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Loading... Farewell, My Queen (2002)by Chantal Thomas
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. Farewell My Queen has some great writing, some great scenes, some great impressions, but much of it is dull and uneven. It recounts, almost hour-by-hour, Versailles on July 14th-16th 1789. The first day is a normal one as courtiers and servants do what courtiers and servants do. The second day begins with the residents learning that the King was awoken in the middle of the night to be told about the Bastille. By the third day everyone is making plans to flee and the monarchy appears to be over. The story is told in flashbacks from the perspective of then-young woman who was a backup reader to Marie Antoinette. Her flashbacks are largely a series of people she interacted with and scenes she witnessed, like the animal keeper lamenting the death of his animals, the official court historian who is on volume 7 of his history, the man in charge of the household who is being ignored as everyone flees, and several other characters. The depiction of Marie Antoinette wandering around alone, knocking on doors and attempting--without success--to enter them is particularly moving, as Chantal Thomas explains that these are the first times she has even touched a door. It is interesting to understand that there is something infantile about the kings and queens who were helpless without people doing even the basic things for them. It starts out telling all of these events in a witty and amusing manner. But then the method of telling does not sustain interest for the entire book, although it picks up again at the end when everyone is fleeing Versailles. -- Although I studied French language through college I didn't understand origins of Bastille Day until I read FAREWELL, MY QUEEN, a novel by Chantal Thomas. In 1789 Madame Agathe Sidonie Laborde is Queen Marie Antoinette's reader (& FAREWELL, MY QUEEN's storyteller). They live at Versailles in France. Madame Laborde describes rooms & passages in the chateau, servant roles, & royal famiy members. The Bastille was a prison in Paris. In mid-July 1789 inmates along with ordinary citizens revolted against royalty. Wearing a disguise Madame Laborde left Versailles on July 16, 1789. Safely in Vienna 20 yrs. later she tells her story of being reader to Marie Antoinette. Author Thomas is qualified to write this historical novel. She is Director of Research at National Center of Scientific Research in France & an 18th century literature specialist. She & FAREWELL, MY QUEEN won the Prix Femina in 2002. In 2012 film version was released. -- Farewell My Queen has some great writing, some great scenes, some great impressions, but much of it is dull and uneven. It recounts, almost hour-by-hour, Versailles on July 14th-16th 1789. The first day is a normal one as courtiers and servants do what courtiers and servants do. The second day begins with the residents learning that the King was awoken in the middle of the night to be told about the Bastille. By the third day everyone is making plans to flee and the monarchy appears to be over. The story is told in flashbacks from the perspective of then-young woman who was a backup reader to Marie Antoinette. Her flashbacks are largely a series of people she interacted with and scenes she witnessed, like the animal keeper lamenting the death of his animals, the official court historian who is on volume 7 of his history, the man in charge of the household who is being ignored as everyone flees, and several other characters. The depiction of Marie Antoinette wandering around alone, knocking on doors and attempting--without success--to enter them is particularly moving, as Chantal Thomas explains that these are the first times she has even touched a door. It is interesting to understand that there is something infantile about the kings and queens who were helpless without people doing even the basic things for them. It starts out telling all of these events in a witty and amusing manner. But then the method of telling does not sustain interest for the entire book, although it picks up again at the end when everyone is fleeing Versailles. The last week of Marie-Antionette's freedom as a Queen recounted through the eyes and memories of a woman whose function was to read books aloud to the Queen of France. The tone reminded me of 'Rebecca' - Intriguing look into the royal court during those tumultuous last days at Versailles. There are a lot of characters, so focus on just the most relevant or you will get lost with all the names. Highly recommend for those who love historical fiction.
Dans les pas d'Agathe Sidonie, le lecteur découvre les personnages du château, de "l'amoureux de la reine" à "la Panique", cette gueuse qui, le 16 juillet, parvient à interrompre le cérémonial du dîner et à jeter un rat mort au milieu de la table du monarque. Le tout, enlevé dans un phrasé lent et somptueux de cérémonie royale, fait des "Adieux à la reine" un livre très passionnant. Et même, si l'on y regarde de près, tout à fait d'actualité... De jour en jour, même ici, la Révolution semble inéluctable. Et le monde ancien, frivole, léger, d'une mortelle beauté, pressent qu'il va s'éteindre à jamais. Chantal Thomas nous le donne à sentir avec une grâce infinie, fait deviner la grande histoire par l'anecdote, le fracas de la Révolution par le silence apeuré des aristocrates, l'émergence du peuple par la fuite des favoris. De ce récit en creux de la tourmente, du basculement dans la modernité, on sort ébloui. L'auteur a ressuscité tout un art de vivre, de jouir dans l'instant et le non-dit, et nous l'a fait aimer, comme Marie-Antoinette aime Gabrielle. Sans même y penser. C'était un autre temps, un autre monde dont le prince de Talleyrand gardera la nostalgie: «Qui n'a pas vécu à cette époque n'a pas connu la douceur de vivre.» Grâce soit rendue à Chantal Thomas de nous la restituer intacte, style y compris, dominant son émotion pour mieux susciter la nôtre. En choisissant, parmi les obscurs de Versailles, une lectrice adjointe, Mme Laborde, dont elle invente le destin minuscule, Chantal Thomas met en scène le bref moment où, en romancière inspirée, elle voit l'effondrement d'un monde, dont la souveraine se réduit presque à une figure allégorique. A travers les trois folles journées - et la nuit appartient pleinement à cette dramaturgie du retournement - qui séparent la prise de la Bastille, et l'incrédulité de "ce pays-ci" face à l'événement, et la fuite des courtisans, brouillon carnaval d'un triste grotesque, c'est le dérèglement de l'impitoyable mécanique de Versailles qui se joue ... Chantal Thomas sait rendre à merveille l'envers de cette "providence" qui faisait admettre qu'à la Cour "tout peut advenir". Une prouesse littéraire inattendue. Belongs to Publisher SeriesHas the adaptationAwards
Detailed and dramatic novel narrated by Agathe-Sidonie Laborde, companion and lectrice to Marie-Antoinette. On the day of her sixty-fifth birthday in Vienna 1810, Agathe looks back on the most tumultuous days of her life. The action begins on 14 July 1789 and details the last hours during which Louis XVI, the close associates of the royal family and most of the Court flee from Versailles. Told in a simple but pacy and engaging manner, the narrator recounts, in intimate detail, the last days of the queen and the various intrigues which are thrown up as the Court disintegrates. This is a fantastically commercial book which transports the reader back to 1789 and is written with great drive and narrative tension. Chantal Thomas is a specialist of the period so the novel is also based on years of historical research. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)843.914Literature French French fiction Modern Period 20th Century 1945-1999LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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Some melodrama appears from time to time as Sidonie and those around her become upset. It is more than balanced by the description and dialogue. I'd give this a 3.75 stars if I could
Here is the link to my review of the film, if anyone is interested:
http://evanstonroundtable.com/main.asp?SectionID=4&SubSectionID=4&Articl... ( )