SKU: 41066516760

"Madame De" 1954 VILMORIN, Louise de (SOLD)

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"Madame De" 1954 VILMORIN, Louise de (SOLD)VILMORIN, Louise de [54] pp. Julian Messner, Inc. 1954 6 3 4" x 8 1 2" Drawings by Ian Ribbons VG VG A society woman in Paris sells her jewels, a gift from her husband, to pay debts. The buyer informs the husband, the husband buys them back and gives them to his mistress. The mistress sells them and they come back to the original woman via an admirer. THE story of the earrings of Madame de begins with this observation: "Elegance rather than beauty was

VILMORIN, Louise de

[54] pp.

Julian Messner, Inc.

1954

6 3/4" x 8 1/2"

Drawings by Ian Ribbons

VG/ VG

A society woman in Paris sells her jewels, a gift from her husband, to pay debts. The buyer informs the husband, the husband buys them back and gives them to his mistress. The mistress sells them and they come back to the original woman via an admirer.

THE story of the earrings of Madame de- begins with this observation: "Elegance rather than beauty was accorded the mark of merit in the circle of society to which Madame de- belonged." American readers who break into that charmed circle will no doubt agree that Madame de- was the most elegant of all women. Her manners were faultless, and her sensibilities exquisite. She deceived her husband like a lady, and he understood and forgave her like a true man of the world. Even her anonymity distinguished her: the author explains she wrote the book so quickly she had no time to give the heroine more than the dangling particle de.

Quickly written or not, Louise de Vilmorin's novelette is a perfect drawing room fable—a real jewel, as one of the characters might say in highest praise. And though the jewel is precious, it was cut with a rare economy of means. A complex story (recently made into a French movie) is told here in fifty-four pages of uncomplicated writing.

The theme of “Madame de” is deception: the web of falsehoods in which a fashionable woman can be caught, and drawn to tragedy. Madame de- cannot resist telling her rich and generous husband that her dresses cost half of what they actually did cost her. So to pay her debts she sells the heart-shaped diamond earrings which were a wedding present from Monsieur de- and pretends to lose them at a ball. The family jeweler who bought them believing Monsieur de- had some private money troubles suddenly finds himself in possession of jewels believed to have been stolen. He takes them to Monsieur de who buys them for the second time. Saddened by his wife's pretense, and the injury done his good name, he gives them to a mistress.

Before Moniseur de- is through he buys the earrings back three times, and they change hands on ten increasingly elaborate occasions Madame de- suffers at each exchange, until, abandoned by her ambassador-lover, she dies of sadness and pneumonia.

TRUE to Gallic tradition, both her husband and her lover are present for the deathbed scene, when her two hands gently open and disclose a diamond heart in each, “It was as though she had meant to give them away and she cared not to whom.

"'She is dead,' said Monsieur de-. 'Take this heart which she has given you, The other is her own. I will take charge of it.'

"Monsieur de- laid the other heart on the heart of his wife and then sent for the old nurse. Forthwith, the room was full of the rustle of skirts and the sound of wailing. The candles which had so often lit up her dinner parties now shone round her deathbed. Monsieur de- sent for his tailor, and, without telling him the reason, ordered some suits of mourning."

Madame de Vilmorin is at her best in this airy fantasy of manners. Her novel “Julietta” suggest that she is less gifted for bigger books; characterizations which seemed delightfully transparent in “Madame de” become opaque in a longer novel.

The least successful of these characters is the adolescent heroine, Julietta, who "spent her life in a world of her own invention." Escaping from her mother (a bourgeois lady) and her 54-year-old fiancé (a prince), Julietta takes refuge in the attic of Landrecourt (an intellectual). Here, she invents a world of her own so splendid that Landrecourt is dazzled and won—though his mistress-Rosie's exasperation with these goings-on deserves the reader's sympathy. In fact, the portrait of Rosie, in all her high-toned frivolity, is both the triumph and the symbol of Louise de Vilmorin's art.

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SKU: 41066516760

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Karen M
Lake Worth, US
★★★★★ 5
Good to use every night...I do.
If you suffer from dry mouth during the night, these are the perfect solution. I had tried rinses - they don't last. Sprays - they don't last. lozenges - don't last. Other tablets, only last a few hours. I can get about 8 hours relief with these. Contrary to other reviews, you do not suck on them like a lozenge...they won't last at all if you do it that way. Read the directions. They "adhere" to your back molars...don't drink or eat after putting them in...as both will either dislodge or reduce the effectiveness. However, when I don't use these, my mouth is miserable and so dry. These provide enough moisture throughout the night. The flavors aren't too bad. I've used the mint (not may favorite because I'm not a fan of mint flavor), orange and berry. I wish they had other flavors (cinnamon, licorice), but till then, I'll use these probably forever.
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Reviewed in the United States on January 2, 2026
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Brenda P
New York, US
★★★★★ 5
Really helpful for dry mouth.
Scent Name: Berry, Size: 100 Count
These really work. I wear a CPAP and my mouth was so dry I was waking up with my tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth. They stick well so no worry of swallowing it during the night. I like the berry flavor.
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Reviewed in the United States on April 25, 2026
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Em N
Lexington, US
★★★★★ 4
help with dry mouth
Scent Name: Berry, Size: 100 Count
I'VE BEEN USING THESE AT NIGHT FOR SEVERAL YEARS AND THEY LAST MOST OF THE NIGHT. I LIKE THE MILD FLAVOR TOO.
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Reviewed in the United States on May 2, 2026
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Kenneth
Port Orchard, US
★★★★★ 5
A Miracle for dry mouth!!
Scent Name: Berry, Size: 100 Count
I don't know what I would do without this product. I suffer from severe dry mouth from my medications and xylmelts have been a miracle for me. I buy them regularly and cannot live without them I sleep comfortably with them in my mouth and they help beyond belief.
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Reviewed in the United States on April 8, 2026
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Beverly White
Omaha, US
★★★★★ 5
Dry mouth remedy
I have been using these for a couple of years and they work great
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Reviewed in the United States on May 10, 2026

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