Marie Antoinette: The Journey by Antonia Fraser
I chose to read this book because I'm going to Paris for a conference in July, and I wanted to know a little more about French history. I also saw previews for the new movie with Kirsten Dunst, and it looks quirky and awesome and I'm looking forward to seeing it tomorrow evening.
The book itself was better than I expected - I've had trouble following through with some history-type books in the past, and was worried I'd get bogged down and not finish it. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find it's almost a page-turner. I'm pretty easy to please sometimes; I thoroughly enjoyed the picture sections on glossy paper, especially when they showed a painting or artifact that was the center of some royal scandal or upset.
Overall, the book paints a fairly sympathetic picture of Marie Antoinette, but at the same time you feel that it's not that Antonia Fraser went easy on her; rather, it's more like popular history has been too harsh. The book doesn't hide her flaws; it just doesn't paint her as the villain most people think of her as. While Fraser does mention the excessive spending, she also points out that was how all royals of the time behaved, not just Antoinette. She also spends a good amount of paper detailing how family-oriented Marie Antoinette was, as well as how much she actually liked the public and used any opportunity to give money to the poor. In the end, I was actually sad that she was beheaded. (What?!? That's not spoiling it. Also, the Titanic sinks and Bruce Willis was a ghost the whole time.)
I'm also on the lookout now for a good book of the general history of France. The reviews of Alistair Horne's books aren't that great, so I'd like some other recs if you've got 'em. I want to know what I'm looking at when I visit Paris in July!
No comments:
Post a Comment