Marie Antoinette: The Journey
Antonia Fraser, 2001
Knopf Doubleday
544 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780385489492
Summary
France’s iconic queen, Marie Antoinette, wrongly accused of uttering the infamous "Let them eat cake," was alternately revered and reviled during her lifetime. For centuries since, she has been the object of debate, speculation, and the fascination so often accorded illustrious figures in history.
Antonia Fraser’s lavish and engaging portrait excites compassion and regard for the queen, immersing the reader not only in the coming-of-age of a graceful woman, but in the culture of an unparalleled time and place.
Brilliantly written, Marie Antoinette is a work of impeccable scholarship. Drawing on a wealth of family letters and other archival materials, Antonia Fraser successfully avoids the hagiography of some the French queen s admirers and the misogyny of many of her critics. The result is an utterly riveting and intensely moving book by one of our finest biographers. (From the publisher.)
The book was adapted to film in 2006 with Kirsten Dunst and Jacob Schwartzman.