Tagged: marie antoinette
Marie Antoinette: The Journey by Antonia Fraser
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
France’s beleaguered queen, Marie Antoinette, wrongly accused of uttering the infamous ‘Let them eat cake,’ was the subject of ridicule and curiosity even before her death; she has since been the object of debate and speculation and the fascination so often accorded tragic figures in history. Married in mere girlhood, this essentially lighthearted, privileged, but otherwise unremarkable child was thrust into an unparalleled time and place, and was commanded by circumstance to play a significant role in history. Antonia Fraser’s lavish and engaging portrait of Marie Antoinette, one of the most recognizable women in European history, excites compassion and regard for all aspects of her subject, immersing the reader not only in the coming-of-age of a graceful woman, but also in the unraveling of an era.
One of the historical figures that I’ve never liked was Marie Antoinette. To someone like me who is incredibly bookish and curious about the world around me I just could not connect with a woman who hated reading and seemed to only care about the insular court of Versailles. I had bought this biography about her on sale for just about $2 so I decided I’d give Marie Antoinette another chance. Antonia Fraser is a noted historian so I thought that if anyone could make me feel an ounce of sympathy for the woman she could.
And in the end, Antonia Fraser was the one who changed my mind about Marie Antoinette. Let me explain.
Marie Antoinette was the last girl in a long series of children birthed by the formidable Maria Teresa (more commonly known as Maria Theresa but Antonia Fraser uses the former spelling), archduchess of Austria and Holy Roman Empress. She was given a mediocre education at best until it was decided she would be the next queen of France and then poor Marie was supposed to learn everything there was to know about the French court, customs and language in just a couple of years. For someone who was functionally illiterate until the age of 10 or so because of an incredibly lazy governess, this would be no mean feat but I was actually surprised at how much she succeeded. Marie Antoinette was not a party girl as is commonly depicted. No, she was more of a lonely wife dealing with the humiliation of the whole court knowing that her husband Louis could not perform his manly duties (which of course was her fault). Louis was kind of a useless sort of a man, more interested in hunting and tinkering with his locks than learning about politics and how to run the state or even how to properly bed his wife. (As a side note: how one could stay totally innocent about sex in Versailles of all places, I’ll never know.)
So Marie Antoinette turned to her circle of friends and one of her weaknesses was gambling; she lost massive fortunes gambling with courtiers as was expected. When the regime’s fiscal crisis became apparent she started dressing more plainly but was rebuked by her fellow courtiers and the French people for not honouring the dignity of her role by dressing elaborately. No matter what she did, she was in a no-win situation and for that I really feel for her. Sure, she made some huge political miscalculations, particularly with encouraging Louis to hold fast against the tide of the Revolution but I just can’t hate her for her lack of political sense when she was never taught history or politics in any meaningful way. Marie Antoinette was not a smart woman, but that’s hardly a crime meriting a death sentence as well as the nearly universal condemnation of history.
Antonia Fraser’s strength as an historian is the fact that she can both tell a good story and analyze it and the results of people’s actions without boring her reader or focusing too much on the story-telling. Her writing is clear and to the point and when she injects her opinion into the narrative, she backs it up with evidence and logic extremely well. She even manages to shed some light on the bizarre and still mysterious Diamond Necklace Affair that so hurt Marie Antoinette’s reputation among the French people. The only real caveat I have about her writing is that it helps to have a bit of knowledge about common French phrases. She does usually translate the phrases but sometimes they are just put into the writing and it’s left to readers to figure things out. Usually you can figure things out because of the context, but it’s much easier if you’re like me and have had at least a little bit of a background in French, however basic.
Marie Antoinette: The Journey is a very well written biography of a woman who has been characterized as a villain for over two hundred years. As it says in the blurb, Marie Antoinette was an ordinary princess born into an extraordinary time that she was not equipped to handle. Not everyone can be Eleanor of Aquitaine and change the course of history so dramatically through daring and intelligence; Marie Antoinette was no Eleanor of Aquitaine. And can we really fault her for being rather ordinary? No. Even someone like me, who characterized her as a rather stupid woman was able to feel sympathy and understand her dilemmas much better because of Antonia Fraser’s work. She’ll never be one of my favourite historical figures but thanks to Fraser she’s definitely one that has been rehabilitated in my mind.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
Marie Antoinette: Princess of Versailles by Kathryn Lasky
(Cover picture courtesy of Fantastic Fiction.)
June 13, 1769
It has come at last—the marriage proposal! King Louis XV’s personal envoys arrived this morning. I was called immediately to Mama’s summer house, The Gloriette, where she works on the hottest days. I did not know what I was being called for. Indeed, I thought maybe Luisa had told Mama about our picnic and I was to be reprimanded for hill rolling! But as soon as I set foot in the cool marble receiving room, Mama was out of her chair behind the desk and running toward me. She crushed me to her bosom and whispered, “Antonia, you are to be married! You are to be the Queen of France!” Her cheeks were wet with tears and soon mine were, too!
When my mother told me people used to urinate on the floors of Versailles, I laughed at her and chaulked it up to either hyperbole or myth. Sure, Europeans weren’t the cleanest bunch back then, but to relieve oneself indoors on those magnificent palace floors? That’s crossing the line between truth and fiction, right?
Wrong.
For all of their protocol, manners and customs, the French nobility apparently acted like dogs who have not been properly house trained. Enter Marie Antoinette, an Austrian princess who has been married off to Louis XVI, the Dauphin of France. Can you see why she rebelled against their ridiculous customs? I knew a little bit about the customs of the French court before reading this, but learning the extent of their stupidity was shocking. You learn something new every day, I guess, especially when you read historical fiction like this.
Marie Antoinette: Princess of Versailles is written for ages 10-12 and focuses mainly on Marie Antoinette’s life before her marriage. We get a little bit of her life after marriage, but most of the novel focuses on the time before she became Dauphine. This is not exactly my favourite book in the Royal Diaries series because of its incredibly simplistic style (especially at the beginning), but young readers will love it. They will be able to identify with Marie Antoinette, enjoy a well-written book and learn quite a bit of history without even realizing it. What more can you ask for in historical fiction?
I give this book 3.5/5 stars.
The Lacemaker and the Princess by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
(Cover picture courtesy of Reading Treasure.)
Isabelle is a lacemaker in the town of Versailles. As she is delivering lace to the palace one day, she is almost trampled by a crowd of courtiers—only to be rescued by Marie Antoinette, the queen. Suddenly Isabelle is transformed from commoner to companion of the queen’s daughter, complete with a new name, wardrobe, and lavish lifestyle.
Isabelle is living a fairy-tale life, but soon she hears whispers of starvation and revolution. Can the terrible rumors about the royal family be true? And which side is Isabelle on?
Inspired by actual events, Kimberly Brubaker Bradley’s novel is a vivid picture of life behind the gilded walls of Versailles—and a wonderful story of friendship that blossomed during the chaos of the French Revolution.
For young readers, The Lacemaker and the Princess is the perfect introduction to the French Revolution. It presents the events in a way that makes them easy to understand but without insulting the reader’s intelligence, which can be one of the pitfalls of historical fiction for young readers. The unlikely ‘friendship’ (I’m using the term loosely here) between Isabelle and the princess Thérèse is one readers will fall in love with.
Isabelle is a wonderful character that many young readers will sympathize with, but Thérèse is your typical spoiled royal. She uses her power to order Isabelle around, even changing her name to the more fashionable Clochette, and stops at nothing to get her way. I suppose Thérèse is friends with Isabelle in her own out-of-touch-princess sort of way, but this is definitely neither an ideal or particularly healthy friendship. Isabelle is sort of friends with the princess, but she always has to watch her step around Thérèse to avoid losing her patronage.
Since I know next to nothing about the French Revolution, I cannot critique the accuracy of the novel as I could in novels about ancient Rome or Egypt. It feels accurate to me even though Isabelle is a made up character, and a quick Google search tells me that the general historical events are accurate. As for the details, your guess is as good as mine. However, Kimberly Brubaker Bradley has included an author’s note that explains the historical context very well and it sounds like The Lacemaker and the Princess was made to be accurate.
I give this book 3.5/5 stars.
The Bad Queen by Carolyn Meyer
(Cover picture courtesy of Carolyn Meyer’s website.)
History paints her as a shallow party girl, a spoiled fashionista, a callous ruler. Perhaps no other royal has been so maligned—or so misunderstood—as Marie-Antoinette.
From the moment she was betrothed to the dauphin of France at age fourteen, perfection was demanded of Marie-Antoinette. She tried to please everyone—courtiers, her young husband, the king, the French people—but often fell short of their expectations. Desperate for affection and subjected to constant scrutiny, this spirited young woman can’t help but want to let loose with elaborate parties, scandalous fashions and unimaginable luxuries. Meanwhile, the peasants of France are suffering from increasing poverty and becoming outraged. They want to make the queen pay for her reckless extravagance—with her life.
The Bad Queen hasn’t made me like Marie Antoinette any more, but it has helped me understand her. Which was, of course, Carolyn Meyer’s goal when she wrote this book. Most readers will probably like the character of Marie, but I did not simply because our personalities are far too different. From her early childhood, she is a spoiled princess, a dreamer who is not interested in academics at all. I’m the exact opposite, so you can probably tell why I did not like her, but could at least empathize with her.
We follow her journey from when she is betrothed to Louis, all the way past her execution. Since this is written in journal form, we get to learn about the aftermath of her execution through the writings of her daughter. Readers will see the part of the French Revolution that people rarely see—its aftermath, including what happens to the children of the doomed couple.
The Bad Queen is not exactly fast-paced, but neither is it unbelievably slow, so it is quite an interesting read. Personally, I learned an enormous amount of French history in an enjoyable fashion because I know next to nothing of French history. The customs of the French monarchy were absolutely ridiculous, so I can see why Marie eventually rebelled against them. Truthfully, learning of the sheer excesses of the court at Versailles makes me wonder why the French peasants didn’t rebel sooner.
I would recommend this for ages 13+ because of some brief sexual content, but it really depends on the maturity of the reader.
I give this book 3.5/5 stars.