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Marie Antoinette: The Journey | 
| Author: Antonia Fraser
Publisher: Anchor
Category: Book
List Price: $16.95
Buy Used: $3.99
You Save: $12.96 (76%)
New (36) Used (56) from $3.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  103 reviews
Sales Rank: 16598
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 544
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.3
Dimensions (in): 8.2 x 5.2 x 1.2
ISBN: 0385489498
Dewey Decimal Number: 944.035092
EAN: 9780385489492
ASIN: 0385489498
Publication Date: November 12, 2002
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Condition: Spine tight & uncreased, pages are in good clean condition, cover has a tear on the front side edge and minor shelf/edge wear.
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
In the past, Antonia Fraser's bestselling histories and biographies have focused on people and events in her native England, from Mary Queen of Scots to Faith and Treason: The Story of the Gunpowder Plot. Now she crosses the Channel to limn the life of France's unhappiest queen, bringing along her gift for fluent storytelling, vivid characterization, and evocative historical background. Marie Antoinette (1755-93) emerges in Fraser's sympathetic portrait as a goodhearted girl woefully undereducated and poorly prepared for the dynastic political intrigues into which she was thrust at age 14, when her mother, Empress Maria Theresa, married her off to the future Louis XVI to further Austria's interests in France. Far from being the licentious monster later depicted by the radicals who sent her to the guillotine at the height of the French Revolution, young Marie Antoinette was quite prudish, as well as thoroughly humiliated by her husband's widely known failure to have complete intercourse with her for seven long years (the gory details were reported to any number of concerned royal parties, including her mother and brother). She compensated by spending lavishly on clothes and palaces, but Fraser points out that this hardly made her unique among 18th-century royalty, and in any case the causes of the Revolution went far beyond one woman's frivolities. The moving final chapters show Marie Antoinette gaining in dignity and courage as the Revolution stripped her of everything, subjected her to horrific brutalities (a mob paraded the head of her closest female friend on a pike below her window), and eventually took her life. Fraser makes no attempt to hide the queen's shortcomings, in particular her poor political skills, but focuses on her personal warmth and noble bearing during her final ordeal. It's another fine piece of popular historical biography to add to Fraser's already impressive bibliography. --Wendy Smith
Product Description
France’s beleaguered queen, Marie Antoinette, wrongly accused of uttering the infamous “Let them eat cake,” was the subject of ridicule and curiosity even before her death; she has since been the object of debate and speculation and the fascination so often accorded tragic figures in history. Married in mere girlhood, this essentially lighthearted, privileged, but otherwise unremarkable child was thrust into an unparalleled time and place, and was commanded by circumstance to play a significant role in history. Antonia Fraser’s lavish and engaging portrait of Marie Antoinette, one of the most recognizable women in European history, excites compassion and regard for all aspects of her subject, immersing the reader not only in the coming-of-age of a graceful woman, but also in the unraveling of an era.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 98 more reviews...
 Marie Antoinette the journey August 13, 2008
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.
Marie Antoinette in depth June 25, 2008
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.
 Not a very Fluently written book February 13, 2008
0 out of 4 found this review helpful
Hard to get into. The movie is better except the movie leaves out one of the children and I am sure alot more. Maybe onday I will be able to get into it.
 Fascinating look at the quintessential French queen December 18, 2007
I really liked this book and finished it in record time--even though I knew how MA's story would end, it was fascinating to see that she was not entirely the arrogant and unapproachable Queen of lore. Yes, she made some mistakes and was extravagant at times, but certainly no more extravagant than previous Queens of France. Minimally any reader will say after reading this book that it is sad she was a Queen who did not pay more attention outside the walls of Versailles so that she might be less oblivious--but even then, I'm not sure she could have escaped her doomed fate.
The treatment of the family during their captivity and particularly the treatment of their children is startling (not to mention the legendary treatment of the Princesse de Lamballe). In the end, I'm not sure what was worse--the royal family or the revolutionaries.
I love this book! December 5, 2007
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Over halfway through in a just a few days. I love this book! I'm definitely looking into purchasing others by the author.
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