Marie- Antoinette is given endless instructions before she leaves Austria at the age of fourteen to marry the dauphin of France. In her new home at the grand palace of Versailles, her every move is scruntinized by the cruel and gossipy members of the French court. Marie-Antoinette tries to adhere to their stifiling rules of etiquete, but sometimes, this fun-loving young woman can't help by indulge herself with scandalous fashions, taboo recreations, elaborate parties - and even a forbidden romance.
Most damaging to her reputation is that after years of marriage, Marie -Antoinette has not fulfilled the most important requirement to produce an heir to the throne. Sadness and frustration lead the young queen to become ever more recklessly extravagant in her ways, much to the outrage of the poor and suffering common people of France.
When angry revolutionaries arrive at Versailles to take her and the king to Paris, Marie-Antoinette has no idea what horrors are in store. The luxurious life she led, and the monarchy she spent her life serving are about to come crashing down. Though she would be remembered by the revolutionaries as an obscene spendthrift, perhaps Mare-Antoinette had more in common with them than they thought - for she too was a rebel who lived by her own rules.
Was This Book Worth My Time?
Yep.
Without my even noticing it, I choose a lot of historical fiction on my last trip to the library. Like I said in an earlier post, I am not a history buff. Embarassingly enough, I didn't know much about Marie-Antoinette before reading this book.
I know a lot now, and I found that has much to do with the way the book is written. It is written strictly in 1st person - an awesome decision on the author's part because it helps to make Marie-Antoinette more real to the reader.
The story flows seamlessly and tells of a girl who really is just trying to do what she must do -obey. I think that, to some extent, the book does help to shift the idea that Marie-Antoinette was shelfish to an idea that she was loyal and maybe even a little misunderstood.
I did like the book, and I think that for those girls who want to read about "princessess and drama" this would be a book that they would enjoy.
What Bothered Me About the Book?
Not a thing.
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