Becoming Marie Antoinette [Hardcover]

This is the first novel I've read by this author (who has written books under different names) and I was really excited about the subject since I'm an admittedly huge fan of Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI. They have always had my sympathy for being caught in a horrible situation not really of their making and I think this novel does justice to them.

The first of a proposed trilogy, Becoming Marie Antoinette follows the young archduchess of Austria through her childhood as the youngest daughter of the Empress Maria Theresa. We get to witness her relationship with the siblings she was closest to as well as her interesting relationship with her mother, who was quite eager to use all of her children as diplomatic pawns for Austria (something to be quite expected in royal families).

As a character, I liked Marie Antoinette here, as well as most of the supporting characters. The author/publisher has been touting the vast amount of historical research that went in to this novel and I won't disagree with that assertion. (The use of the nickname "Toinette" might be an exception to this...no one in her family ever referred to her as such, but that's no big deal and doesn't interrupt the narrative of the story at all.)

I'd like to be able to give the novel 3.5 stars, but with no half-stars available, I wavered for a while before settling on 3 stars. Mostly this is because there were some things about the novel that prevented me from losing myself in the story.

Firstly, the author has gone to great pains to emphasize Marie Antoinette's lackluster education. And she's absolutely correct. But the novel is told in first person narrative from MA's point of view and throughout the narrative, MA continually uses a vocabulary that is completely inconsistent with her education (or lack thereof). Phrases in the narrative (not dialog) include things like:

"After a battery of imprecations...."

"In another week or two, red and yellow tulips would dot the parterres and perimeters...."

"....so that his slipper jutted at an oblique angle...."

""Immediately I felt inadequate and wished that my own bosom was as pulchritudinous...."

Vocabulary such as this isn't inappropriate in a novel by any means, but it's somewhat jarring coming from a young teenaged girl known for her lack of education. It tends to pull the reader out of the narrative.

There is also a lot of repetition throughout the novel. For example, we are told over and over that the Hapsburg family motto, 'Others wage wars to succeed, but you, fortunate Hapsburg, marry!'

As for my recommendation, I'd say that this novel would be a fine read for the beach (or any environment where there are a lot of distractions going on around you) because it's easy to follow the storyline. Sex, violence or language are practically non-existent which would make this a good selection for a young adult audience, too. If you're looking for an in-depth, historically convoluted treatment of these characters, you might be disappointed. But if you're just looking for a light, fun read that includes tons of fashion and interior design descriptions (which are sumptuous, by the way) then you'll probably really enjoy this novel.

As I said before, I'm thrilled with the subject matter of the novel (yay for MA and Louis!). The execution of the novel could have been better, but that's certainly just one person's opinion and I'm certain you can judge for yourself whether or not you'd enjoy this book.

Most of what I know about French history has to do with the French Revolution, Napoleon and a rather unsympathetic view of Marie Antoinette, which mostly pictured her as vain, arrogant, not very bright and self centered. This novel takes a delightful fresh approach to the character of Marie Antoinette, starting out with her upbringing in the Austrian Court.

She was raised by her mother, Maria Theresa, the Empress of Austria, a stern and astute politician who basically sacrificed her daughters on the political " altar ". She demanded much from them so that she could marry them off early and to her political advantage.

At the age of 10, Marie Antoinette or " Antonia " as she was named in Austria, knew that she was promised in marriage to Louis Charles, the dauphin of France. At that young age, her mother set out to completely transform her physically as well as intellectually. She had her teeth straightened, an agonizing process in those days, plus she had to learn all of the detailed French history as well as learning to speak the language without an accent.

Then at 14, she leaves behind her family an everything she loves to travel to France where she is to to marry Louis XVI, a painfully shy teenage boy who would rather hunt, eat and work with his hands than be at court or be interested in Marie Antoinette. Juliet Grey has the ability to describe the day to day life at the French court as well as at the Austrian court with amazing details, which is quite fascinating and not dry at all, as some detailed accounts can be.

The reader can almost feel the despair of this 14 year old, who is literally thrown to the wolves at the French court. She tries to cope with the difficulties of the court etiquette and the sly, corrupt politicians, but worst of all, the total lack of interest in her on the part of her new husband. It is heartbreaking to her that he is unwilling to consummate the marriage. This is a big deal as the producing of a male heir was a number one priority for this couple as part of the political package.

Throughout this story, Juliet Grey shows the reader a different view versus the standard novels about Marie Antoinette. She describes a young girl who is very strong and ...kind despite the constant criticisms by her mother. When she gets to France, she has to learn a great deal, not the least of whom to trust and whom not to trust. The reader begins to understand what a lonely life it must have been for her. She is determined to win her husband's affections by trying to become his best friend. Marie Antoinette has a lot of aspirations, but is still very naive at the age of 14. She has to grow up fast and slowly changes from that naive young girl into a much loved Queen of France.

As a historical novel, this one is very well researched with amazing details. The character of Marie Antoinette seems fresh with a lot of personality and is probably truer to the actual history than many other novels about her, which to me have seemed over dramatized. When I started to read this, I was not aware that this was the first novel in a trilogy, so the end was a bit of a cliff hanger. Now I am looking forward to the next two, and even though I know the historical ending is sad, I still am curious how Juliet Grey is going to handle that part of history. Anyone interested in historical fiction will find this novel very satisfying and interesting.

Juliet Grey's very entertaining "Becoming Marie Antoinette" reminded me very much of Sofia Coppola's film "Marie Antoinette" (which I loved and hence the title of this review) and covers roughly the same period in the dauphine's life - the time just before she traveled from Austria to France to marry Louis Auguste, the dauphin, and several years into their marriage. Some of the scenes in the book seemed identical to the film, including the one where Antonia (as she was called by her family before marriage) makes the transition from Austrian soil to French, and must change her clothes and give up her possessions, and the one where she's in her bedroom trying to get into her nightdress, but is kept waiting by a series of noblewomen arriving to help out, each one higher ranking than the last, the highest ranking woman being the one to have the privilege of handing her the gown...while Antonia shivers and tries vainly to cover her nakedness. I guess everyone did their research!

I enjoyed this book a lot. Grey's story flows well and reads fast, and isn't overly bogged down in political matters. She includes enough historical information to give a sense of place and reasons for some of the characters' actions, but doesn't allow the narrative to stop or become boring. (Call me shallow, but when I read a book like this, I want the personal, not the political - if I want to know more about the politics or history of the period, I'll get that elsewhere - plus this part of history is fairly well-known.) Her characters are well-drawn and memorable, especially Marie's formidable mother. I loved all the details of the crazy rituals at the French court and descriptions of the people there, along with the accounts of the clothing and jewels.

I remember being shocked when I learned that Antonia was only 14 when she married the dauphin, he only being 15, even though I understand that back in that era it wasn't uncommon for royal families to marry off youngsters, plus people didn't have long childhoods the way we do now. Children were treated more like adults at an early age, and of course children of royal families were treated like pawns on a chessboard. Still, it's hard not to feel for how it must have been for Antonia to embark on a life filled with difficulty and decisions she didn't feel qualified to make. This book gives a really good sense of Antonia's feelings of isolation (imagine being that age, leaving your country to marry a stranger and realizing you'll never see most of your family again) and despair when her marriage doesn't seem to be going well, and her mother keeps sending her scolding letters, and she doesn't know who to turn to among the court...

I highly recommend this book, especially as a great beach read. It manages to be light and entertaining in spite of its sometimes sad subject matter, and it left me wanting more, so I was extremely happy to find out that the author intends to write a trilogy. Can't wait!

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 78 reviews  4.2 out of 5 stars