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Marie Antoinette

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Marie Antoinette

By: Antonia Fraser
Narrated by: Lindsay Duncan
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This is the only book you need to read on Marie Antoinette, one of the most iconic and divisive characters in history.'

'Drama, betrayal, religion and sex, it's all here' Guardian
'Beautifully paced, impeccably written' Independent
'Fraser is at her best here, lucid, authoritative and compassionate' Sunday Times

Marie Antoinette's dramatic life-story continues to arouse fascination and controversy.

To many people, she is still 'la reine méchante', 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 gripping 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.

'Superbly researched . . . the definitive work on the ill-fated queen' Catholic Herald

'A hugely well-researched work . . . Marie Antoinette is a heroic and tragic exercise in identification' Daily Telegraph

'Fraser sets out to rescue Marie Antoinette from the shadow of the guillotine, and she does this with resounding success' Ruth Scurr, The Times

'Antonia Fraser writes beautifully, with impressively shrewd judgement' Desmond Seward, Daily Mail

Readers are loving this:

'Brilliant . . . I was racing to get to the end of the tragic story' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

'Full of interesting anecdotes and with a sympathy that never strays over to bias, Antonia Fraser's account of Marie Antoinette's life is just brilliant' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

'The level of detail in this book is quite astonishing but in no way does it make it boring' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

'All the cliches about not being able to put a book down apply here' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐©2001 Antonia Fraser 18th Century Europe France Historical Modern Politics & Activism Royalty Middle Ages
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Critic reviews

Drama, betrayal, religion and sex, it's all here, adorned by often fascinating, at times esoteric detail (Hazel Mills)
A hugely well-researched work . . . MARIE ANTOINETTE is a heroic and tragic exercise in identification
This beautifully paced, impeccably written biography is destined to generate the same success as Antonia Fraser's previous work. Don't miss it (Andrea Stuart)
A sparkling new biography . . . Antonia Fraser writes beautifully, with impressively shrewd judgement . . . This is a fine book and a very good read (Desmond Seward)
In MARIE ANTOINETTE, Fraser's superb gifts of narrative, characterisation and eye for salient detail are deployed to greater effect than ever before (Mark Bostridge)
Fraser sets out to rescue Marie Antoinette from the shadow of the guillotine, and she does this with resounding success (Ruth Scurr)
Fraser is at her best here, lucid, authoritative and compassionate (Miranda Seymour)
[Fraser] has written a fine biography . . . A fine and rewarding book (Douglas Johnson)
An authoritative, sympathetic and beautifully written life of the much maligned queen (Charles Osborne)
A superbly researched book which will clearly become the definitive work on the ill-fated queen (Margot Lawrence)
All stars
Most relevant
I was very disappointed that Linsey Duncan only reads the unabridged version of this book, she is such a good narrator, it is a pleasure to listen to her.

Marie Antoinette the abridged version

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Lindsay Duncan is one of the best narrators on the planet. I have her reading Pride and Prejudice as well as this and she is genuinely incomparable, with a wonderful voice and the intonation is perfect. The biography is well written and captivating, although you do sometimes wonder where the basis lies for some of Fraser's conclusions. This is one of my all-time favourite audiobooks.

Brilliant narration and captivating narrative

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