Was Marie Antoinette, heartless Queen or misunderstood royalty? These and many other ideas were discussed at the Beaufort Bookies first meeting on Thursday night. Antonia Fraser presents quite a different picture from the usual of Marie Antoinette. Instead of seeing her s the queen who said, “Let them eat cake!” readers are led to a completely different conclusion.
Throughout the book, the author shows the influences of Marie’s mother, the circumstances of Marie’s upbringing and how manipulations of people at the court of Versailles impacted on this often-misunderstood queen. Parallels were drawn in the discussion between Marie Antoinette, Princess Diana and Lady Sarah Ferguson. In the book, Marie Antoinette makes many decisions, which are unpopular with the populous, and the people at court. Her fall from the favor of the French people was fueled by financial excess, and suspicions that she was trying to further the influence of Austria at court.
Despite all of the troubles brought on by the French Revolution, Marie Antoinette chose to remain at the side of her King. Her courage at her trial and execution evoked admiration even from her enemies.
This book allows the reader to re-examine the view of history during that period, and obtain a different perspective of a Queen who may have simply been misunderstood.
Synopsis by Maura
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