Thanks to Serge, I did some digging around as to where Jane and Etienne (Stephan) lived in Paris and have found record of them at 16 Rue Montaigne in the 8th, near the Champs Elysees. The building now seems to be home to designer labels such as Armani and Cucinelli. This would have been in... Continue Reading →
My dear sister, Nicole, is the keeper of family history, and the best French scholar among the Australian branch of the de Pierres. She stumbled on this in some family papers recently. For me it was the equivalent of striking gold!! Interestingly it is written in English, though I am yet to decipher the contents.... Continue Reading →
In a series of letters that I found for sale or sold on Le Manuscrit Francais, we are able to get more insight into the lives of Jane Thorne, and her daughter Jeanne Marie. I have reproduced the details from the website. But if you visit it directly you can also find this information. Laurent... Continue Reading →
Some of the anecdotes I have found in the course of my research have been amusing and revealing. None more so than this one from 1866, which I mentioned in my post about Jane (Thorn) de Pierres. It is such an insight into the tone and day to day court life of Napoleon 111 and... Continue Reading →
So, I'm a little confused over something. I'd love your thoughts! Which of the Thorn girls are in the first two paintings below with Ellen? Alice or Ida? The Frick collection notes say it's the Countess de Ferussac (Alice), but in his biography Healey refers to painting the two youngest Thorn girls, which would make... Continue Reading →
The Colonel and Mrs Thorn 
I noticed that too..nicknames add even more color to the picture
Oh, yes I found the photo amd put it on the poat about the Thorn granchildren! From Jane's letters it…
I shared her portrait and her father James with you…James is the black framed portrait vs the giant gold framed…
Dear Jacqueline, I feel the same as you. It has brought so much to life. Jane is clearly very fond…
How wonderful to hear the voices of the family..the daily life, the visits the boredom…first hand accounts from woman are…