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A review by difficultwomanreads
Queen of Fashion: What Marie Antoinette Wore to the Revolution by Caroline Weber
4.0
In all honesty, I'm very critical of biographies, perhaps more so than I should be. The fact is that I'm sick of reading everything in the same style, with the same approach. Unfortunately, there are reasons why the study of history is given a bad rap, and dull biographies is one of them. Luckily, "Queen of Fashion" is not at all dull, and not at all boring. It's a biography with a unique spin--almost more of a thesis, approaching Marie Antoinette's life through the lens of fashion--and the concept works.
Weber's research is spot-on--a mixture of primary sources with modern speculation. She does not spend a laborious amount of time threading the clothing base into Marie Antoinette's life. Of course, as with any focus such as this, the connection can sometimes come off as worn, or perhaps a stretch. When one is looking at a single facet of Marie's life so closely, it's impossible not to imagine or leap into theories. However, Weber avoids this habit as often as possible. It never reached the point of annoyance.
Caroline Weber treats her subject as both a remarkable person and a flawed human being. She dispels the "let them eat cake" rumors, of course, but unlike many biographers refrains from masking Marie as a saint. Weber is fully aware of the French queen's very real problems, even if "let them eat cake" is not one of them.
One complaint I would have is that while the fashion idea certainly didn't pigeon-hole Weber in at all times, there were moments wherein I would have liked to read more about Marie Antoinette's family and personal relationships.
Overall--not as good as Antonia Fraser's "Marie Antoinette: The Journey" but still admirable and quite well done.
Weber's research is spot-on--a mixture of primary sources with modern speculation. She does not spend a laborious amount of time threading the clothing base into Marie Antoinette's life. Of course, as with any focus such as this, the connection can sometimes come off as worn, or perhaps a stretch. When one is looking at a single facet of Marie's life so closely, it's impossible not to imagine or leap into theories. However, Weber avoids this habit as often as possible. It never reached the point of annoyance.
Caroline Weber treats her subject as both a remarkable person and a flawed human being. She dispels the "let them eat cake" rumors, of course, but unlike many biographers refrains from masking Marie as a saint. Weber is fully aware of the French queen's very real problems, even if "let them eat cake" is not one of them.
One complaint I would have is that while the fashion idea certainly didn't pigeon-hole Weber in at all times, there were moments wherein I would have liked to read more about Marie Antoinette's family and personal relationships.
Overall--not as good as Antonia Fraser's "Marie Antoinette: The Journey" but still admirable and quite well done.