About this title: Imagine that, on the night before she is to die under the blade of the guillotine, Marie Antoinette leaves behind in her prison cell a diary telling the story of her life - from her privileged childhood as Austrian Archduchess to her years as glamorous mistress of Versailles to the heartbreak of imprisonment and humiliation during the French ...
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Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: JR Books Ltd
Date Published: 2008
ISBN-13:9781906217396ISBN:1906217394
Description: Good. The book has a few teared pages, but good condition in general, . **SHIPPED FROM UK** We believe you will be completely satisfied with our quick and reliable service. All orders are dispatched as swiftly as possible! Buy with confidence! read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Saint Martin's Press Inc
Date Published: 2005
ISBN-13:9780312337087ISBN:0312337086
Description: Good. This is an EX LIBRARY copy with all the usual stamps, marks etc. The inside flysheet has been tidily removed. This book is in GOOD overall condition. It shows signs of having been read and has general light wear to the cover, spine and pages. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: JR Books Ltd
Date Published: 2008
ISBN-13:9781906217396ISBN:1906217394
Description: Good. Our aim is to create value for our customers through the provision of low cost, affordable products and an overall satisfying buying experience. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: JR Books Ltd
Date Published: 2008
ISBN-13:9781906217396ISBN:1906217394
Description: New. PAPERBACK BOOK-NEW-SHOP SOILED COPY-TRUSTED DEVON (UK) BASED SELLER-IN STOCK-SENT WITHIN 1 WORKING DAY-AVAILABLE BY EMAIL FOR QUERIES-NO QUIBBLE REFUND IF NOT COMPLETELY SATISFIED- read more
Description: Good. Purchasing this book supports the King County Library System Foundation. Thriftbooks and KCLSF have partnered to help raise additional funds for the library system. Ex-Library book-will contain library markings. Light shelf wear and minimal interior marks. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Description: Good. Light shelf wear and minimal interior marks. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Description: Good. Light shelf wear and minimal interior marks. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Description: Good. Former Library book. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Very Good. Great condition for a used book! Minimal wear. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Good. Former Library book. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Very Good. Former Library book. Great condition for a used book! Minimal wear. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Good. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
"Did you know that King Louis VII - Marie Antoinette's hubby - was the only King in History that did not commit adultery? In fact, he swore that to be the King of France was part of his "mistaken identity"! The Queen, however had a side relationship and was a major pawn in the scandalous beginning of France's Revlution. Superb reading material!!"
"It started off pretty well and held my interst for a time and then I found the stroy started to drag. Initially I was interested in what Marie Antoinette might have written had she kept a journal and then I started to find the idea that she could have kept a secret journal while being watched so closely toward the end utterly absurd. That being said it is a very quick read if you are interested in learning a little more about Antoinette."
"If you enjoy books that are written in Diary format, this is a must read. I really enjoyed the perspective we're given of Marie Antoinette through 'her own eyes' in this fictional diary.
I found the portrayal of Marie Antoinette fairly believable, an incredibly strong woman who comes across to others as a callous, selfish queen. Someone who buries her fears and doesn't let them be seen, save with Axel, and the pages of her diary. Throughout, there is a slight disconnect as well that lends itself to the depiction's believability; she constantly gives pity to and sometimes takes up collections for the less fortunate, and then will turn around and order a new wardrobe to replace clothes that have been worn once, spend a small fortune building a villa, and have a number of parties. I also found the portrayal of King Louis very interesting.
Despite knowing how the story was going to end, I couldn't help but be intrigued by the book, and in several places, I almost wondered whether the author was going to pull a switch at the end of the story and try to spin a way in which Marie Antoinette escaped her fate, and someone else was mistaken and beheaded in her place.
I was hooked throughout the story. I loved reading about her affair with Axel (though it added to my opinion of her carelessness as a dauphine and queen), and was touched by the entries concerning her children, her relationship with Louis, and her concern for her countries (both France and Austria) - despite being fairly powerless to help either of them.
I was appalled by some of the scenes with the people storming the castle, the depictions of beheadings and corpses all over the floor with flies swarming them, and I grieved when she had to witness the mobs parading about with LouLou's head and genitals posted on sticks.
I liked the way that some of the good deeds she did in her life came full circle - how the Gardner she'd employed for some time and felt horrible about letting go of came back to help her and her children escape the mobs, and how the boy she'd saved from her brother in law's beatings came back to watch over her when the family was all but imprisoned.
This was a very good book, and I loved the details between Marie and Louis' relationship, how at the end, when he was going to his death, he revealed that he'd known of the affair with Axel all along and gave her his blessing to go away and be with him.
All in all, this was a very touching, human, and sometimes very graphic fiction of who Maria Antoinette may have been, as well as of the French Revolution itself."
"Writing the book as if it were a journal, lends itself well to developing a story around the love triangle of Marie Antoinette, her husband King Louie, and her confidant, Axel Von Fersen. I found the first and last third of the book the most entertaining as Erickson deftly develops the growth of Marie from a naive young lady of 14 into a woman and formidable Queen. Through Erickson's interpretation, I could sympathize with Marie's conflict about wanting to escape without her husband and her reasons for passing on opportunities to do just that.
There were no journal entries conveying Marie's emotional reaction to having been deceived and framed for the 'necklace affair' that contributed to her demise. The absence of any reaction to this pivotal event in her life was the one factor that reminded me the Marie Antoinette portrayed in this book was most likely fictional."
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