The Hidden Diary of Marie Antoinette
The Hidden Diary of Marie Antoinette
By: Carolly Erickson
For fans of historical fiction this book is a treat. Told in diary format, Erickson puts us directly inside the mind of Marie Antoinette during the many remarkable events in her life. From her teenage years to her marriage, to her desire for a healthy son and heir, to her imprisonment and death we follow her as she grows and struggles to become French in order to protect Austria's alliance with France.
I love that her journal is started as a punishment - she is to write down all of her sins in order to reflect on them and to pray for forgiveness, starting with last Friday. Now, last Friday she did something that was dangerous, but she did it out of genuine care and concern. Young Marie feels she was not wrong, but Father Kunibert disagrees with her. She is a spirited young girl who decides to make her book of confessions more of a journal, which allows us that unique, inside-their-head look at royalty in the late 1700s.
Erickson has quite a few non-fiction titles under her belt. If that's more your style I would highly recommend you go and check her out - especially if the writing flows like it does in this book. Sure, there are times when we don't hear from Marie for months, but this usually occurs after someone has potentially found her diary (there are things that enemies of the monarchy would love to get their hands on) or after a major event - like giving birth, being crowned Queen of France, her lover leaving her....
An interesting point to me is the discussion of money - honestly, it's no wonder the people of France hated her (they were starving) and she was continuing to throw lavish parties and update her wardrobe practically constantly. Perhaps if she would have paid more attention to her expenditures she might have had a better chance of keeping her son and her head. Although, if Louis would have been a bit braver and more realistic he might have been able to save both of their heads.....
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