Title:Becoming Marie Antoinette
Author:Juliet Grey
Release Date:August 9, 2011
Publisher:Ballantine Books
Pages:300
Source:from publisher|TLC Book Tours|My FTC Disclaimer
Purchase:Amazon|Barnes And Noble
Rating:5 Books
Synopsis:
This enthralling confection of a novel, the first in a new trilogy, follows the transformation of a coddled Austrian archduchess into the reckless, powerful, beautiful queen Marie Antoinette.
Why must it be me? I wondered. When I am so clearly inadequate to my destiny?
Raised alongside her numerous brothers and sisters by the formidable empress of Austria, ten-year-old Maria Antonia knew that her idyllic existence would one day be sacrificed to her mother’s political ambitions. What she never anticipated was that the day in question would come so soon.
Before she can journey from sunlit picnics with her sisters in Vienna to the glitter, glamour, and gossip of Versailles, Antonia must change everything about herself in order to be accepted as dauphine of France and the wife of the awkward teenage boy who will one day be Louis XVI. Yet nothing can prepare her for the ingenuity and influence it will take to become queen.
Filled with smart history, treacherous rivalries, lavish clothes, and sparkling jewels, Becoming Marie Antoinette will utterly captivate fiction and history lovers alike.
Author Bio:
Juliet Grey has extensively researched European royal history and is a particular devotee of Marie Antoinette. She and her husband divide their time between New York City and southern Vermont.
My Review:
Historical fiction. That is a genre of writing that I fell in love with when I started blogging. All kinds of historical fiction make their way to my shelves and Nook. So, it was without hesitation that I signed up to be a reviewer for this new novel by Juliet Grey. Both the novel, and the author are new to me, and I couldn’t wait to crack the spine on this one. I was not disappointed in any way with this amazingly written, richly detailed, history filled novel.
Juliet Grey did a fascinating job on this creation of this story. Maria Antonia, Austrian princess. What an amazing person. I absolutely loved each detail the Grey put into her. I could feel her emotions, and her struggles as she grew from Maria Antonia to Marie Antoinette, Queen of France. I can’t imagine going through the things she, being married off at 14 years old, and dealing with French court while still a child. It amazes me to see how vivid Grey made the French court. I felt as if I, myself, was a member of Marie Antoinette’s society and court. Wow!
Not only did I love Maria Antonia and her transformation, I loved the setting of the story, I loved the fact that this is the first in a trilogy. It’s a fantabulous start and one that will be forever on my bookshelf. It’s a story that will keep you up late into the night, and turning the pages, wanting, NEEDING to know what young Marie was dealing with.
I highly, highly recommend this with a high 5 Book Rating. You’ll be instantly transported to another place in time, and you’ll put on the amazingly detailed dresses of the era, and walk the courts along side this Queen. But, be warned: this is a book to be read when you have LOTS of free time, as you’ll become completely lost in the writing of Ms. Grey. I can’t wait until the second book in this trilogy releases!
