Marie Antoinette: The Journey
by Antonia Fraser

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Book Reviews of Marie Antoinette: The Journey

Book Review: Scapegoat of the Revolution
Summary: 5 Stars

At this point, Marie Antoinette the mother becomes dominant and she no longer occupied herself with frivolous past times. But the die had been cast with the French people who could never see her than anything else but a pleasure loving seductress, living off the misery of others. Fraser does an admirable job of point out that Antoinette's expenditures were no more than the others around her and she possessed a real desire to help the French people. Those who knew her intimately thought her a kind and loving person and these qualities were put to the test after the French Revolution left her and her family at the mercy of the mob. It is in the last three years of her life that we see the real Marie Antoinette, a woman devoted to her husband and her family, a woman willing to do whatever she could to avoid bloodshed. But events moved too swiftly and hundreds of years of oppression by the nobility had focused the hatred of the French people on perhaps the most innocent of victims. I think it is interesting to note that Louis XVI had no mistresses, unlike his previous two successors, and that this allowed the French people to concentrate their hatred on Marie Antoinette since they felt no on else could have swayed his decision making. In previous reigns, the mistresses had been accused of leading the king astray. Madame Montespan, Madame de Pompadour and the Countess du Barry had been seen as the villains in early times and they bore the brunt of the ill feelings against the court.

While Marie Antoinette is the main focus of the biography, many other lives are illuminated. Maria Therese, Empress of Austria and mother of Antoinette is a stern woman, bent on ruling over the lives of all her daughters, regardless of their location or position. Louis XVI is a weak man, unable to make decisions when needed yet never cruel or vindictive. Count Fersen, the only viable candidate as an actual lover of Marie Antoinette, who never stopped trying to help her and her family during her final years as a captive of the revolution.

Antonia Fraser has done a marvelous job of making Marie Antoinette come to life, portraying both her good and bad qualities yet ultimately demonstrating that she surely never deserved what fate finally had in store for her. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants a fuller understanding of the events leading up to the French Revolution and how a scapegoat was made of a young wife and mother unable to control the events around her.

Summary of Marie Antoinette: The Journey

Historical Books

• Books > Subjects > Biographies & Memoirs
• People, A-Z > ( A ) > Antoinette, Marie
• Specific Groups > Women
• History > Europe > France