Marie Antoinette: The Last Queen of France

by Evelyne Lever, Catherine Temerson (Translator)

Overview

In MARIE ANTOINETTE, Evelyn Lever draws on a variety of resources, including diaries, letters, and firsthand accounts, to write this sumptuous, addictive delight. From family life in Vienna to the choke of the guillotine, this gripping work combines a fast-paced historical narrative with all the elements of scandalous fiction: Marie's wedding at Versailles to Louis XVI, the French court, boredom, hypocrisy, loneliness, allies, enemies, scandal, intrigue, sex, peasant riots, the fall of the Bastille, mob rule in Paris, imprisonment, and, finally, execution.

From primary source documents Lever fashions an insightful glimpse into the French court at Versailles. The characters of court are expertly drawn. There is the dashing Axel Fersen, Marie's great love; Maria Theresa, the scheming mother trying to place her daughter on the Hapsburg throne; the legendary Madame du Barry, lover to Louis XV; and, of course, Marie herself.

Luxuriously evocative of the Versailles court, historically sharp and witty, and detailing the compelling story of Marie Antoinette's life, Evelyn Lever's biography entrances readers.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780312283339
Publisher:	St. Martin's Publishing Group
Publication date:	09/24/2001
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	368
Sales rank:	529,880
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.82(d)
Age Range:	14 - 18 Years

About the Author

Evelyne Lever is a leading French historian. Marie Antoinette is her first book to be published in the United States. She lives in Paris with her husband, Maurice Lever, the author of Sade.

Editorial Reviews

Lorna Raver is a pleasing narrator for navigating the intrigues and complicated settings of eighteenth-century court life. Lever’s biography of Marie Antoinette requires an able reader capable of accurate pronunciation of French names and words, and Raver succeeds. While her voice has a slightly nasal quality, it is distinctive rather than tinny. She matches the even pace of Lever’s writing, moving the listener through the many events of court life and revolution without getting bogged down or falling into exaggeration. Raver further matches the tone of Lever’s work by narrating rather than interpreting, leaving judgment of one of Europe’s most infamous rulers to the listener. R.F. © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine

FEB/MAR 07 - AudioFile