Claude de Bourdeille, comte de Montrésor

Claude de Bourdeille, comte de Montrésor (c. 1606–1663) was a French aristocrat and Count of Montrésor, who played a role in the intrigues of the first half of the 17th century, and was also a memoir-writer.

He left his Mémoires, published posthumously in 1663. The Eleventh Edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica notes in its entry on the Count of Montrésor that "His Mémoires have preserved his name from the oblivion otherwise awaiting such intriguers; they are written with naīve frankness and are extremely interesting."

Biography The Count of Montrésor was the grandnephew of Brantôme, the famous French writer. He became the second favorite of Gaston d'Orléans (younger brother of King Louis XIII) in 1635. Along with Gaston d'Orléans and the Count of Soissons, he planned the assassination of Richelieu at the camp of Amiens in 1636, a plan which eventually failed. In 1637, he had the Hôtel de Montrésor built in Paris by Michel Villedo and Claude Dublet.

The Count of Montrésor was forced to spend the next six years on his estate, but in 1642 he entered into the plot of Cinq-Mars against Richelieu. On the failure of the plot, he escaped to England, and his estates were confiscated. The Count was first linked to "The Cask of Amontillado" by Poe scholar Burton R. Pollin.

Online full-text resources

Biographical sketches (Google Books) (Internet Archives)

Mémoires (Internet Archives)

References and notes