French Legends: The Life and Legacy of Marie Antoinette
ISBN: 9781981881758
*Includes over two dozen pictures of famous artwork depicting Marie Antoinette and important people, places, and events in her life.
*Explains the origins of the famous phrase Marie Antoinette is best remembered for, "Let them eat cake".
*Includes a Table of Contents
“I was a queen, and you took away my crown; a wife, and you killed my husband; a mother, and you deprived me of my children. My blood alone remains: take it, but do not make me suffer long.” – Marie Antoinette
Throughout history, a countless number of historical figures have had their lives overshadowed by the myths and legends that surround them to the extent that their legacy comes to define them. In French history, this is truer of Marie Antoinette than just about everyone else. Nearly 220 years after she was put to the guillotine, Marie Antoinette is more famous than ever, fairly or unfairly coming to epitomize royalty and everything that was wrong with it.
As the youngest daughter of the Holy Roman Emperor, 14 year old Marie’s marriage to the eventual Louis XVI made her Dauphine, and it initially seemed like a good fit. The charming and beautiful young girl pleased the French, but she had the misfortune of being queen at a time when the French were beginning to sour on their royalty and aristocratic classes. On top of that, France’s participation in the American Revolution had left the nation broke, which only angered those who watched the King and Queen spend millions of livres for their own comfort at the expense of the state. Though Marie Antoinette was hardly the only French royal who liked to live lavishly, the French were particularly scornful of her, possibly due to her Austrian ancestry.
*Explains the origins of the famous phrase Marie Antoinette is best remembered for, "Let them eat cake".
*Includes a Table of Contents
“I was a queen, and you took away my crown; a wife, and you killed my husband; a mother, and you deprived me of my children. My blood alone remains: take it, but do not make me suffer long.” – Marie Antoinette
Throughout history, a countless number of historical figures have had their lives overshadowed by the myths and legends that surround them to the extent that their legacy comes to define them. In French history, this is truer of Marie Antoinette than just about everyone else. Nearly 220 years after she was put to the guillotine, Marie Antoinette is more famous than ever, fairly or unfairly coming to epitomize royalty and everything that was wrong with it.
As the youngest daughter of the Holy Roman Emperor, 14 year old Marie’s marriage to the eventual Louis XVI made her Dauphine, and it initially seemed like a good fit. The charming and beautiful young girl pleased the French, but she had the misfortune of being queen at a time when the French were beginning to sour on their royalty and aristocratic classes. On top of that, France’s participation in the American Revolution had left the nation broke, which only angered those who watched the King and Queen spend millions of livres for their own comfort at the expense of the state. Though Marie Antoinette was hardly the only French royal who liked to live lavishly, the French were particularly scornful of her, possibly due to her Austrian ancestry.