The increasing unpopularity of the Queen in the final years before the outbreak of the French Revolution has also likely influenced many to attribute the phrase to her. A lively and informative new podcast for kids that the whole family will enjoy. There is the dashing Axel Fersen, Marie's great love; Maria Theresa, the scheming mother trying to place her daughter on the Hapsburg throne; the legendary Madame du Barry, lover to Louis XV; and, of course, Marie herself. The characters of court are expertly drawn. Fraser also points out in her biography that Marie Antoinette was a generous patron of charity and moved by the plight of the poor when it was brought to her attention, thus making the statement out-of-character for her. Thanks again! Please try your request again later. This shopping feature will continue to load items when the Enter key is pressed. "She did not realize she was alienating a nobility that was jealous of its prerogatives," Lever concludes. Please try again. If you like CD's to listen to for books this is for you. Upon first meeting the elder ruler, Marie Antoinette, shucking protocol, curtseyed, suggesting the later single-mindedness that would bring her and her husband such grief. But if her groping for fulfillment was as ill-advised as it was dazzling, Lever can't convey this enthralling paradox. If you're a seller, Fulfillment by Amazon can help you grow your business. Still, research didn't help the book feel grounded--as someone relatively unfamiliar with the era beyond the basics, I wish she had contextualized Marie Antoinette's life and actions better in the context of France, political Europe, and the very concept of monarchy as a whole. The daughter of the Holy Roman Emperor Francis I, … Evelyne Lever is a leading French historian. However, I'd be interested to know why the family tree shows the son of a duke being two years older than his father. And through her book I saw a girl, raised in luxury, married at a young age and forced to accept a responsibility and a role that never fitted her personality. The book contains facts that are in themselves fascinating and gives you a deep depth of knowledge about France and the lead up to the start of the revolution. The phrase was first attributed to Marie Antoinette in 1789, supposedly having been uttered during one of the famines in France during the reign of her husband, King Louis XVI. https://www.amazon.com/Marie-Antoinette-Last-Queen-France/dp/0312283334 In June 1791, Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette fled Paris and headed for the Austrian border–where, rumor had it, the queen’s brother, the Holy Roman … Reviewed in the United States on March 1, 2013. 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. There was a problem loading your book clubs. [8] This makes it even more unlikely that Marie Antoinette ever said the phrase.