Book description
Bringing to life one of the most complex characters in European history
Stefan Zweig based his biography of Marie Antoinette, who became the Queen of France at the age of fifteen, on the correspondence between her and her mother, and her great love the Count Axel von Fersen. Zweig analyzes…
Why read it?
2 authors picked Marie Antoinette as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
Vigée Le Brun’s patron and friend, Queen Marie-Antoinette, had a major influence on the painter’s career. Zweig’s concise, compelling story, largely based on correspondence between Marie-Antoinette and her mother, Austrian Empress Maria-Theresa, later with the love of her life, Swedish diplomat Count Axel von Fersen, clarifies the queen’s character development with grace and understanding.
Beautifully told by one of pre-World War II Europe’s finest writers, Zweig’s account paints a well-rounded, nuanced picture of Marie-Antoinette, from her personal pleasures as a mother and lover to her suffering and courage during the Revolution, thereby helping us to better understand the queen and…
From Judith's list on Vigée Le Brun and her milieu of the art world and Europe during the French Revolution.
A concise, compelling, and beautifully told story by one of pre-World War II Europe’s finest writers. Largely based on correspondence between Marie-Antoinette and her mother, Austrian Empress Maria-Theresa, then with the love of her life, Swedish diplomat Count Axel von Fersen, Zweig’s account clarifies the queen’s character development with grace and understanding, and paints a well-rounded, nuanced picture of Marie-Antoinette from her personal pleasures as a mother and lover, to her suffering and courage during the Revolution.
From Judith's list on biographies of women who made a difference.
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