"Marie Antoinette: The Journey"

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that Lady Antonia Fraser's "Marie Antoinette: The Journey" is a good introduction to this period of French history and, after more than two centuries of criticism, is a needed antidote to the bad image the reader may have of Marie Antoinette because she is shown to be much more a victim than a victimizer. The author points out that the story is told in a straightforward fashion with numerous citations, so the interested reader can delve further if desired. The paper relates that Fraser includes a great deal of information on the social and cultural attitudes of the time, as well as painting a picture of the world of the 18th century, especially of the world of the royals.

From the Paper:

"Marie Antoinette lived from 1755 to 1793; her life cut short by the guillotine once the rebels had taken over France and started eliminating remnants of the aristocracy. She was the youngest daughter of Francis I and Maria Theresa, Emperor and Empress of the Holy Roman Empire, and she had been told from a young age than it was her destiny to be queen of France. Her parents arranged the marriage of her to the crown prince of France in 1770, and she would become queen in 1774 when her husband was crowned King Louis XVI."

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