Marie Antoinette: The Journey

I loved this book! With every page I really felt for Marie Antoinette and realized what a brave woman she was - so very different from the popular view of the silly girl skipping about in a shepherdess dress. Antonia Fraser showed so clearly the development of Antoinette's character - how she grew from being a victim to a woman who chose to stand by her husband when everything was against her. I was truly horrified by the descriptions of the cruelty of the revolutionaries, and the accounts of the accustations made by the son she loved were almost too unbearable to read - what transformed that horror in this book, for me, was Antonia Fraser's beautiful writing and the sense that she cared deeply about her subject.
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This biography was a pleasant surprise! I thought it would be tedious to read and even harder to sift through the writer's biases. However, Antonia Frasier provided a wonderful insight into not only what Marie Antoinette's world was like, but also her strengths and weaknesses as a queen, mother, and woman. Frasier lent an air of sympathy which kept me enraptured until the very end of the book - not an easy task in a biography!

Fraser's biography is now considered one of the more complete contemporary works on Marie Antoinette's life, and beyond that is a fascinating peek into the end of imperial French life.

We all know the story as well as if it were a Greek tragedy; the beautiful young princess who desired too much, the lascivious old king who left "le deluge" to wash over his descendants, and the harrowing end for the last heir to the thrown in a Gothic prison. Fraser, however, brings all these scenes that make up the story Marie Antoinette and her part in the French Revolution to new life. The narrative flows like a novel while her prose remains slightly detached, ultimately allowing the reader to judge the queen's guilt for himself.

I know some readers find Fraser too sympathetic to Marie Antoinette considering all the transgressions, but I challenge anyone not to be moved by Marie Antoinette's love for her children and loyalty to her family.

Wonderful book about the Queen of France. From her early days as the Arch Duchess of Austria, to Dauphine of France to finally the Queen of France. It follows her life (journey)to her death. It also gives insight into the last surviving member of King Louis Auguste and Queen Marie Antoinette, Marie Therese.

I have read many books on the Dauphine over the years and this is one of the best.
It covers in detail all of the daily life of a queen and the sacrifice she made by becoming a queen.
It seems that the paparazzi today are angels compared to what the people of France and all of Europe did to their monarchs.
The book is well researched, and well done and like all good books on her, this one doesnt speculate but clarifies the life of this often misunderstood young woman.
I recommend it highly.
But be warned - it is very detailed and there are tons of people to keep track of,
Even so, it reads well and you never get bored with it.