The Rose of Versailles..🌹

For those who's never heard of the The Rose of Versailles, here is a little snippet from Wikipedia...

The Rose of Versailles (ベルサイユのばら), also known as Lady Oscar or La Rose de Versailles, is one of the best-known titles in shōjo manga and a media franchise created by Riyoko Ikeda. It has been adapted into several Takarazuka Revue musicals, as well an anime television series, produced by Tokyo Movie Shinsha and broadcast by the anime television network Animax and Nippon Television. 

The Rose of Versailles focuses on Oscar François de Jarjayes, a girl raised as a man to become her father's successor as leader of the Palace Guards. A brilliant combatant with a strong sense of justice, Oscar is proud of the life she leads, but becomes torn between class loyalty and her desire to help the impoverished as revolution brews among the oppressed lower class. Also important to the story are her conflicting desires to live life as both a militant and a regular woman as well as her relationships with Marie Antoinette, Count Axel von Fersen, and servant and best friend André Grandier.

It features elements of the yuri genre embodied in the relationship between Oscar and her protégée Rosalie Lamorlière, the secret daughter of the scheming Madame de Polignac. Rosalie refers to Oscar as her first love.  Many of the court ladies also greatly adore Oscar, openly admiring her at parties and become very jealous when she brings female companions to them.

I first learn of this story when I was in Japan.  My teacher brought me to a Takarazuka which was playing The Rose of Versailles at the time.  Takarazuka is a Japanese all female cast musical theatre.  Here are some photos from the show...

I was so captivated by it all!! The story, the actresses and the performance.   I couldn't get enough so I resorted to reading the whole manga collection and it is then that drew me to Marie Antoinette. 

For many months now, I've been working on a very special girl for a very special person.   Lady Oscar was the inspiration for this creation and I know my very special friend would love her too.  It's been a while since I've thought about Lady Oscar and this project has sure brought back memories.  I think I'll have to revisit those manga again!

I'm so thrilled with how this girl turned out and I'm so happy to know she'll have a wonderful mummy to give her a beautiful and loving home and so I'm going to have to say 'goodbye' now that she's ready for her travels to the US.

Therefore, for my August wallpaper calendar, there can be no other than my 'Rose of Versailles'..

I hope you like her too.

To download a good resolution of this photo, please visit my flickr at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/22546523@N03/29885348728/in/dateposted-public/  Hope you have a wonderful month and thank you for dropping by ~