Wish of the Stars necklace, which Clementine won with Queen Mary’s help, only for the necklace to break in her hands. Maria concluded that she had lost her chance to marry the Crown Prince and left Paris without giving him her farewell letter.

• Maria and Clementine raised their bids for the Wish of the Stars until Clementine reached her spending limit, and Queen Mary offered to pay whatever it took.
• Clementine bid six hundred and fifty thousand livres and won the necklace, but it caught on a gem on her clothing and its diamonds scattered across the floor.
• Queen Mary comforted the crying Clementine as maids searched for the diamonds, while Maria realized the Queen favored Clementine and believed she had already lost the Crown Prince.
• Maria left Paris alone the next day and chose not to send Joseph the farewell letter she had written.

Joseph reviewed Fashion Week’s revenue and estimated that it could bring him roughly ten million livres, which he intended to use to buy grain for the coming Great Famine. He also considered how the event could boost France’s reputation and textile industry, then left the report unfinished as the fashion show approached.

• Flesselles explained that the Organizing Committee’s revenue excluded several hundred thousand livres earned by City Hall, and Joseph estimated Fashion Week’s total proceeds would reach about seven million livres.
• Joseph counted Royal Garden Residence sales, cosmetics, and carriage sales among his other earnings, bringing his expected personal net income to roughly ten million livres.
• Joseph learned that fashion and jewelry commissions led the revenue report, while Arcade Hall ranked second after its machines earned more than 800,000 livres in six days.
• Joseph decided that most game machines should eventually be sent to the colonies and ended his discussion with Flesselles when the fashion show was about to begin.
• Joseph considered Fashion Week’s potential to improve France’s image, attract investment and talent, and revive Lyon’s textile industry.

Joseph advanced plans to standardize ready-made clothing while Paris Fashion Week concluded, and the Royal Ordnance Factory began production. The chapter left Joseph asking about the factory’s output of its new percussion-cap gun.

• Joseph directed designers toward smoother waistlines and worked with the Lyon Textile Industry Guild to establish preliminary ready-made clothing sizes.
• Walsh bought a Royal Garden residence for 2,050 Pound Sterling after learning France planned to expand its ready-made clothing industry.
• Paris Fashion Week ended on Frost Month 19, 1788, and the Paris Fashion Art Exhibition opened.
• Louis XVI attended the opening ceremony of the France Royal Ordnance Factory, which had completed preparations and begun production.
• Joseph asked Mr. Gaman about output, and Mr. Gaman said the factory could produce three August 1788 Model Percussion Cap Guns per day, soon rising to four.

Joseph trained the Ordnance Factory supervisors in standardized production and planned to expand the lessons into a course for factory managers. When he learned that the Royal Gunpowder Bureau had failed to produce Fulminate of Mercury, he summoned its executives and discovered that its absent director was Mr. Lavoisier.

• Joseph taught Gaman and Martinier about standardized production and considered creating an industrial management course with Venio and Jean Sonnet as instructors.
• Joseph asked Martinier about Copper Percussion Cap production and learned that the Royal Gunpowder Bureau expected to need three or four more months to produce Fulminate of Mercury.
• The next day, Joseph questioned the Bureau's assistant director and production manager about their failed trials and the delay.
• The executives said their director had previously overseen explosive experiments but had been on leave since the beginning of the year.
• Joseph demanded to know the director's identity, then stopped the production manager when he learned it was Mr. Lavoisier, the discoverer of oxygen.

Joseph visited Lavoisier at his home after learning the Royal Gunpowder Bureau was struggling without its director. Lavoisier agreed to help produce Fulminate of Mercury, but only two days a week, so he could continue writing Elementary Treatise on Chemistry.

• Joseph learned that Lavoisier was away from the Royal Gunpowder Bureau to finish his book, Elementary Treatise on Chemistry.
• Joseph traveled by Wooden Railway to Lavoisier’s villa near Paris and resolved to protect the chemist from the dangers of the coming revolution.
• Lavoisier welcomed Joseph and explained that he had taken leave to complete his work on chemistry.
• Joseph asked Lavoisier to help the Gunpowder Bureau produce Fulminate of Mercury.
• Lavoisier recognized the explosive’s likely ingredients and production method, then offered to assist at the bureau two days a week.