Gave up on the audio version - the narrator annoyed me.

Sarah Palin in a Corset

Though I’m not what you’d call a seasoned history buff – French history, in particular – I can confidently say that Antonia Fraser’s MARIE ANTOINETTE: THE JOURNEY is the definitive biography of Marie Antoinette. It’s hard to imagine that any historian can top this exhaustive look at the life and death of France’s most infamous Queen.

Fraser traces Marie Antoinette’s life, from privileged birth to tragic death, in great detail. (The story actually begins well before Antoinette’s birth, with a look back at the Princess’s ancestors, and ends not with the Queen’s beheading, but with the fate of her daughter, Marie-Thérèse-Charlotte.) Fraser makes extensive use of contemporary documents, most notably correspondence between Marie Antoinette and her friends and relatives, including her mother, the politically ambitious Maria Theresa. She also cites – sometimes critically – the work of historians before her. The result is a keen, nuanced examination of the life and legacy of Marie Antoinette, to whom history has not been kind.

While Antoine was, like all people, a flawed individual, she was far from the she-devil caricature drawn by her opponents. The Queen did waste the taxpayers’ money on all manner of frivolities; but then, so did her husband and other assorted members of their royal circle. (Indeed, much of this expense went towards “traditional” or “customary” labor and favors; had she tried to do away with these French traditions, the Austrian-born Queen would have been vilified just the same.) Born into privilege, she knew little of poverty, famine, or hard labor – the lot of most of her subjects. Most damningly, she actively defended France’s monarchy, positioning herself directly opposite freedom and democracy.

Even so, Marie Antoinette was a scapegoat, a receptacle for the political unrest, violence and hatred of the time. Much of the criticism directed at the Queen was predictably gender-based: she was at once stupid and frivolous – and a political mastermind capable of manipulating and cuckolding the King; a cold, frigid lover, the source of her husband’s impotence and/or asexuality – and a ravenous, insatiable whore, who either engaged in orgies with men or women, depending on whom you believe. (At her trial, she was even accused – along with her sister-in-law – of sexually abusing her own son!) Pamphlets of the time depicted the Queen in all states of undress and sexual positions, and her physical appearance was often a topic of discussion. Naturally, her body – or rather, the contents of her womb – was also a point of public interest, as her primary “job” was to bear France the next King. Sound vaguely familiar? (Hence the title of this review, which could just as easily read “Hillary Clinton in muslin.”)

Marie Antoinette was the victim not just of misogyny, but of xenophobia as well. Prior to Princess Antoine’s marriage to the Dauphin, Austria and France were rivals. The future King Louis XV had been raised on tales of “those evil Austrians,” a factor perhaps contributing to his initial indifference towards his new wife. The Princess drew no small amount of suspicion as an Austrian upon her marriage to the Dauphin, and the hatred and discrimination only grew with her unpopularity. The Queen’s loyalties were often called into question, despite the many sacrifices she made in order to become the “Mother” of France. (Imagine being forced from your family and homeland, thrust into a strange place with no friends or allies, and treated like the state’s baby machine. The Queen may have been privileged, but she was also very much oppressed.)

At 544 pages, MARIE ANTOINETTE is a hefty book; so much so, in fact, that I probably wouldn’t have “read” it had it not been available in audiobook format. Even so, it took me also a month to finish the audiobook, which clocks in at over 20 hours. Fraser’s take on Marie Antoinette is astute, informed and fascinating. Even so, I don’t think I would have made it through the print book. English is my primary language, and with no training in French, I’m certain that I would have found the French (and Austrian) names, places, words and phrases difficult to enunciate and follow. Donanda Peters makes for an engaging and charming narrator, transitioning from French to Scottish accent with ease.

My only real complaint is in Fraser’s coverage of France’s political climate during Marie Antoinette’s reign. Fraser does talk politics, but these discussions are usually framed and presented in terms of Marie Antoinette’s life, as a sort of backdrop. With no real foundation in French history, I found this rather confusing and choppy, but again, I’m a novice – history buffs will probably come to the table with all the background knowledge they need.

That said, I think hardcore history buffs and novices alike will enjoy MARIE ANTOINETTE: THE JOURNEY. The book is rife with feminist undertones (Fraser seems no stranger to patriarchy blaming!), so methinks it might make great leisure reading for feminist-minded women, as well. I look forward to devouring more of Antonia Fraser’s political biographies!

(Crossposted on Amazon.) ( )

This is a very enjoyable and understandable biography of a time, a place and a woman. It's very accessible to non-history minded people, but would be good for history buffs as well. ( )

Beach-read history. Fraser is overly sympathetic to Marie Antoinette, I think—she was not a malicious person, but she was certainly a foolish one—and is light on critical analysis. As an overview of the queen's life, though, and an introduction to this period of French history, it's more than serviceable. ( )

fabulous book makes me want to read more about Marie-Antoinette ( )

http://www.bostonbibliophile.com/2008... ( )

As always Antonia Fraser has delivered an interesting and well-researched insight into her subject. Marie Antoinette must be one of the most misunderstood and misrepresented historical figures. ( )

The feedback from the book club on this book was that it was slow, boring and moody. Other comments were that the book elicits feelings of sympathy for poor, poor Marie. I don't think the group found the book and the movie based on it to be similar.

Publisher's webpage for the book: http://www.randomhouse.com/anchor/cat... ( )

Very nice and not so boring as some biography are

Super Book !!! ( )

In the field of historical biographies, few people do it better than Antonia Fraser. This is the story of France's tragic last Queen; a woman vilified for extravagance, accused of promiscuity and lesbianism and fated to be eternally remembered for the 'quotation' considered by many to be among the most heartless words ever spoken - 'Let them eat cake!' The fact that the words were actually said by another person altogether (and many years before Marie Antoinette was even born) is just one of the many revelations Fraser has in store.

This largely sympathetic account of the life and death of the French Queen digs deep into the facts and debunks many of the myths that surround this misunderstood figure and the Queen emerges as a well-meaning and sympathetic, if not heroic, figure. A joy to read. ( )

Antonia Fraser does a great job of making history interesting. Not only does she tell the story of Marie Antoinette but she relates it to what else is going on in the world at the time and what may have caused certain events, etc.

She adds some speculation to things, but I found it easy to tell when she was taking artistic license as opposed to telling the history outright. She relates anecdotes and her resources are impressive.

I read the book because I saw the movie (starring Kirsten Dunst) and am very glad it brought me to the wonderful works by Antonia Fraser. ( )

There are many history books and novels about Marie Antoinette, but Antonia Fraser is always better. She has the ability to write history with intelligence and accuracy yet most books are quite readable. If you would like to start reading some history in addition to historical fiction, Antonia Fraser is a great place to start. ( )

Good book, very factual. Can be a bit dry but full of information. I felt it focused a little too much on the social aspects of Marie Antoinette's life, rather than the political problems of the time which made parts of the book hard to follow. It took me a long time to read but i am glad i saw it through to the end. ( )

As a kid, I really enjoyed biographies, but I have only just gotten back into reading them recently. I have particularly fallen in love with Claire Tomalin, whose biographies of Jane Austen and Samuel Pepys captivated me over the past few years. Antonia Fraser didn't grab me with that same intensity, but her biography of Marie Antoinette was solid, if light on in-depth analysis and broader context.

Fraser paints an extremely sympathetic portrait of Marie Antoinette, a caring family woman who was dreadfully wronged and maligned in her time and for the over 200 years since her violent death. While I would have preferred a more balanced look at the Queen's life (while she surely wasn't the sole, or even a major, cause of France's economic woes in the latter part of the 18th century, Marie Antoinette's lavish spending and her attempts to forward Austria's interests in French politics certainly didn't help matters), I appreciated the side of the story I did get. Married off to the French Dauphin at the age of 14, the youngest Archduchess of Austria was sent by carriage away from her beloved family, home, and friends to a 16-year-old husband who vastly preferred hunting to being with his new wife. Living in a highly ritualized, rigid court existence where her every move was watched--some to copy, and others to condemn--Marie Antoinette endured the humiliation of seven years of unconsummated marriage that was earnestly discussed by everyone from her mother (in scolding letters to her) to the pamphleteers (who speculated, wrongly, on her finding sexual consolation with many of the men and women of her inner circle). Is it any wonder she turned to an increasingly frantic party lifestyle?

When Marie Antoinette and the mild, indecisive Louis XVI finally became truly man and wife three years or so into his reign, and (most importantly) started producing heirs, their domestic tranquility would have turned them into no more than a brief paragraph in French history if not for the Revolution. It was only under extreme adversity that Marie Antoinette came into her own, showing strength and courage through four long years of terror.

Fraser's epilogue lays out the analysis that I longed to have ongoing in the book, which was filled instead with too many portents of doom ("In her enjoyment of Figaro, Marie Antoinette could not imagine the consequences to her personally of the piece's wild popularity . . .") for my taste. And I longed for a timeline and a "Cast of Characters" to help me keep everything straight. All in all, though, Ms. Fraser's exhaustive research makes this a worthwhile read. ( )

3494. Marie Antoinette The Journey, by Antonia Fraser (read Oct 28, 2001) Because I so enjoyed the author's biography of Mary Queen of Scots (read Mar 7, 1970) and her bio of Cromwell (read June 18, 2000) when I saw this new bio by her I knew I'd have to read it, even though I usually figure life is too short to read more than one bio of a historical figure -- and I read Stefan Zweig's bio of Marie Antoinette on Sept 20, 1975. But this is a better book than was
that, even though so much seemed familiar, no doubt because over the years I have read so much on the French Revolution, including Stanley Loomis' The Fatal Friendship: Marie Antoinette, Count Fersen and the Flight to Varennes, which I read Mar 28, 1981, and which examines in great and exciting detail a prominent event in Marie Antoinette's life. Fraser's book is a very excellent bio even though it dwells a little more than necessary on things a
beautician or interior decorator would be more interested in than am I. The final chapter is a model summing up. The book gains from the fact that Fraser does her own research and has visited while writing the book the places involved and can tell what a visitor today would see. And she even refers to the famed "sighting" of Marie Antoinette and her world on August 10, 1901, by Charlotte Anne Moberly and Eleanor Jourdain (for which see the
fascinating account on page 1381 in The People's Almanac). This book was easily the highlite of my October reading. ( )

I read this for my book club. Otherwise I don't think I would have tackled it. I found it way too detailed in some areas and not detailed enough in others. There was so much about court life, but not enough about the pressure and stress of the people. I felt somewhat bewildered at how Marie became the scapegoat and a victim of such absolute hatred and violence. ( )

The French queen who emerges from the pages of Antonia Fraser's Marie Antoinette: The Journey is a sympathetic figure, a well-meaning yet flawed woman tragically caught up in political and social forces beyond her control. In this biography, Fraser achieves an effective mixture of exhaustive research and engaging storytelling, weaving together the documentary evidence to produce a rich narrative of the Austrian archduchess who became a French queen. A reading of this work enhances the viewing of Sofia Coppola's 2006 film Marie Antoinette, based rather closely on the first two-thirds of Fraser's book, up to the day when the royal family was forced to decamp from Versailles to Paris; symbiotically, a viewing of the Coppola film brings many of the characters and events described by Fraser vividly to life, illustrating key episodes in Marie Antoinette's reign as dauphine and queen consort of France.

One failing of Fraser's biography arises from the very complexity of its subject. Even though the author includes a number of supplementary aids to understanding the history – genealogical charts, a map of 18th-century Europe, a detailed index – the sheer number of characters and the overwhelming complexity of French revolutionary politics sometimes make events difficult to follow. Additional appendices, for example a list of major historical figures and a simplified timeline of events, would help the reader in making sense of all the details of the narrative. But even without them, Fraser has skillfully accomplished a remarkable feat. She breathes new life into a legendary historical figure who lost hers over two centuries ago, and in doing so she makes the story of Marie Antoinette and the history of her times as compelling as any adventure novel, as touching as any romance. ( )

France's iconic queen, revered and reviled in her lifetime, has been the object of debate, speculation, legend. This portrait excites compassion and regard for the queen and offers a perceptive analysis of her times. Poor Antoinette was in a lose-lose situation from the day she set foot on French soil at the age of 14. There were many points at which things might have gone differently and yet did not, so that one senses almost the element of fate at work as in a Greek tragedy. Impressive were her unfailing grace under fire and bravery, even equanimity, when friendless and alone at the end. A true queen, and not in name only. ( )

This is an awesome book, written on such an intriguing person in history. Marie Antoinette has gotten a bad rap throughout the years, the whole French revolution has been blamed on her, which is wrong. There are MANY MANY reasons why the revolution happened, and many don't have anything to do with her. It's a great book and the movie by S. Coppolla is also great (if you liked Clueless, you'd like this because it has an innocent air to it). The Marie Antionette in this book comes off a little more sympathetic because the reader is able to see how young and vulnerable she was. We must remember she became Queen of France at such a young, immature age and it's no wonder she had all those lavish parties. This is a great book by a great author and I highly recommend it. ( )

A little hard to get through at points, but a good solid read. ( )

Antonia Fraser’s well-researched work details the known facts in the life of Marie Antoinette – from her grand childhood as the daughter of an empress, to her marriage to Louis XVI and her life as France’s queen, to her tragic and ultimate downfall with the start of the French Revolution.

Although I would recommend it to history fans, the book took me longer to complete than a book of this size normally would, partly because there was simply so much information to digest. I was also occasionally bored with the more political details. However, I find it amazing that we do know so much about Marie Antoinette and these events that occurred more than 200 years ago.

Compared with Abundance, a work of historical fiction published in 2006 by Sena Jeter Naslund which complements this one fairly well, Fraser’s Marie Antoinette is a more sympathetic character. In a rather stark contrast to popular opinion, both of her contemporaries and her reputation persisting through history, she is painted very nearly as an innocent victim of circumstance. I suspect the truth lies somewhere in between. ( )

A thoroughly engrossing read, this was a much-needed reconsideration of a much-maligned personage. Occasionally, Fraser indulges in the tabloid rumour-mongering that she professes to deplore (i.e. particularly where Fersen is concerned, and his true relationship with the Queen), however ignoring these 'juicy' tidbits that are offered, the evidence-grounded look at Marie Antoinette's life is certainly refreshing and successfully looks beyond the myth of the icon to create a more rounded and truer account. ( )

This book put a whole new spin on how I had previously viewed the tabloid-fodder life of Marie Antoinette. If you're looking to read about all of her horrid deeds, look elsewhere because Frasier is notoriously sympathetic to the queen's life.
I very much enjoyed reading this and found it refreshing to finally hear an account of her life that didn't paint her in a completely awful way. ( )

Fascinating. And not as much hard work as I thought it would be! Fraser presents an objectively researched account, in a very readable manner. I read about lots of things I knew, lots of things I THOUGHT I knew, and lots of things I didn't. Made watching the Sofia Coppola film more interesting too. ( )