Vocabulary
Word:
Definition:
Word:
Definition:
BEGIN
DAY 3
Literal: How many years did the Hope family own the diamond?
They had the diamond for seventy years.
Inferential: Why do you think people believed the diamond sold
to George IV was the French Blue? The diamond was smaller than
the French blue, but it was blue and still very large.
beheaded
had head cut off
escapable
possible to avoid
or get away from
70 The Curse of the Hope Diamond
Generate Questions
The curse did not seem to affect Louis XIV or his great-
grandson, the next king, Louis XV. But the king after that,
Louis XVI, had very bad luck. He was beheaded during
the French Revolution. This was probably not the curse,
though. It was probably because he was a very bad king.
The French Revolution also meant the end of the stone
known as the French Blue. The crown jewels were not
guarded safely. Sometime in 1791 or 1792, the French Blue
was stolen. No one has ever seen it again.
That is not the end of the story, however. A few years
later a mysterious large blue diamond appeared in
England. It was only 45.5 carats. People believe the
thieves who stole the French Blue had cut it down to make
it look different. This stone was sold to George IV, the king
of England.
Next, the diamond was sold to a man named Henry
Philip Hope. It is from this man that the Hope Diamond got
its name. He bought the diamond in the 1830s, and it
stayed in the Hope family for the next seventy years.
Finally, in the late 1800s, the diamond was owned by Lord
Francis Hope. He gambled too much, ruined his marriage,
and needed money, so in 1901 he sold the diamond. Was
he cursed by the diamond or by his gambling?