![]() ![]() She had a happy childhood as the last of fifteen children, born to the Empress of Austria. As a character and actual historical personage, Marie is most interesting. Excess, greed, avarice-all the classic seven sins are apparent in this era, but also the sweetness of human bonds. ![]() ![]() She and Louis XVI, her husband are tragic characters in a hate-filled, hysterical time that is often romanticized by modern shows such as Les Miserables. Understanding that she was so young and high-spirited allows the reader to see the tragic train of events unfolding. As one who hated the super-conflated etiquette of the French court, Marie was so ill-suited to the manipulations and contrivances of the age and escaped reality and restriction to Trianon whenever she could. Holt has done fastidious homework and while much of the intimate detail is fictionalized, Marie Antoinette and the circumstances of the French Revolution are drawn in great detail, from the historical events down to fantastic three-foot high hairstyles and her love of beautiful gowns to the little country home, the Trianon, that she had built on the grounds of Versailles to live her conception of pastoral idyllic life. ![]() I love history and do enjoy this genre, as long as it is well written. Well, Victoria Holt, is another pen name for the same author. As a child I remember my sister loving Jean Plaidy and historical fiction. ![]()
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