S8 Ep336: HEADLINE: Emerging from the Terror: The Birth of Revolutionary Style GUEST AUTHOR: Anne Higonnet SUMMARY: Professor Anne Higonnet discusses how the end of the Reign of Terror in 1794 precipitated a radical shift in French fashion. Teresia Tallien, emergin
The John Batchelor Show
John Batchelor
4.5 • 2.8K Ratings
🗓️ 19 January 2026
⏱️ 10 minutes
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Summary
SUMMARY: Professor Anne Higonnet discusses how the end of the Reign of Terror in 1794 precipitated a radical shift in French fashion. Teresia Tallien, emerging from prison in a simple garment, transformed her "prison garb" into a symbol of survival and chic, abandoning the corsets and silks of the aristocracy for flowing lines. Joined by Rose de Beauharnais (the future Josephine) and Juliette Récamier, these women—known as "The Graces"—utilized style as a tool for social and political advancement. Higonnet argues that while men controlled the violence, these women revolutionized the culture, turning their trauma into a liberating aesthetic.
1796 JOSEPHINE
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| 0:34.4 | with Indeed. This is do it the right way with indeed this is cbs i on the world here's john bachelor this is cbs i |
| 0:48.7 | in the world i'm john bachel it is july 30th 1794 in par. Emerging from an infamous prison, La Force, is a young woman named Teresa. |
| 1:00.2 | She emerges, people are watching, and she's embraced by a man named Talian, one of the leading lights of the revolution. |
| 1:07.3 | This moment becomes a significant event in the world of fashion invented again during the French Revolution. |
| 1:17.3 | I learned from a new book. Anne Higone is the author, Professor of Art History at Barnard College. |
| 1:23.4 | The book is Liberty, Equality, Fashion, the women who styled the French Revolution. |
| 1:28.8 | Professor, congratulations, and a very good evening to you. |
| 1:32.2 | At that moment, who is Theresia to the people swooning to watch her embrace by Talianne? |
| 1:39.2 | And what is Talian at that moment that he is at the prison as she emerges. Good evening to you. |
| 1:47.6 | Hello. Well, Theresea was already famously the most beautiful woman in Europe. People compared her without fail to a goddess. |
| 2:20.3 | She was imprisoned during the terror because Robespierre himself felt that she had too much erotic power over someone who he thought was a loyal follower of his tagian. But then as the terror escalated, |
| 2:23.3 | Talian turned against Robespierre and the Committee of Public Safety, |
| 2:30.3 | but hesitated until his imprisoned lover sent him a message saying, |
| 2:37.0 | I'm about to be guillotined. |
| 2:39.0 | So if you don't overthrow Roves-Fierre, I will die. |
| 2:44.0 | Which explains the timing of the overthrow of the terror. |
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