'The Queen is quite universally detested. Every evil is attributed to her . . .'
In this book, leading French historian Evelyne Lever tells the compelling story of the last, and 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 and wholly unprepared for the role history cast for her.
In this major new biography, drawing on little-known private letters and archival material, Evelyne Lever paints vivid portraits of the Queen, her inner circle and the lavish court life at Versailles, as well as the tragic events leading to her death.
From Marie Antoinette's birth in Vienna, through her turbulent, unhappy marriage, her grand passion for the dashing Count Axel Fersen, the bloody turmoil of the French Revolution, to her trial and final beheading, Lever weaves a tragic tale of power and its abuse, and an unforgettable tapestry of life in eighteenth-century France.
