Synopses & Reviews
Imagine that, on the night before she is to die under the blade of the guillotine, Marie Antoinette leaves behind in her prison cell a diary telling the story of her life—from her privileged childhood as Austrian Archduchess to her years as glamorous mistress of Versailles to the heartbreak of imprisonment and humiliation during the French Revolution.
Carolly Erickson takes the reader deep into the psyche of Frances doomed queen: her love affair with handsome Swedish diplomat Count Axel Fersen, who risked his life to save her; her fears on the terrifying night the Parisian mob broke into her palace bedroom intent on murdering her and her family; her harrowing attempted flight from France in disguise; her recapture and the grim months of harsh captivity; her agony when her beloved husband was guillotined and her young son was torn from her arms, never to be seen again.
Erickson brilliantly captures the queens voice, her hopes, her dreads, and her suffering. We follow, mesmerized, as she reveals every detail of her remarkable, eventful life—from her teenage years when she began keeping a diary to her final days when she awaited her own bloody appointment with the guillotine.
Review
“Writers of historical fiction must tread a fine line between loving one's protagonists while telling the truth about them. Carolly Erickson has executed this balancing act with the same scorching wit and greatheartedness that has always illuminated her biographies. The old "let them eat cake" myth has once and forever been exploded, yet the author resists the temptation to sentimentalize or simplify the maddeningly complex character of Marie Antoinette.” --*Robin Maxwell, author of THE SECRET DIARY OF ANNE BOLEYN
“Carolly Erickson turns cold fact to hot fiction in her first historical novel. THE HIDDEN DIARY OF MARIE ANTOINTETTE lets a much-maligned woman speak for herself -- in exquisitely precise prose that illuminates her growth from innocent princess to unloved wife to doomed queen. Erickson lets us see that Marie Antoinette's life tragically mirrors the plight of a France headed for bloody revolution -- and reveals the very human truth behind history's mask.” --India Edghill, author of QUEENMAKER and WISDOM'S DAUGHTER
Synopsis
Imagine that, on the night before she is to die under the blade of the guillotine, Marie Antoinette leaves behind in her prison cell a diary telling the story of her life--from her privileged childhood as Austrian Archduchess to her years as glamorous mistress of Versailles to the heartbreak of imprisonment and humiliation during the French Revolution.
Carolly Erickson takes the reader deep into the psyche of France's doomed queen: her love affair with handsome Swedish diplomat Count Axel Fersen, who risked his life to save her; her fears on the terrifying night the Parisian mob broke into her palace bedroom intent on murdering her and her family; her harrowing attempted flight from France in disguise; her recapture and the grim months of harsh captivity; her agony when her beloved husband was guillotined and her young son was torn from her arms, never to be seen again.
Erickson brilliantly captures the queen's voice, her hopes, her dreads, and her suffering. We follow, mesmerized, as she reveals every detail of her remarkable, eventful life--from her teenage years when she began keeping a diary to her final days when she awaited her own bloody appointment with the guillotine.
About the Author
Distinguished historian Carolly Erickson is the author of Rival to the Queen, The Memoirs of Mary Queen of Scots, The First Elizabeth, The Hidden Life of Josephine, The Last Wife of Henry VIII, and many other prize-winning works of fiction and nonfiction. Her novel The Tsarinas Daughter won the Romantic Times Reviewer's Choice Award for Best Historical Fiction. She lives in Hawaii.
Reading Group Guide
1. In most works of fiction the outcome is not known. Even though you know Marie Antoinette is going to die, were you still able to enjoy the unfolding of her story?
2. Discuss the narrative structure of The Hidden Diary of Marie Antoinette. Did the diary format bring you closer to the character of Marie Antoinette? Or how, if at all, might it have compromised your objectivity toward the other characters and events in the book?
3. Did you think that the beautiful love affair between Marie Antoinette and Axel Ferson redeemed the sorrows and tragedy of her life? Did their affair change your opinion of her?
4. How did you feel, after reading the authors Note to the Reader, once you realized that the characters of Eric, Amélie, Sophie, and Father Kunibert were “inventions?” Take a moment to talk about the nature of fact vs. fiction in this historical novel.
5. Why is Louis XVI such a sympathetic character in this novel even though he was such a weak king?
6. Did your view of Marie Antoinette change as you learned more about her anguish over her children?
7. Was Marie Antoinette a victim of her upbringing in that she chose to stay in France and sacrifice her life at her husbands side? To what extent was she following her mothers training and example in reaching this decision?
8. What did you know about the French Revolution before reading The Hidden Diary of Marie Antoinette? How, if at all, did reading this book teach you about—or change your image of—the French Revolution?