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Marie Antoinette

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Marie Antoinette

By: Antonia Fraser
Narrated by: Eleanor Bron
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About this listen

Marie Antoinette's dramatic life-story continues to arouse mixed emotions. To many people, she is still 'la reine mechante', whose extravagance and frivolity helped to bring down the French monarchy; her indifference to popular suffering epitomised by the (apocryphal) words: 'let them eat cake'. Others are equally passionate in her defence: to them, she is a victim of misogyny.

In this biography Antonia Fraser examines her influence over the king, Louis XVI, the accusations and sexual slurs made against her, her patronage of the arts which enhanced French cultural life, her imprisonment, the death threats made against her, rumours of lesbian affairs, her trial (during which her young son was forced to testify to sexual abuse by his mother) and her eventual execution by guillotine in 1793.

©2002 Antonia Fraser (P)2014 Audible, Inc. 18th Century Europe France Historical Modern Politicians Politics & Activism Royalty Emotionally Gripping Heartfelt Thought-Provoking Inspiring Funny French Revolution Middle Ages

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I really enjoyed this incredibly detailed history of Marie Antoinette’s life, which dispels many of the myths surrounding her. It is wonderfully written by Antonia Fraser who succeeds in keeping one’s interest throughout.

I thought that Eleanor Bron did a magnificent job in narrating such a long book. I was a little concerned about some of the reviews I had read before purchasing the book about poor French pronunciation but nothing stood out for me, which may something about my knowledge of the language.

Excellent and illuminating.

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A very informative, interesting, thought-provoking, and moving account of someone crushed by one of the great events of political history.
She led a charmed life, then a cursed one.
Then, seemingly, every imaginable cruelty was inflicted upon her.
Of course, hers was not the only tragedy at this time, and many of the revolutionaries were also victims of their own revolution. However, her story goes from one extreme to the other.
Unfortunately, she still seems to be (deliberately) misunderstood today. Additionally, then as now they had fake news, the difference is that trolling was not done online.
Plus ca change ...
Of course, the book is sympathetic to her, but there can be little doubt that she was the victim of appalling injustice, and there is surely no longer the need to take sides. You can broadly support the revolution and gasp at the stupidity, cruelty, and criminality that came with it.

Spoiler alert: A life of two halves

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A balanced biography of profound historical value for those that can appreciate the gravitas of unlocking the veracity of tumultuous past events!

Superb work by Ms Fraser

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Some translations and explanation Would be appreciated. Unlike the printed version it’s difficult to constantly pause and research the French quotes.

Foot notes please.

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A lot of research and collating of information has gone into this comprehensive account of the life this ill-fated queen. It's an engrossing story particularly the second half of the book when her life is so inextricably part of the French Revolution. In many ways it's a sad story of a young girl destined from birth to be a pawn in international relations with little choice in her life. Her demonization whipped up in the minds of the public by scurrilous pamphlets promulgating rumours and lies reminds one that falsehoods 'going viral' is not just a feature of modern society and social media. The French court of Louis 16th in many ways contributed to their own demise by outrageous extravagance and cronyism: behaviour rather air-brushed out of the biography by the author. While It was understandable why ordinary French people wanted to be rid of the Monarchy it's regrettable that it led to such savagery and so many deaths. There's no doubt that Marie Antoinette became a scapegoat and, for all her faults, didn't deserve the humiliating way she was treated at the end nor the travesty of her 'trial' . The latter a dark stain on the reputation of the leaders of the revolution.
I thought Eleanor Bron an excellent narrator of this long recording.

Monumental biography

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For someone who is deeply passionate about real stories from the past, true historical characters and real "drama" this was a delight, I remember first being faced with this book when doing a project for my history class back in school, truth be told it was difficult to get through the whole thing due to the fact that my English wasn't as good back then and all the French names confused my pace of read, but it was very refreshing to reattempt my read via the audio channel, the actress did a fantastic job at pronouncing all of the names and keeping up a pleasant steady pace while sounding clear and informative.

I believe that Antonia Fraser's fame speaks for itself when it comes to historic proficiency so I have no doubt that her account of the life of Marie Antoinette was as accurate as can be given the evidence still prevailing today, I read somewhere that Antonia tries to push her own defensive opinion about the queen of France but I found that while yes, Antonia's position definitely hinges on moral redemption of the queen's character it was not at all unjustified and the evidence presented is not told with an agenda of influencing or changing anyone's opinion. The biography is told matter-of-factly in supported on primary and secondary historical evidence and put together into a dramatic storyline of the rise and fall of Marie Antoinette, the final analysis at the end provides a great deal of context for lingering questions of the consequence of these events on history which was incredibly informative.

Thank you Antonia, I Shall look out for more books from you :)

Fantastic!

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What made the experience of listening to Marie Antoinette the most enjoyable?

Fraser has done her homework, giving a full, humane and insightful account of her subject's upbringing and character. Her contextual information (politics, family power-plays, protocol, international relationships, etc) ensures the reader is aware of the wider world surrounding the individual woman, whom she has brought vividly to life.

What did you like best about this story?

As well as being sound in her research, Fraser writes well, and she is especially deft and assured in describing (with occasional, appropriately-pitched speculation) the wide-ranging and increasingly severe political pressures gathering around her young subject.

What about Eleanor Bron’s performance did you like?

Bron's enunciation is excellent, and her distinctive voice should be perfect for the book. She is known to be a fine actor, but in this performance she disappoints: at times she seems to be keeping an eye on the clock, for she maintains a pace that does not allow timely pauses at sensitive moments. To this somewhat relentless 'drive' she adds at many times a rather strident pitch. The overall effect is recitation rather than narration, and it intrudes into the story. Disappointing.

Any additional comments?

Still worth buying and listening to, for the story is solid and well told, and Bron's telling of it is certainly good enough; just wish it were better.

History well researched & told; voice falls short

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This biography charts the life of Marie Antoinette from her noble birth, through marriage and eventual demise. I believe it is a more sympathetic reading of her life than others have given. It has plenty of detail about her life and the life of the court and gives a well rounded impression of this sad queen of France.

A wronged woman?

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I already have the hard copy of this book which I read several years ago. I'm a great fan of Lady Antonia Fraser's work having read Henry the eighth and Mary Queen of Scott's. Her obvious passion for research and her prose are wonderful
I was deeply moved by the injustice Marie Antoinette suffered . This was a fantastically written and beautifully narrated book.
I saw a review that statedthe narrator spoke too quickly, I did not find this to be the case but i wanted to savour every word and listenend at x 0.95 rather x1.00.

Deeply engrossing and wonderfully narrated

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I learnt more about this Queen but the story did not fill me with regret

French Queen

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