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lostinfrance's review against another edition
4.0
I actually got through a non-fiction book without complaining. I found the writer's style easy to delve into...and I enjoyed learning about an infamous queen.
I have heard rumours that this book is not true to history, but I don't know enough about this time period to prove it.
This book DID make me a fan of Marie Antoine....and wish that history could be changed. I feel like she got the blame for things that were out of her control.
I have heard rumours that this book is not true to history, but I don't know enough about this time period to prove it.
This book DID make me a fan of Marie Antoine....and wish that history could be changed. I feel like she got the blame for things that were out of her control.
holdingabook's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.0
burningupasun's review against another edition
4.0
I knew Marie Antoinette was executed and yet the whole time I was reading this I kept thinking "yeah, but maybe it won't happen somehow". And then it did, and I was left yet again feeling mildly enraged at patriarchal society and it's determination to put women into boxes and yet somehow still blame them and see fault in them for doing exactly what they were raised to do. (I.E., Marie Antoinette was raised knowing that as a royal daughter she had no purpose other than to be married off to a foreign royal and become a wife, yet was literally punished and turned into a scapegoat essentially based on the fact that she was a foreign princess.)
I did find this book a bit confusing at times, mostly because there were so many names and many of them were very similar, but it was still a fascinating read and I liked the sympathetic but realistic portrait it painted.
I did find this book a bit confusing at times, mostly because there were so many names and many of them were very similar, but it was still a fascinating read and I liked the sympathetic but realistic portrait it painted.
workingfortheknife's review against another edition
3.75
i dont care about marie antoinette but i love sofia coppola...the duality of woman
celiapowell's review against another edition
3.0
Well, mostly read anyway. I couldn't make it all the way through this library book, as it was a little too academic to read quickly. However, it was quite a fascinating insight into the life of such a famous historical figure, written in a very engaging way.
franzcomma's review against another edition
5.0
Una biografia ottima, delicata, piena di fonti e che dipinge chiaramente la sfortunata stella sotto la quale nacque Maria Antonietta. Accusata di ogni ignominia è stata semplicemente una donna più vittima di altre nella sua condizione di pedina politica. Balzata in prima linea nelle logiche di alleanze tra Francia ed Austria in maniera quasi improvvisa, Maria Antonietta si è ritrovata da sola a dover fronteggiare una corte straniera, le pressioni della sua patria d'origine, un matrimonio che pareva non dover essere consumato mai e la crisi economica di un paese le cui casse sono state svuotate dalla guerra più che da lei.
Della biografia sorprende l'odio che questa donna ha ispirato, la crudeltà e la cattiveria con cui lei è stata resa per forza di cose il capro espiatorio di tutto, lei che era una donna mite e gentile, probabilmente pronta ad essere solamente una madre. Una donna lontana anni luce dalla Messalina che i Rivoluzionari ci hanno tramandato. Una figura triste e sola, che ha pagato troppo per i suoi errori.
Della biografia sorprende l'odio che questa donna ha ispirato, la crudeltà e la cattiveria con cui lei è stata resa per forza di cose il capro espiatorio di tutto, lei che era una donna mite e gentile, probabilmente pronta ad essere solamente una madre. Una donna lontana anni luce dalla Messalina che i Rivoluzionari ci hanno tramandato. Una figura triste e sola, che ha pagato troppo per i suoi errori.
ca_mila's review against another edition
3.0
I found this really interesting to read and it definitely has made me think of Marie Antoinette in a different way. It was nice to see her represented as something other than simply foolish and stupid. However I did find it quite hard to keep up with all the different people and the changes in their titles. The footnotes and the pictures were really nice to read and look at and the book as a whole taught a lot about the lifestyle at that time, which I loved.
underwaterlily's review against another edition
5.0
Though oblivious to the plight of the people and known for her extravagance, Marie Antoinette wasn’t a malicious woman. She was vivacious, sweet, and kind-hearted—a true victim of circumstance. Fraser’s biography is beautifully written and sympathetic.