Jacques
Fersen of Adeswarde was born in Paris on 20 February 1880 of a family of steel
industrialists, descendants of the Earl Hans Halex de Fersen, the famous lover
of Queen Marie Antoinette. He spent his adolescence studying at the best lycées
of the French capital: first the Sainte Barbe Aux Champes, then the Rocheford,
finally the Michelette lycée. When
he came of age, Jacques decided to go in for the diplomatic career, and read law
at the Ecole Des Sciences Politiques; in this period he left for Italy with his
mother and sisters and, after a few legs, he reached Naples. It was right here,
the capital of the Neapolitan republic, that he met the Viscount Robert de
Tunnel, with whom he reached Capri for the first time. From
that moment on his stays on the island were very frequent, broken only by a
series of fairly long journeys round the world and by events which were to
determine the rest of his life. In fact, on 10 June 1903, the day of his
engagement with the Viscount of Moupeou’s daughter, he was arrested under the
charges of gross indecency and corruption of minors. The prosecution, which was
brought against him also because of the confession of a waiter who had been
dismissed, started in November 1903; although Fersen was defended by the famous
lawyer Demange, the same of the Dreyfus affair, he was condemned to six months
of imprisonment and five years of suspension from public offices. On
regaining freedom he went through a long period of depression and tried to
commit suicide. Embittered and tired of life, he decided to leave everything and
flee to a place where to start a new life; so it was that he landed at the blue
island for the third time. Here he rented Villa Certosella and entered the odd
colony of foreign residents as Earl Fersen or de Fersen, having given up the
title of Baron of Adelsward.
Axel Munthe
Jacques
Fersen of Adeswarde was born in Paris on 20 February 1880 of a family of steel
industrialists, descendants of the Earl Hans Halex de Fersen, the famous lover
of Queen Marie Antoinette. He spent his adolescence studying at the best lycées
of the French capital: first the Sainte Barbe Aux Champes, then the Rocheford,
finally the Michelette lycée. When
he came of age, Jacques decided to go in for the diplomatic career, and read law
at the Ecole Des Sciences Politiques; in this period he left for Italy with his
mother and sisters and, after a few legs, he reached Naples. It was right here,
the capital of the Neapolitan republic, that he met the Viscount Robert de
Tunnel, with whom he reached Capri for the first time. From
that moment on his stays on the island were very frequent, broken only by a
series of fairly long journeys round the world and by events which were to
determine the rest of his life. In fact, on 10 June 1903, the day of his
engagement with the Viscount of Moupeou’s daughter, he was arrested under the
charges of gross indecency and corruption of minors. The prosecution, which was
brought against him also because of the confession of a waiter who had been
dismissed, started in November 1903; although Fersen was defended by the famous
lawyer Demange, the same of the Dreyfus affair, he was condemned to six months
of imprisonment and five years of suspension from public offices. On
regaining freedom he went through a long period of depression and tried to
commit suicide. Embittered and tired of life, he decided to leave everything and
flee to a place where to start a new life; so it was that he landed at the blue
island for the third time. Here he rented Villa Certosella and entered the odd
colony of foreign residents as Earl Fersen or de Fersen, having given up the
title of Baron of Adelsward.