Author: Kathryn Lasky
First Published: April 2000
Publisher: Scholastic
Series: The Royal Diaries
236 pages (hardcover)
I really, really enjoyed this book about Marie Antoinette! I’ve always been a little fascinated with Marie Antoinette, she has a rather interesting life story … and of course, tragic as well. I’ve never been of the mindset that Marie Antoinette was an ignorant, frivolous queen who didn’t care for her subjects and peasants much, and I’m glad this book stresses the naivety of Marie Antoinette and how her upbringing shaped her. After all, being the 15th child, not many people would have expected such a grand future for her.
In this book, we only see Marie Antoinette as a preteen, which includes the time before she married her husband, and just a little bit of the time after. This book tells the story of the relationship between Marie Antoinette and her mother, her experience going from the Austrian court to the French court and her rivalry with Madame du Barry (Marie Antoinette’s father-in-law’s mistress). I think this book is definitely one of the best in this series. I think it has one of the more exciting or interesting plots in the series, especially the rivalry part, and it had an ending that left you thinking, “Wow, Marie Antoinette is going to make an amazing Queen!” Of course, in reality, her people did not really think so, but it’s a good way to end the book!
Apologies for the short review! It’s a short(ish) children’s book, and I liked it a lot, nothing to complain about here! If you want to venture into the Royal Diaries series, I highly recommend this one to start with (or Cleopatra or Anastasia, these three being my favourites).
My Rating: 5/5
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