What do You think about Versailles (2003)?
I billed this book to my mom as a historical novel about Marie Antoinette, but not a stupid one. What I mean is that it's not fluffy, and it's not a bodice-ripper thinly disguised as something with redeeming value. Instead it's a meditation upon the life of Marie Antoinette, narrated by her ghost (spirit, shade, soul, whatever you want to call it. It's her speaking from beyond the grave, knowing how her life ends, not narrating events as they happen.) The prose is lyrical and soothing to read. It reminded me quite a bit of Karen Blixen actually. In sections, she's broken the novel out into one-act plays, which I thought worked very well in conveying subtle social and political drama. It's not a long book, and not a happy one, but a very well-written and thought-provoking book, and one I would recommended.
—Brittany
I'd put this somewhere between a 2 and a 3. It was fast-paced and fairly interesting, but I didn't really like the switching from Antoinette's diary to play-like format. I found it odd. Then, I noticed that when Louis XV died and she became queen they were in mourning and she says she always has to wear black. After they beheaded Louis XVI she is given black to wear and she's mad about that because queens wear white in mourning. ???So, anyway, it was just a quick read, but it was very superficial. It did touch on the biggies, Louis' impotence, the necklace affair and their deaths, but not much in-between.
—Katy M
