The Queen's Lover by Francine du Plessix Gray

A “spellbinding” and “deeply intelligent” historical novel about Marie Antoinette on the eve of the French Revolution (The Washington Post ) Through the untold love story between Marie Antoinette and Swedish aristocrat Axel von Fersen, acclaimed author Francine du Plessix Gray weaves history with romance in a captivating novel that also offers a fresh vision of the French Revolution. Paris, 1774. The dashing nobleman meets nineteen-year-old Marie Antoinette at a masquerade ball. As their relationship deepens at Versailles, Fersen discovers the court’s secrets, even the startling erotic details of Marie Antoinette’s marriage. But this intimacy is disrupted when he leaves to join the American Revolution. When he returns in 1783, he finds France on the brink of disintegration. After the Revolution of 1789, the royal family is moved to the Tuileries and suffers increasingly harsh captivity. After a failed attempt to liberate them, Fersen goes home to Sweden where he soon meets his own tragic end: his fate is symbolic of the violent pace with which of the eighteenth century’s events transformed European culture.

I gave up after 109 pages because it was just too tedious.

As I dive further and further into the genre of Historical Fiction, I've realized something. The more you enjoy the historical period surrounding the story? The more you'll love the book. In fact, I picked up The Queen's Lover mainly because I am fascinated by Marie Antoinette and everything that happened in her time period. I'd not heard a lot about her affair with Count Axel von Ferson, other than that it was a possible occurrence. So I was intrigued to see where Francine Du Plessix Gray would take me, and what I would be shown.

The Queen's Lover reads as Count von Fersen's memoir, showing us his life through a long stream of letters and diary entries. There is quite a lot of his thoughts recorded here and I'll admit that it was rather fascinating. The one thing that threw me off almost instantly though, was that this is much more Count von Fersen's story, and not so much Marie Antoinette's. Out of the entire book there is maybe a third that actually mentions their relationship with one another. The rest is a very detailed look at his travels, and his (ahem) conquests.

One thing I can definitely say about Du Plessix Gray's writing, is that she isn't afraid to show Count von Fersen for who he really is. There is no sugar coating here. Presented is a man in his most raw form. He was married to a code of conduct that was not too well received at that time, and definitely would be frowned upon in today's society. As I mentioned above, there is a lot of information about his conquests, and obviously his opinion of women was that they were there to be bedded. Need I say more? It's tough to decide whether or not you are supposed to pity or despise this man. However it is true that his life is definitely not dull.

Although The Queen's Lover is the title, this story is a lot more about Count von Fersen as a man and not so much as Marie Antoinette's lover. That was the one thing that kept me from fully loving this story. Nonetheless, it is a fascinating look into the time period surrounding these characters and Du Plessix Gray goes to great lengths to fully immerse you in their world. If you are a fan of Historical Fiction, and particularly of Marie Antoinette's possible love affair, this is something you'll want to check out.