Marie Antoinette was a child of fourteen when her mother, the Empress of Austria, arranged for her to leave her family and her country to become the wife of the fifteen-year-old Dauphin, the future King of France. Coming of age in the most public of arenas—eager to be a good wife and strong queen—she warmly embraces her adopted nation and its citizens. She shows her new husband nothing but love and encouragement, though he repeatedly fails to consummate their marriage and in so doing is unable to give what she and the people of France desire most: a child and an heir to the throne. Deeply disappointed and isolated in her own intimate circle, and apart from the social life of the court, she allows herself to remain ignorant of the country's growing economic and political crises, even as poor harvests, bitter winters, war debts, and poverty precipitate rebellion and revenge. The young queen, once beloved by the common folk, becomes a target of scorn, cruelty, and hatred as she, the court's nobles, and the rest of the royal family are caught up in the nightmarish violence of a murderous time called "the Terror."
With penetrating insight and with wondrous narrative skill, Sena Jeter Naslund offers an intimate, fresh, heartbreaking, and dramatic reimagining of this truly compelling woman that goes far beyond popular myth—and she makes a bygone time of tumultuous change as real to us as the one we are living in now.
“Opulent. . . . Recreates the glories of Versailles and the political malice that wafts through its many doorways.”
“Exceptional...A richly detailed portrait of an opulent, turbulent time. 4 stars.”
“A wealth of period details...even the most cynical reader will wish for a last-minute pardon.”
“Naslund mixes historical observation with delight and tension that makes it hard not to turn the page.”
“An absorbing, detailed read.”
“With skillful dialogue Naslund re-creates a time and place fresh and fearsome.”
“The novel is abundant, full of color and detail. . . . An engaging portrait of one of history’s bright-colored butterflies.”
“Readers of serious historical fiction will revel in it.”
“Enchanting...Opulent and fabulous, as encrusted with detail as one of Marie’s shimmering dresses...a complete page turner. Grade: A”
“Intensive historical inquiry enables Naslund to re-create Marie Antoinette’s life with empathy and irresistibly piquant detail.”
“Naslund’s writing is rich with minute details that put the reader into the world of Versailles. A page-turner.”
“An enthralling work of fiction, one that captures the details of a family reign and a time period long gone.”
“Scrupulously researched and vividly presented . . . it’s an irresistible story and Naslund handles its big moments with impressive assurance.”
“Lush with description and deep with historical detail...Marvelous.”
“Naslund uses her words as if they were a camera to record life in late 18th century France.”
“Both a realistic and romantic novel (with) immediately engaging characters...offers a rich, panoramic depiction of an age.”
“Fascinating...A richly detailed look at the doomed queen.”
“Intimate experiences and thoughts run beautifully rampant through the pages...[a] smart delicious lesson in history.”
“Naslund recreates Marie so sympathetically that we can’t help aching for the queen.”
“The portrait that emerges is sympathetic but realistic...Absorbing.”
“ABUNDANCE is intelligent, beautifully written, and uncomfortably relevant, and Naslund makes her heroine convincing and even sympathetic.”
“Hypnotically intimate…With vivid detail and exquisite narrative technique, Naslund exemplifies the best of historical fiction.”
“Perceptive and literate.”
“Sumptuous...gripping...beautifully poignant. If you read one book about Marie Antoinette, let it be Sena Jeter Naslund’s.”
Sena Jeter Naslund is the author of six novels and two short story collections. A native of Birmingham, Alabama, she is a winner of the Harper Lee Award, a Distinguished Teaching Professor and Writer-in-Residence at the University of Louisville, and the program director of the Spalding University brief-residency MFA in Writing.
Distributor: HarperCollins Publishers
Publication Date: 05-22-2007
Pages: 592
Measurements: 8in X 5.3125in X 0.948718in X 16.88oz
