Marie Antoinette: The Journey

I have this on my currently-reading list, but I've been reading it since I bought it about 4 months ago. I pick it up and put it down. It's not that the life of Marie Antoinette isn't fascinating to me, it is, but I just get distracted.

The book begins with Marie's birth in Austria and follows her path to France, where she marries the then Dauphin Louis Auguste, and lives in Versailles with then King Louis 14. I'm still a little foggy as to the history of the French royalty, so I don't know much about the history of Louis 14, Louis 15, but this books does give a good look at Louis 16 and his relationship with Marie Antoinette from the day they met to the day he assumed the crown (upon the death of Louis 14).

I have always had the opinion that Marie Antoinette had a raw deal by being saddled with saying “let them eat cake”. According to this book, she did not actually say that, it was not her statement, but she did overspend and abuse her allowance, leaving a lot of debt for the French Royal accountants (as did other members of Court including King Louis 16).

This is a fascinating book and I think Marie lived a very interesting life. I don't think I would want to be married at 14 and living in a foreign country trying to fit into their rules and ideas, while also trying to uphold my country's interests. There was a tremendous amount of pressure from both the French as well as the Austrians, and I think her immaturity and lack of proper preparation, along with the pressure her mother loaded onto her, helped lead to her downfall, which is unfortunate. Her story is a good read, and so far I've enjoyed this book. I'm sure I'll pick it up and put it down several more times before finishing it, but each time I pick it up, I get sucked right back into her life.