They bought ancient castles and abbeys at knockdown prices in the wake of the French Revolution, only to demolish them and sell off the building materials.
Among the famous châteaux destroyed were: Their dramatic name was invented by the Romantic writers.
The ruin of such ornamented and "ancient" structures played to the Romantic focus on scenic locales and tragic histories.
La bande noire is also the title of a well-known poem by Victor Hugo, written in 1823 and published in his Nouvelles Odes, also about such speculation.
•'The Discovery of France ' by Graham Robb (Picador) - Ch14 - reference to Balzac ('Le Curé de Campagne') This French history–related article is a stub.