Marie Antoinette: The Last Queen Of France

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This highly readable translation of French historian Evelyne Lever's 1991 biography captures all the drama and pathos of Marie Antoinette's short life. Born in 1755, this carefree, fun-loving daughter of Austrian empress Maria Theresa inherited neither her mother's political shrewdness nor her sense of duty. She was married off at 14 to the stolid, clumsy French Dauphin, who would not fully consummate their marriage for another seven years, at which point he was King Louis XVI and their marital difficulties were the subject of public ridicule. She consoled herself by retreating to the artificial village she constructed at Trianon, where she could be free of the court etiquette she hated and indulge in expensive amusements that only increased her unpopularity. Her rare incursions into politics were just as ill judged; she alienated the French nobility with attempts to further Austria's diplomatic goals, and from the first rumblings of revolution in 1788, she influenced Louis to take a hard line on royal power when compromise might have saved the monarchy and prevented their executions in 1793. Lever does not soften Marie Antoinette's faults or downplay her poor judgment, but most readers will finish this absorbing narrative feeling very sorry for a pretty, goodhearted, but fundamentally frivolous woman thrown into a historical moment whose demands were beyond her. --Wendy Smith

Book Description

Family life in Vienna, the wedding at Versailles, the French court, boredom, hypocrisy, loneliness, allies, enemies, extravagant entertainment, scandal, intrigue, sex, birth and bereavement, lovers, peasant riots, the fall of the Bastille, the attack on Versailles, confinement in the Tuileries, escape and capture, mob rule in Paris, imprisonment, the guillotine...

In Marie Antoinette Evelyne Lever tells the sumptuous story of the last--and the most infamous--queen of France. Married off at fourteen by her ruthless mother for political purposes to the unprepossessing Dauphin, the future Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette was immature, brazenly self-indulgent, impetuous and wholly unprepared for the role history cast for her. Her sad attempts to consummate her marriage read like bedroom farce, and she did little to quell the rumors of her increasingly dangerous liaisons. Bolstered by the staged receptions that she mistook for popular approval, she was willfully out of touch with the nation's dire economic troubles, the seething social and political climate of prerevolutionary France, and eventually retreated--from both her husband and the public--behind a wall of courtiers and into a world of opulent fantasy--until it was too late.

Based on diaries, letters, court documents and memoirs, Marie Antoinette paints vivid portraits of the Queen, her inner circle and the lavish court life at Versailles. Here are the formidable Empress Maria Theresa of Austria, using her daughter Antonia, as Maria Antoinette was called, to realize her own ambitions for the Habsburg empire; the legendary Madame du Barry, lover of Louis XV, whom Marie Antoinette vowed never to address; the dashing Count Axel Fersen, heir to one of the most powerful Swedish families and the grand passion of Marie Antoinette's life; and the inept and hapless Dauphin, a ruler incapable of action even as he watched the monarchy collapse around him.

From Marie Antoinette's birth in Vienna in 1755 through her turbulent, unhappy marriage, the bloody turmoil of the French Revolution, her trial for high treason (during which she was accused of incest) and her final beheading. Lever weaves a tragic hale of power and its abuse, and an unforgettable tapestry of life in eighteenth-century France.

Customer Reviews:

An Absolute Must Read.......2007-08-05

I absolutely loved reading this book. I found it hard to put it down. This book tells of the politics during the time of Marie Antoinette, her love life, and of the troubles that not only she faced, but also her husband. The book describes how ill prepared both she and her husband were for their roles as Queen and King of France. It is written in such an interesting way and is an easy read. The last few chapters are almost a bit emotionally hard to read because it does go into detail of the horrible conditions they had to live their last few moments in and of their death.
A must read, even for those who are not that interested in history!

Tragic..........2006-10-20

Palace suspicions had kept her at arms length from the main events in France.
Marie Antoinette, the daughter of Maria Theresa of Austria (Empress of the Habsburg dynasty), was the victim of gutter press and the intrigues of ambitious lackeys, consequently was to take part of the blame that followed.
For example recent literature revealed she had never said `let the people eat cake if they don't have bread' - during the height of a bread shortage in Paris. The alleged quotation was magnified in the press to her detriment when the time for the Revolution came.

Cardinal de Rohan, France's Envoy to Austria, whose ambition to become France's Prime Minister had been blocked several times by Marie Antoinette {because some of the Cardinal's letters were intercepted in which he said he `bedded half the royal court of Austria"}. The Cardinal worked hard to tarnish Antoinette's image.
de Rohan propagated that the queen secretly sought to buy a necklace for two million Livres, but such accusation was never true.
During the trial the Cardinal was acquitted, and the Queen was condemned.

She was accused of amassing fortunes, jewels, wardrobe filled with myriads of latest fashions - extremely expensive dresses and hundreds of `shoes' -.
Her husband, King Louis XVI, whose optimism with the future of France only days before the July 14th deluge, was extremely feted as much for her magnificent presence as for his known weakness of characters.

As daughter of Maria Theresa, her fondness for France was in direct proportion to her natural love for Austria. The Queen carried soil from Vienna in a jewelled box and planted seeds in her garden. But politics and greed were indeed cruel to this young queen who married the King `boy' when she was only 14.

A decent read.......2006-09-28

This book is mediocre at best. Overall written well, but the characters are confusing.

Facts are stretched to fit romantic fantasies........2006-07-26

I am disappointed that of all the excellent biographies of Marie-Antoinette written by French scholars, Lever's is the one that was translated into English and found its way into the American bookstores. She is a very romantic lady, and stretches the facts to created a romance between the queen and Count von Fersen, even imagining that the queen built her Temple of Love for him, without presenting any solid facts to prove her point. The ordeal of the little dauphin, who is taken from his mother and abused, is downplayed in an outrageous manner. For a better biography of the queen, please read Desmond Seward's. For a true account of what happened to little Louis XVII, read Deborah Cadbury's superb book. There are novels which have better history than Lever's biography, such as Vidal's "Trianon." I would not recommend this book and I hope that Bertiere's biography is soon translated into english.

The last queen of France.......2006-07-14

I went into this biography by Evelyne Lever with little knowledge about Marie Antoinette. I feel that Lever did her research well about this tragic queen of France.

Marie Antoinette was actually Maria Antonia (called Antonia) when she lived under the care of her parents, who were the Emperor and Empress of Austria. The Empress Maria Theresa would be a great influence in Marie Antoinette's life. She gives her daughter for marriage when Marie was just 14. The French Dauphin, Marie's husband, is a clumsy man who eventually becomes the future King Louis XVI of France. The Empress always works for Austria's best interests as she tries to politically influence her frivolous daughter, who eventually becomes the Queen of France.

Lever produces a straight-to-the-point biography, and she clearly shows what an inane, fun-loving woman Marie Antoinette was. She rarely cared about politics and 99% of the time had no idea how to handle political issues. She hated etiquette. She was also easily influenced by friends close to her. Throughout her life, she also stubbornly adhered to her Austrian ties even if it meant losing her popularity in France. I sighed many times reading this book because I did not realize how frivolous one could be until that one person was Marie Antoinette. She spent lavish amounts of money on gardens and a fake village (a getaway place for her) and on the latest fashions while the rest of France starves.

Lever is very matter of fact. There were some parts of the book that I did not really know what was going on because my knowledge of French history is limited. Yes some parts were hazy and dry, but that did not stop me from greedily devouring this book: I couldn't put it down! It read like a fine story. I especially liked the Queen's love for a Swedish nobleman. Lever presents to readers only what is known through preserved journals; she leaves readers wondering what the rest of the world is thinking: what exactly went on with the Swede and the Queen? Her discussion of this matter has left me hungry for more!

All of Marie Antoinette's insouciant attitudes and her penchant for living lavishly might seem repulsive, but it just made her the one sovereign that knew, in Lever's words, "how to bring to perfection the aristocratic art of living of prerevolutionary France." The reader will be disgusted of her naivety (well put by Lever) but as the cries of hate and "l'Autrichienne" rise until it becomes the end of her, one does end up feeling sorry for this pretty lady who was thrust into a dangerous game she never wanted to play in the first place. Lever wrote a good biography of a queen that is now the stuff of legend.

Maria Antonieta / Marie Antoinette: La Ultima Reina De Francia/ The Last Queen of France

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Maria Antonieta / Marie Antoinette: La Ultima Reina De Francia/ The Last Queen of France
Evelyne Lever
Manufacturer: El Ateneo
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Binding: Paperback

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Marie Antoinette: The Last Queen of France

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Marie Antoinette: The Last Queen of France
Evelyne Lever
Manufacturer: Piatkus Books
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Binding: Hardcover

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MARIE ANTOINETTE : THE LAST QUEEN OF FRANCE
EVELYNE/ TEMERSON, CATHERINE (TRN)/ TEMERSON, CATHERINE LEVER
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Griffin
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Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OTK7LY

Marie-Antoinette, archiduchesse d'Autriche, reine de France, 1793

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Marie-Antoinette, archiduchesse d'Autriche, reine de France, 1793
N. de Maistre
Manufacturer: Editions regionales de l'Ouest/Y. Floc'h
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Binding: Unknown Binding

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ASIN: 2855540526

Last Days of Marie Antoinette: An Historical Sketch

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greatly misunderstood
Marie-Antoinette did *not* say the line about the cake
Decent
HI IM MARIE ANTOINETTE KIMMONS.IT WAS CRUEL WHAT THEY DID.

Last Days of Marie Antoinette: An Historical Sketch
Ronald Gower
Manufacturer: AMS Press
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Binding: Hardcover

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Customer Reviews:

greatly misunderstood.......2004-09-30

she was a very misunderstood woman in her lifetime. she may have started as a rather foolish character but she grew in the face of adversity to become a great woman, if not perhaps queen

Marie-Antoinette did *not* say the line about the cake.......2001-07-07

Marie-Antoinette did *not* say the line about the cake... it was Maria Theresa, wife of Sun King Louis XIV who's supposed to have said something like: "Qu'ils mangent de la brioche". Furthermore, correspondence with her relatives indicates that Marie-Antoinette was not at all the frivolous, "wicked" queen as many picture her to be. On the contrary... she probably was rather on the prudish side, and noone has even found any proof supporting an affair with Fersen.

Decent.......2001-02-15

I just want to know how anyone can say she was good Queen. She is known for alot more than just the cake line, and it's all just as horrible.

HI IM MARIE ANTOINETTE KIMMONS.IT WAS CRUEL WHAT THEY DID........1998-11-20

MARIE ANTOINETTE WAS A FAIR AND GREAT QUEEN SHE JUST SAID ONE LINE AND WAS PUNISHED HER HUSBAND WAS THE ONE DOING WRONG NOT HER SHE DIDNT DESERVE WHAT SHE GOT AND I THINK ALL THE TOWN SHOULD FEEL GUILTY FOR WHAT THEY DID. SIGNED, MARIE ANTOINETTE KIMMONS

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Marie Antoinette: The Last Queen of France
Evelyne; Temerson, Catherine Lever
Manufacturer: Griffin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0749922761

Customer Reviews:

The Ultimate Buckeye.......2003-03-04

I bought a copy for myself and for an Iowa Hawkeye co-worker. I was on campus from 1968 - 1972 and saw Coach Hayes around campus (I also observed him some on the practice field). I saw him some years later at the Pittsburg airport after he had been dismissed. I didn't know what to expect, but decided to approach him anyway. Ultimately, I was glad I did as I can look back to having met and spoken briefly with "the Coach." No matter what you may have heard about Coach Hayes, his record and observations as outlined in this book speak for themselves. He may have been from the "old school," but many of us attended that very same school. Ohio State University (1972)

Book Description

Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley's classic novel Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus, first published in 1818, started a phenomeon that has survived the years and permeated many aspects of popular culture. It has spawned numerous films, television programs, books, comics, stage presentations, and the like, and continues to do so today.

Like the Frankenstein Monster, this work is made up of many individual parts, some of which are quite different in their specific themes, but all of which relate to Frankenstein in some way. They consider the untold true story of Frankenstein, Glenn Strange's portrayals of the Monster, the portrayals of lesser-known actors who played the character, Peter Cushing and his role as Baron (and Dr.) Frankenstein, the classic film Young Frankenstein co-written by Mel Brooks and Gene Wilder (who also starred in it), the battles between do-gooders and the Monster and other horror figures, Frankenstein in cartoons—and much more.

Each of the 15 essays, all written by the author, is prefaced with explanatory notes that place the essay in its historical perspective, comment on its origin and content, and where appropriate, supplement the text with new, additional, or otherwise relevant information. Richly illustrated.

Customer Reviews:

Donald Glut's essays on the Frankenstein phenomenon.......2003-05-11

Donald F. Glut is the author of "The Frankenstein Legend: A Tribute to Mary Shelley and Boris Karloff" (1973) and "The Frankenstein Catalog: Being a Comprehensive Listing of Novels, Translations, Adaptations, Stories, Critical Works, Popular Articles, Series, Fumetti, Verse, Stage Plays, Films, Cartoons, Puppetry, Radio & Television Programs, Comics, Satire & Humor, Spoken & Musical Recordings, Tape, and Sheet Music Featuring Frankenstein's Monster and/or Descended from Mary Shelley's Novel" (1984). Consequently, there is every reason to believe that he knows the subject matter of "The Frankenstein Archive: Essays on the Monster, the Myth, the Movies, and More."

The topic of these essays is not so much Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley's classic novel "Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus," but the phenomenon that was started by the 1818 novel. The 15 essays collected here cover a diverse range of topics from the pop culture perspective: (1) "Frankenstein: The (Untold) True Story" sets the tone by following up on the mistakes and inconsistencies in the Universal films; (2) "The 'Strange' Frankenstein Monster" is a celebration of Glenn Strange, who surpassed Boris Karloff as the most exploited and recognizable movie Frankenstein Monster of them all; (3) "A Forgotten Frankenstein?" is an obituary for the stuntman Dale Van Sickle; (4) "Peter Cushing: 'Dr. Frankenstein, I Presume,'" is a profile of the English actors roles as Baron/Dr. Frankenstein in the Hammer film; (5) "'Young Frankenstein'--Classic in the Making" is an enjoyable look at the wonderful film by Mel Brooks and Gene Wilder; (6) "Super Heroes vs. Frankenstein (and Company)" is about the battles between the Mexican superhero Santo and the Monster in a series of Sixties films and similar examples; (7) "'What's Up, Doc Frankenstein (Jekyll and Fu Manchu)?'" is about the Monster and other such characters appearing in animated cartoons; (8) "The Beatles Meet Frankenstein" is about the encounters of the cartoon Fab Four with various monsters; (9) "A Score of Frankenstein Misconceptions" is exactly what the title promises (e.g., whether the seen of the Monster drowning the child Maria in the original "Frankenstein" movie ever shown in prints released theatrically in the U.S.); (10) "Frankenstein on the Home-Movie Screen" is actually about amateur back yard productions, including one made by Glut with Glenn Strange; (11) "'This is your Life, Frankenstein's Monster" is about Boris Karloff's 1957 appearance on the famous surprise biography show; (12) "Frankenstein Sings--And Dances, Too" is about the musical "I'm Sorry, the Bridge Is Out, You'll Have to Spend the Night"; "Frankenstein in Four Colors" covers comic book appearances by the Monster; (13) "'The Monster of Frankenstein' (Almost) Returns" continues in a similar vein regarding comic book; and (14) "The New Adventures of Frankenstein" is the history of a series of novels written by Glut.

As Glut observes in his Preface, this book is assembled and stitched together from various places they had been published. There is no clear argumentative structure to the arrangement, just the common denominator of the Frankenstein phenomenon. However, Glut is clearly knowledgeable about that subject and able to bring a critical eye to the discussions even though he is obviously a fan of all things Frankenstein. The first and ninth essays are the one that will be of most interest to "scholars" interested in this topic area. My only complaint is that there was not more about the "Frankenstein" comic books that Mike Ploog drew for Marvel in 1972. But I still have all of those, so that is a minor issue. Consequently, "The Frankenstein Archive" might not be on the level of academic scholarship, but from a fanzine perspective it is solid journalism.

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The latest book in our Jumble® Crosswords series is guaranteed to please puzzlers of all ages.

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A McGraw-Hill Advertising Classic

"What makes a great advertisement?" Nearly four decades ago, an unmatched group of five advertising pioneers first answered that question in The Art of Writing Advertising.

Their entertaining and historically compelling answers will provide advertising professionals with valuable techniques for applying breakthrough creativity and innovation in the workplace.

Customer Reviews:

What do five legendary copywriters say about advertising?.......2006-09-11

The Art of Writing Advertising is a unique collection of interviews conducted about forty years ago by Advertising Age magazine editor, Denis Higgins. Legendary copywriters William Bernbach, Leo Burnett, George Gribbin, David Ogilvy and Rosser Reeves candidly discuss their craft, their writing processes and their lives in this fascinating book.

The interviewer initially set out to find if these pioneering copywriters had any tricks or gimmicks for the difficult task of writing, but ended up with revealing and at times very personal glimpses into the lives of these five men. The interview with David Ogilvy is particularly poignant and enlightening. This book also includes a few example ads from each copywriter and pictures presumably taken during the interviews.

These great ad writers give some useful advice and share their thoughts on copywriting, but this is not a step-by-step guide for copywriting. If you are familiar with these copywriters and you would like to know a little more about their views on advertising, then I highly recommend The Art of Writing Advertising.

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