Confessions of Marie Antoinette, the riveting and sweeping final novel in Juliet Grey’s trilogy on the life of the legendary French queen, blends rich historical detail with searing drama, bringing to life the early years of the French Revolution and the doomed royal family’s final days.
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 spies and vicious enemies. Yet despite the political and personal threats against her, Marie Antoinette remains above all a devoted wife and mother, standing steadfastly by her husband, Louis XVI, and protecting their young son and daughter. And though the queen and her family try to flee, and she secretly attempts to arrange their rescue from the clutches of the Revolution, they cannot outrun the dangers encircling them, or escape their shocking fate.
PARTICULARS OF THE BOOK :
Published by: Ballantine Books
Pages: 464
Genre: Historical Fiction
Author: Juliet Grey
Website: http://www.becomingmarie.com
ABOUT THE AUTHOR :
Juliet Grey is the author of Becoming Marie Antoinette and Days of Splendor, Days of Sorrow. She has extensively researched European royalty and is a particular devotee of Marie Antoinette, as well as a classically trained professional actress with numerous portrayals of virgins, vixens, and villainesses to her credit. She and her husband divide their time between New York City and southern Vermont.
THE BOOKISH DAME REVIEWS :
Simply a joy to read another book about my favorite queen of all time...Elizabeth Tudor and Mary Queen of Scots running 2nd and 3rd slots for me. There is just something so vulnerable and sweet about Marie Antoinette that speaks to me. Her earnestness, her trying to become the queen expected of a child who is thrown into a foreign/strange court without family or friends. A child queen who struggled and evolved into a historical figure of courage, exemplary tastes, and recognition for her special elegance and grace in time of terror and disaster. I thought this book was a perfectly wonderful summary of her final years, and I loved it.
Juliet Grey has long been an author who delights me. I've been reading her books since the original came out in the 1990's, I believe. She has a wonderful way with description...gowns, interiors, conversation between her characters. Her settings never leave you at a loss for time and place as she sets the action and characters within them.
Nothing short of excellence in her characterizations found within her novel. You come away with every sense that you know Marie, Louis and their loyal servants completely. I think she's the only author I've read who makes me think I know the full picture of what happened to them in their final days. I found myself heartbroken at their treatment...the unkindness...and Marie's courage in the face of it.
This is a book that will reach into the hearts of all lovers of historical fiction. Whether you've read anything about Marie Antoinette or not, the writing here is fresh and carries new perspectives on the woman and her household. It's an engaging book that rushes you to the end. It is a fully descriptive one with the finest details of court and clothing! I couldn't put it down!
Great story of Marie Antoinette for any historical fiction reader! 5 stars
Deborah/TheBookishDame
*Note: This book review is brought to you by Historical Fiction Virtual Book Reviews. However, the thoughts and review are my own.
Please find out more about this book and read more reviews, interviews and author insights by clicking on this link to their website:
http://hfvirtualbooktours.com/confessionsofmarieantoinettevirtualtour/
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