Marie Antoinette : the journey
(Book)

Book Cover
Average Rating
Published
New York, NY : Anchor Books, 2002.
ISBN
0385489498, 9780385489492
Status

Description

Loading Description...

Also in this Series

Checking series information...

Copies

LocationCall NumberStatus
Melrose Park Public Library - StacksBIOG MAROn Shelf
Oak Lawn Public Library - Adult BiographyBIOGRAPHY 944.035 MARIEOn Shelf
Prairie Trails Public Library District - Stacks921 MAROn Shelf
Sugar Grove Public Library District - Nonfiction921 MARIE ANTOINETTEOn Shelf
Tinley Park Public Library - 1st Floor944.035092 MARIE ANTOINETTEOn Shelf

More Like This

Loading more titles like this title...

More Details

Published
New York, NY : Anchor Books, 2002.
Format
Book
Physical Desc
xxii, 512 pages, 48 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color), map; 21 cm
Language
English
ISBN
0385489498, 9780385489492

Notes

Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages 479-490) and index.
Description
The Barnes & Noble Review: Was she a sexual predator, political meddler, wastrel, and traitor? Or was she a scapegoat for a corrupt and bankrupt nation, who went with superb dignity to the guillotine, the victim of a vindictive judicial murder? The tragic life of Marie Antoinette, rich in conflicting detail, remains a biographer's challenge, and Antonia Fraser's richly human yet evenhanded account is a reader's delight. In 1770, Marie Antoinette, aged 14, wed the awkward 16-year-old who in 1774 became Louis XVI. The marriage was intended to strengthen the Austrian-French alliance and produce sons to continue it. Marie Antoinette was of little use in the first endeavor; she lacked political power. Louis was of only occasional help in the second; he suffered from phimosis, an inhibiting physical condition. While the pair wandered through their doomed lives, fury built up in bankrupt France, exploding in the ferocity of the Revolution. Everybody criticized Marie, who was known both as l'Autrichienne (the Austrian woman) and l'autruche chienne (the ostrich bitch). She was regarded as extravagant ("Madame Deficit"), pro-Austrian, and childless for too long. But, as Fraser demonstrates, Versailles demanded extravagance, and in politics Marie Antoinette was more pawn than player, pushed by wily Austrian diplomats and blocked by shrewd French ministers. Fraser draws upon a huge range of sources to present a dazzling cast. Mozart, Gluck, Jefferson, Paine, Franklin and numerous others cross her pages. Fersen, the queen's discreet, devoted Swedish lover, looms large. The author succeeds brilliantly in describing how the once-vibrant Marie and the decent, despised, and irresolute Louis transformed themselves as the Revolution took its murderous course. Love of family gave them courage; love of France gave them nobility. The horrific fate of Marie Antoinette, physically abused by the canaille, viciously libeled by the blood-soaked false prophets of liberty who condemned her, reminds the reader of just how thin the veneer of civilization is - and how often revolutionaries are worse than those they condemn.

Reviews from GoodReads

Loading GoodReads Reviews.

Citations

APA Citation, 7th Edition (style guide)

Fraser, A. (2002). Marie Antoinette: the journey (First Anchor Books edition.). Anchor Books.

Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation, 17th Edition (style guide)

Fraser, Antonia, 1932-. 2002. Marie Antoinette: The Journey. Anchor Books.

Chicago / Turabian - Humanities (Notes and Bibliography) Citation, 17th Edition (style guide)

Fraser, Antonia, 1932-. Marie Antoinette: The Journey Anchor Books, 2002.

MLA Citation, 9th Edition (style guide)

Fraser, Antonia. Marie Antoinette: The Journey First Anchor Books edition., Anchor Books, 2002.

Note! Citations contain only title, author, edition, publisher, and year published. Citations should be used as a guideline and should be double checked for accuracy. Citation formats are based on standards as of August 2021.

Staff View

Loading Staff View.