Marie Antoinette: The Journey
by Antonia Fraser
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Book Reviews of Marie Antoinette: The Journey
Book Review: Probably the best biography I have read,
Summary: 5 Stars
There can be few people who lived 2 centuries or more ago, about whose lives so much detail is known as Marie-Antoinette. Marie-Antoinette was born the daughter of the empress of Austria, a Habsburger, and married to the dauphin of Europe's wealthiest country, France. Royals didn't have any privacy in those days. For instance, when Marie-Antoinette gave birth for the first time, a whole coterie of courtiers was sitting in the bedroom to observe the spectacle, only because their aristocratic rank entitled them to it. Hence, we know an astounding amount of detail about Marie-Antoinette's interesting life.
Usually I am wary of 400 plus page long biographies, but in this case, because Marie-Antoinette had such an amazing life and so much is known about her (and has been researched in meticulous detail by the author), the book is compelling from the first till the last page, eventhough we already know how it is going to end. The author has so much facts and insights from correspondence from and to Marie-Antoinette, that she can credibly weave them together to form a consistent psychological portrait as is rare for a biography.
The impression one is left with is of a court and an ancien regime which was ossified beyond description but a thoroughly decent but weak king and a queen who was a strong woman, but who accepted to be loyal to her family through thick and thin. That this ancien regime was (largely) swept away in France is certainly for the better, but the reader cannot help but feeling pity for this woman, who was a good mother, but merely a pawn in the power game of the European royal marriage market.
Book Review: The REAL Marie Antoinette
Summary: 5 Stars
I read this book years ago, but remember that I couldn't put it down. This woman has been so victimized and propagandized against that the real person was never really seen, or understood. Warm-hearted and friendly, she was disliked and outright hated (for different reasons) by both the populace and the aristocracy. Neither ever really gave her a chance.
People mock Sophia Coppola's film, in fact, I hated it until I understood the message she was trying to get across and make Marie more understandable to today's young people. I think Coppola captured the essence of the naive teenager who left a court more simple and family-oriented and thrust into the stifling atmosphere that was epitomized by Versailles. She and Louis XVI, a simple and not-too-bright man who had nowhere near the ability to rule, had to suffer for the rulers who proceeded them.
Even at her one-sided trial, the ordinary women who were present began to turn in her favor. Perhaps for the first time they were allowed to witness the human being instead of the queen. Alas, too late.
Her love for her children and her brave end are what stick in my mind about Marie. Speaking of opulence, their magnificent tombs in Basilique Saint-Denis shows that even France has seen her in a different light. Yet the vicious stories continue to thrive. This book attempts to rectify this injustice, and I heartily recommend it. I also suggest that those interested in both Marie Antoinette and beautiful, moving sculpture do a web search and see the monument to this maligned woman.
Book Review: A Must-Read!
Summary: 5 Stars
I thoroughly enjoyed this brilliant biography which gives so much insight into the French royal family - their strengths and their weaknesses. It is truly beautifully done - Fraser humanizes her characters, gives the reader a good understanding of their world, personalities, triumphs and worries. You are taken on the journey with Marie Antoinette, experiencing all the highs and lows, all the great moments and the injustices. Fraser's wonderful writing style makes you forget the outcome of events and instead has you on the edge of your seat at times. I would say Fraser realized her goal of not letting Marie Antoinette's life story be overshadowed by how it ended - her life was about more than that. She is portrayed sympathetically and as a fairly ordinary woman: she was not exceptionally beautiful (although she had truckloads of charm, elegance and grace that made her appear beautiful), she was not exceptionally intelligent, ambitious or original in her taste etc. However, what made her exceptional in the end, was her enormous courage in the face of extraordinary, unbelievable adversity. She faced the unthinkable challenges life threw at her with an admirable strength and dignity that few others could muster. We could all merely hope to ever acquire such strength of character. This book is a must-read and one of my faveroutes (I've read it several times, it's so good!) - I couldn't recommend it more!Book Review: Romance, reality and terror
Summary: 5 Stars
I have read numerous books on this topic, from Quentin Reynolds 1950's schoolbook biography through the memoirs of Madame Campan and Oliver Bernier's edition of the letters between Marie Antoinette and her mother, Empress Maria Theresa. In none of these previous books have I found the small touches of personality which humanize this well-biographed personality of Revolutionary France. In specific, I find the details of her relationship to her own daughter, Marie Therese, of great interest. That Marie Antoinette was aware of the reasonably immature snobbishness of her daughter is an interesting insight. Of course the incredible brutality of the revolutionaries - in the name of freedom - and the making of both the king and his wife into scapegoats, as well as the vileness of the pamplets published by ambitious would be kings and unfortunately, relatives of the king create sympathy for both monarchs. The revolution was about the abolition of privilege, yet the very people taking down the nobility, took on their former privileges for themselves, and would soon replace the late Louis XVI with his two brothers, a nephew and two emperors, demonstrating how pointless the deaths of the monarchs was. Revolution, indeed.Book Review: fantastic!
Summary: 5 Stars
Don't be afraid of this big-boned bio of Marie Antoinette, it has everything you need. It's elegantly paced and beautifully construed. Fraser's work is just the best. She knows when to leave a topic, when to move on. HOW to move on. This is first rate writing from a consistently fine writer. The book is sypathetic toward Marie Antoinette, on occasion even moving; Fraser illuminates from the inside out with her subjects, and we're the winners for that. The book's full of marvelous detail about court life, yet seen through new eyes, perhaps Marie Antoinette's eyes. Fraser lingers on the Queen's Austrian life before Versailles long enough to lead us to new lights about this woman's suffering on account of her extraordinary temperment. It's an altogether admirable effort. If the book seems light on Fersen, look again. His place in Marie Antoinette's life undulates through the narrative like a slow fire. This is one of the few authoritative books about Marie Antoinette that truly witnesses the mystery. Pre-Revolutionary France bleeds through the pages. Fraser writes like an entranced surgeon; her preparation, her immaculate discernment of good sources is unmatched. An essential book about astonishing things.