Antonia Fraser<\/i>
\nI\u2019ve read several of Fraser\u2019s royal biographies, including Mary Queen of Scots <\/i>and The Six Wives of Henry VIII<\/i>. I was very much looking forward to Marie Antoinette <\/i>\u2013 I resisted buying it in hardcover, and made myself wait til I had time to devote to the paperback (500+ pages).
\nMarie Antoinette is, for me, one of those historical figures who ubiquitousness (yes, it\u2019s a word) led me to believe I knew everything I needed to know about her. Fraser\u2019s book, however, details a genuine riches-to-rags saga filled with minutiae of the French and Austrian courts, the events that culminated in the deposition and execution of Louis XVI, and the fall from grace of the French queen.
\nI\u2019m sure that many of these details are easily found elsewhere, but I do enjoy Fraser\u2019s approach, even if she is unapologetically apologist. I do think the book would have benefited from some careful editing \u2013 some of the minutiae is repetitive or altogether unnecessary \u2013 and unlike other historical bios I\u2019ve encountered, this one didn\u2019t include any family trees or other visual representation of the major players. In this case, where the vast majority of \u2018characters\u2019 are titled, it\u2019s not always easy to keep track of them \u2013 especially when titles are passed on to heirs, exchanged voluntarily or by royal decree, or forsaken for a more Republican name after the Revolution.
\nI also found myself very occasionally put off by Fraser\u2019s insistence that her reader already knows all the salient facts, and is merely looking for hypothetical explanations. Granted, this approach is better than a condescending one that assumes complete ignorance; but given that I didn\u2019t know about the infamous Diamond Necklace Affair, for instance, I would have appreciated some explanation of why it\u2019s such a big deal to historians.
\nOverall, I enjoyed the journey, and I\u2019m glad I know a little more about Marie Antoinette, who never, ever, invited the peasants to eat cake.
\nCall this one a recommendation if you like that sort of thing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Antonia Fraser I\u2019ve read several of Fraser\u2019s royal biographies, including Mary Queen of Scots and The Six Wives of Henry VIII. I was very much looking forward to Marie Antoinette \u2013 I resisted buying it in hardcover, and made myself wait til I had time to devote to the paperback (500+ pages). Marie Antoinette is, … <\/p>\n