the famous escapesthe famous escapes
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Episode 1Episode 1Open episodeAfter the death of Louis XIII, the Duc de Beaufort, the late king's legitimate nephew, continued to intrigue against Mazarin. Mazarin, supported by the Queen who saw in him a man of government, imprisoned the Duke in the Château de Vincennes, where he remained for five years. But his friends, the Condés and the Duchesse de Montbazon, tried to free him. Mazarin and the Queen laughed at an astrologer's prediction that the escape would take place on Whit Sunday 1649. And yet, the Duc de Beaufort received unexpected support even in his own prison.
Episode 2Episode 2Open episodeIn Paris, in the spring of 1815, Count Antoine Marie Charmans de Lavalette learns that Napoleon has landed at Golfe-Juan. Without delay, Bonaparte's former aide-de-camp helped organize the Emperor's grand return. But things went badly wrong: after the defeat at Waterloo and the return of Louis XVIII to the throne, the white terror set in. Lavalette, one of the first outlaws, was arrested, tried and sentenced to death, before being executed on December 21, 1815.
Episode 3Episode 3Open episodeIn 1748, following a misunderstanding, Latude incurred the wrath of the Marquise de Pompadour, who had him imprisoned in the Bastille. He managed to escape three times, each time recaptured, before finally regaining his freedom in 1784.
Episode 4Episode 4Open episodeIn 532, King Clovis died and his son Theodoric, who succeeded him, took Attale, son of the Count of Autun, hostage. Gregory, bishop of Langres and Attale's uncle, orders the faithful Leon to send his nephew away. Leon manages to get himself hired as Theodoric's cook and frees Attale and the young German princess Yseut, with whom he has fallen in love in the meantime.
Episode 5Episode 5Open episodeJanuary 1807, Poland is liberated from the Prussian yoke after the Battle of Jena. Emperor Napoleon visits the castle of Hungarian baron Wolfgang von Kempelen, and notices the automata designed by the baron, who died in 1804, in particular the Turkish chess player.
Episode 6Episode 6Open episode1597: Lieutenant Louis de la Pivardière returns from war to find his wife in an awkward situation, and a heated argument ensues. The next morning, M. de la Pivardière disappeared. The wife is accused of murdering her husband.
Episode 7Episode 7Open episodeIn 1755, Casanova returned to his native Venice, but was arrested for libertinism and Masonic practices. After thirteen months of imprisonment at the Piombi, with his trial still pending, Casanova decided to escape.