History from a Woman's Perspective- A Book Blog

The Hidden Diary of Marie Antoinette Author: Carolly Erickson Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: Griffin Release Date: 2006 Pages: 368 Source: My personal collection Synopsis: Imagine that, on the night before she is to die under the blade of the guillotine, Marie Antoinette leaves behind in her prison cell a diary telling the story of her life―from her privileged childhood as Austrian Archduchess to her years as glamorous mistress of Versailles to the heartbreak of imprisonment and humiliation during the French Revolution.      Carolly Erickson takes the reader deep into the psyche of France's doomed queen: her love affair with handsome Swedish diplomat Count Axel Fersen, who risked his life to save her; her fears on the terrifying night the Parisian mob broke into her palace bedroom intent on murdering her and her family; her harrowing attempted flight from France in disguise; her recapture and the grim months of harsh captivity; her agony when her beloved h...

The Wardrobe Mistress: A Novel of Marie Antoinette Author: Meghan Masterson Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin Release Date: August 15th 2017 Pages: 384 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: THE WARDROBE MISTRESS is Meghan Masterson's fascinating and visceral debut, an inside look at Marie Antoinette's luxurious life in Versailles remarkably juxtaposed against life in third estate as the French Revolution gains strength. A propulsive exploration of love, loyalty, danger, and intrigue...not to be missed.      It's Giselle Aubry's first time at court in Versailles. At sixteen, she is one of Marie Antoinette's newest undertirewomen, and in awe of the glamorous queen and her opulent palace life. A budding designer, it's a dream come true to work with the beautiful fabrics and jewels in the queen's wardrobe. But every few weeks she returns home to visit her family in Paris where rumors of revo...

Marie Antoinette: The Portrait of an Average Woman Author: Stefan Zweig Genre: Nonfiction, History, Biography Publisher: Pushkin Press Release Date: 2010 Pages: 590 Source: Edelweiss/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: Life at the court of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette has long captivated readers, drawn by accounts of the intrigues and pageantry that came to such a sudden and unexpected end. Stefan Zweig's Marie Antoinette: The Portrait of an Average Woman is a dramatic account of the guillotine's most famous victim, from the time when as a fourteen-year-old she took Versailles by storm, to her frustrations with her aloof husband, her passionate love affair with the Swedish Count von Fersen, and ultimately to the chaos of the French Revolution and the savagery of the Terror. An impassioned narrative, Zweig's biography focuses on the human emotions of the participants and victims of the French Revolution, making it both an engrossingly compelling r...

Marie Antoinette, Daughter of the Caesars: Her Life, Her Times, Her Legacy Author: Elena Maria Vidal Genre: Nonfiction, History, Biography Publisher: Mayapple Books Release Date: 2016 Pages: 566 Source: Kindle Unlimited Synopsis: Marie-Antoinette, Daughter of the Caesars is about the life, death and legacy of Louis XVI's tragic Queen, based upon the author's thirty years of research. Whenever possible the historical persons speak for themselves out of memoirs and letters. Marie-Antoinette is seen in light of her Imperial heritage as a child of the Habsburg dynasty. Having assumed the crown of the Holy Roman Empire in the 1400’s, the crown which had originated with Charlemagne in the year 800, they were seen as the continuation of the Roman Empire of the West. The Habsburgs and their allies kept the Muslims from overrunning Europe at both the Battle of Lepanto in 1571 and at the battle of Vienna in 1683. The fall of Marie-Antoinette, as both Queen of France and the younge...

Marie Antoinette Author: Desmond Seward Genre: Nonfiction, History, Biography Publisher: Thistle Publishing Release Date: 2015 Pages: 253 Source: Kindle Unlimited Synopsis: Giddy and extravagant, Marie Antoinette came to France as a child-bride from Austria, France’s traditional enemy, but the hatred she aroused was out of all proportion to her faults. It was not the sans-culottes who first called her ‘L’Autrichienne’ or accused her of lesbianism: the campaign of vilification and scurrilous ballads originated among the nobility, even the royal family.       Posterity sees her as foolish, immoral and devious, as a meddler in politics who unduly influenced her husband, the amiable and incompetent Louis XVI. Re-examining correspondence and memoirs, Desmond Seward finds a different Marie Antoinette: strong-minded, religious, devotedly maternal, surrounded by enemies, forced by her husband’s lethargy to intrigue as best she could to save the monarchy. She failed,...

Marie Antoinette: An Intimate History Author: Melanie Clegg Genre: Nonfiction, History, Biography Publisher: Madame Guillotine Release Date: 2015 Pages: 284 Source: Kindle Unlimited Synopsis: As the youngest daughter of the Empress Maria Theresa of Austria, Marie Antoinette was born into a world of almost unbelievable privilege and power. As wife of Louis XVI of France she was first feted and adored and then universally hated as tales of her dissipated lifestyle and extravagance pulled the already discredited monarchy into a maelstrom of revolution, disaster and tragedy.      This illustrated first biography by historian and writer Melanie Clegg takes a fresh look at the story of this most fascinating and misunderstood of queens, exploring her personal tribulations as well as the series of disasters that brought her to the guillotine in October 1793.      Melanie Clegg is the author of five historical novels and is also a regular contributor to M...

The Secret Diary of a Princess: A Novel of Marie Antoinette Author: Melanie Clegg Genre: YA, Historical Fiction Publisher: Madame Guillotine Release Date: 2014 Pages: 250 Source: Kindle Unlimited Synopsis: The dramatic and often tragic years of Marie Antoinette’s early life, told in her own words. This book for young adult readers follows her privileged childhood and adolescence in the beautiful palaces of Vienna as the youngest and least important of the daughters of the all powerful Empress Maria Theresa of Austria and invites the reader to share the long journey, both emotional and physical that ended with her marriage to the Dauphin Louis of France at Versailles.      This is the unforgettable story of a charming, fun loving and frivolous young girl, destined for greatness, coming to age in one of the most magnificent and opulent courts that the world has ever seen.       My Review: The Secret Diary of a Princess tells the story of the early...

Marie Antoinette: The Journey Author: Antonia Fraser Genre: Nonfiction, Biography, History Publisher: Anchor Release Date: 2006 Pages: 512 Source: Personal Collection Synopsis: France's iconic queen, Marie Antoinette, wrongly accused of uttering the infamous "Let them eat cake," was alternately revered and reviled during her lifetime. For centuries since, she has been the object of debate, speculation, and the fascination so often accorded illustrious figures in history. Married in mere girlhood, this essentially lighthearted child was thrust onto the royal stage and commanded by circumstance to play a significant role in European history. Antonia Fraser's lavish and engaging portrait excites compassion and regard for all aspects of the queen, immersing the reader not only in the coming-of-age of a graceful woman, but in the culture of an unparalleled time and place.       My review: Marie Antoinette is one of history's most hated women. Her reputation ha...

Confessions of Marie Antoinette: A Novel Author: Juliet Grey Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: Ballantine Books Release Date: September 24th, 2013 Pages: 464 Source: NetGalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: A novel for fans of Philippa Gregory and Michelle Moran, Confessions of Marie Antoinette blends rich historical detail with searing drama, bringing to life the first years of the French Revolution and the final days of the legendary French queen.      Versailles, 1789. As the burgeoning rebellion reaches the palace gates, Marie Antoinette finds her privileged and peaceful life swiftly upended by violence. Once her loyal subjects, the people of France now seek to overthrow the crown, placing the heirs of the Bourbon dynasty in mortal peril.      Displaced to the Tuileries Palace in Paris, the royal family is propelled into the heart of the Revolution. There, despite a few staunch allies, they are surrounded by cunning...

Days of Splendor, Days of Sorrow: A Novel of Marie Antoinette Author: Juliet Grey Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: Ballantine Books Release Date: 2012 Pages: 448 Source: Personal Collection Synopsis:  A captivating novel of rich spectacle and royal scandal, Days of Splendor, Days of Sorrow spans fifteen years in the fateful reign of Marie Antoinette, France’s most legendary and notorious queen.       Paris 1774. At the tender age of eighteen, Marie Antoinette ascends to the French throne alongside her husband, Louis XVI. But behind the extravagance of the young queen’s elaborate silk gowns and dizzyingly high coiffures, she harbors deep fears for her future and that of the Bourbon dynasty.      From her early growing pains of marriage to the joy of conceiving a child, from her passion for Swedish military attache Axel von Fersen to the devastating Affair of the Diamond Necklace, Marie Antoinette tries to rise above the gossip and riva...

Becoming Marie Antoinette Author: Juliet Grey Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: Ballantine Books Release Date: 2011 Pages: 466 Source: Personal Collection Synopsis:  This enthralling confection of a novel, the first in a new trilogy follows the transformation of a coddled Austrian archduchess into the reckless, powerful, beautiful queen Marie Antoinette.      “Why must it be me?” I wondered.      When I am so clearly inadequate to my destiny?”      Raised alongside her numerous brothers and sisters by the formidable empress of Austria, ten year-old Maria Antonia knew that her idyllic existence would one day be sacrificed to her mother’s political ambitions. What she never anticipated was that the day in question would come so soon.      Before she can journey from sunlit picnics with her sisters in Vienna to the glitter, glamour, and gossip of Versailles, Antonia must change everything about herself in ord...

Marie Antoinette: The Last Queen of France Author: Evelyne Lever Genre: Nonfiction, History, Biography Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin Release Date: 2000 Pages: 374 Source: Personal Collection Synopsis:  Married for political reasons at the age of fourteen, Marie Antoinette was naive, impetuous, and ill equipped for the role in which history cast her. From her birth in Vienna in 1755 through her turbulent, unhappy marriage, the bloody turmoil of the French Revolution, her trial of high treason (during which she was accused of incest), and her final beheading, Marie Antoinette’s life was the tragic tale of disastrous circumstances colliding.      Drawing upon diaries, letters, court records, and memoirs, Evelyn Lever paints vivid portraits of Marie Antoinette, her inner circle, and the lavish court life at Versailles. Marie Antoinette dispels the myth of the callous queen whose supposed response to her starving subjects was the comment, “Let them eat cake....