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hcampbell28's review
4.0
Becoming Marie Antoinette is the first book in a planned trilogy about the life of this notoriously well know Queen of France. In this first outing, author Juliet Grey takes us on a journey from the Austrian court at Schonbrunn where Maria Antonia spent many of her younger days to the glistening palace at Versailles where Marie Antoinette emerges. For me, this was my first real foray into a novel about this queen and I was not at all disappointed with the details of her growing up that were included.
Most books on Marie Antoinette skim over the details of her younger life to get to “the good stuff” - her downfall courtesy of Madame Guillotine. One of my favorite aspects of this book was that the first half of the book really focuses on her formative years growing up under the Empress Maria Theresa of Austria. You really get a feel for that court - which also does not usually get much of a novel treatment - and Marie’s family. Her sisters, especially Charlotte and Josepha, were her closest companions. We also learn a lot about their mother, Empress Maria Theresa and oldest brother, Emperor Joseph. It was refreshing to get to know a court that is not usually represented in fiction.
One of the most vivid scenes for me was during the time Marie had to go through improvements to become acceptable to marry the dauphin of France. I did not realize that they had braces back then and the process that was described sounded very familiar to my own experience with braces at age 10. This scene was probably the one thing that really endeared Marie to me - although I have to imagine that her experience with them was probably worse then mine!
I had a love/hate relationship with the writing style of this novel. First the good - I really loved the French and German that were peppered throughout the narrative. Even without know hardly any of either of those languages it was easy enough to derive the meaning from the context. During her years at the Austrian court this switch between languages served to show which state of mind Marie was in - slipping easily back into German when excited or upset. I did, however, have issues with some of the word choices used. There were times when it felt like I needed to have a dictionary constantly at the ready because every fourth or fifth word I didn’t know - and I tend to consider that I have a decent vocabulary. There was an overuse of “Thesaurus words” which really left me frustrated because they were either an unnecessary choice or frequently over used. It just made for much slower reading. Here is an example:
“Immediately I felt inadequate and wished that my own bosom was as pulchritudinous
and had been molded to such perfection” (ARC pg 223).
Overall, I really enjoyed this take on the teenage years of Marie Antoinette’s life. We leave her on the verge of just becoming queen. I would recommend this novel to anyone who is a fan of Marie Antoinette and wants to see a more personable side of her. The second book [b:Days of Splendor, Days of Sorrow|12392657|Days of Splendor, Days of Sorrow (Marie Antoinette, #2)|Juliet Grey|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327683796s/12392657.jpg|17373747] will pick up where we left our newly minted king and queen.
This book was received for review from the publisher - I was not compensated for my opinions and the above is my honest review.
Most books on Marie Antoinette skim over the details of her younger life to get to “the good stuff” - her downfall courtesy of Madame Guillotine. One of my favorite aspects of this book was that the first half of the book really focuses on her formative years growing up under the Empress Maria Theresa of Austria. You really get a feel for that court - which also does not usually get much of a novel treatment - and Marie’s family. Her sisters, especially Charlotte and Josepha, were her closest companions. We also learn a lot about their mother, Empress Maria Theresa and oldest brother, Emperor Joseph. It was refreshing to get to know a court that is not usually represented in fiction.
One of the most vivid scenes for me was during the time Marie had to go through improvements to become acceptable to marry the dauphin of France. I did not realize that they had braces back then and the process that was described sounded very familiar to my own experience with braces at age 10. This scene was probably the one thing that really endeared Marie to me - although I have to imagine that her experience with them was probably worse then mine!
I had a love/hate relationship with the writing style of this novel. First the good - I really loved the French and German that were peppered throughout the narrative. Even without know hardly any of either of those languages it was easy enough to derive the meaning from the context. During her years at the Austrian court this switch between languages served to show which state of mind Marie was in - slipping easily back into German when excited or upset. I did, however, have issues with some of the word choices used. There were times when it felt like I needed to have a dictionary constantly at the ready because every fourth or fifth word I didn’t know - and I tend to consider that I have a decent vocabulary. There was an overuse of “Thesaurus words” which really left me frustrated because they were either an unnecessary choice or frequently over used. It just made for much slower reading. Here is an example:
“Immediately I felt inadequate and wished that my own bosom was as pulchritudinous
and had been molded to such perfection” (ARC pg 223).
Overall, I really enjoyed this take on the teenage years of Marie Antoinette’s life. We leave her on the verge of just becoming queen. I would recommend this novel to anyone who is a fan of Marie Antoinette and wants to see a more personable side of her. The second book [b:Days of Splendor, Days of Sorrow|12392657|Days of Splendor, Days of Sorrow (Marie Antoinette, #2)|Juliet Grey|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327683796s/12392657.jpg|17373747] will pick up where we left our newly minted king and queen.
This book was received for review from the publisher - I was not compensated for my opinions and the above is my honest review.
qtpieash3's review
3.0
A FirstReads win that I rather enjoyed - 3.5 stars.
I didn't realize this was the first in a trilogy which made the ending (a bit of a cliffhanger when it came to the dauphin and dauphine's potential for an heir) a bit more palatable. This first book, Becoming Marie Antoinette, does just what the title suggests - it follows a young 'Toinette (as her family often calls her) and her betrothal to the French dauphin, Louis XVI. Initially considered somewhat lacking by the French court, Marie Antoinette is forced to endure teeth straightening via rudimentary braces, intensive schooling (which never really took - her tutors would often finish her work to avoid being fired), and a makeover that led to her infamous updo.
Marie Antoinette and Louis were teenagers when they were wed; Louis was a bit awkward and as of the end of the book, had not consummated their marriage. Being that one of their chief duties is to produce a male heir, this is a pretty big deal. I know what happens to Marie Antoinette in the end, but as of the end of this book, the country adored her so I'm curious to see how thing will devolve.
I'll definitely be reading the rest of this series - I think the next installment comes out in 2012 which seems forever away. Grey is a talented writer who has obviously done her homework while still creating an intriguing story around one of history's most famous figures.
I didn't realize this was the first in a trilogy which made the ending (a bit of a cliffhanger when it came to the dauphin and dauphine's potential for an heir) a bit more palatable. This first book, Becoming Marie Antoinette, does just what the title suggests - it follows a young 'Toinette (as her family often calls her) and her betrothal to the French dauphin, Louis XVI. Initially considered somewhat lacking by the French court, Marie Antoinette is forced to endure teeth straightening via rudimentary braces, intensive schooling (which never really took - her tutors would often finish her work to avoid being fired), and a makeover that led to her infamous updo.
Marie Antoinette and Louis were teenagers when they were wed; Louis was a bit awkward and as of the end of the book, had not consummated their marriage. Being that one of their chief duties is to produce a male heir, this is a pretty big deal. I know what happens to Marie Antoinette in the end, but as of the end of this book, the country adored her so I'm curious to see how thing will devolve.
I'll definitely be reading the rest of this series - I think the next installment comes out in 2012 which seems forever away. Grey is a talented writer who has obviously done her homework while still creating an intriguing story around one of history's most famous figures.
bec2015bec's review
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I was exited to read this book and find out more about Marie Antoinette, but I found it to be a little slow for me. I should have done more research, but thought her entire life was summarized into the one book, instead of a trilogy. I also would have loved to go more in depth into the important events of her life and have seen more of the friendship/romance between Louis and Marie, even if it's more fiction than fact. There wasnt really enough focus for it to be categorized as a 'Romance' book in my opinion. Instead, I found we go a lot of trivial information about what she wore or simple/short conversations that she may have had. I don't know if I'll be picking up the other books in the series.
anistasiabelle's review
1.0
Interesting subject matter. I learned a few things from it. I put it down and was not compelled to pick it back up again, so meh. Had no interest in finishing.
edsfsousa's review
5.0
Simply superb the way Antoinette's life as a young naive girl is portrayed. Can't wait for the rest of the trilogy.
booksrmyescape's review
5.0
Intriguing story about Marie Antoinette as a young girl preparing for her role as future queen and her early years at court. It was interesting and hard to imagine how difficult it must have been for she & Louis Auguste to have to maneuver all the political scheming and immorality of the Versailles court as mere teenagers! This story was very well told with enough facts and details to be believable yet also with the first person perspective, the emotional turbulence keeps it moving swiftly like a great novel! I’m already on to the second book about her life as queen.
amgass119's review
5.0
I thought this was phenomenal. I normally don't like historical fiction, and I don't know much about French history. But this story created a human side to Marie Antoinette, a pawn in the Hapsburg family. And, now I want to read some non-fiction to see what is historically accurate.
I cannot wait for the next book!
I cannot wait for the next book!
mohillbooks's review
4.0
One of many books about Marie Antoinette that have been written. Somehow this one seemed different and perhaps more realistic. It is the first of three books in a trilogy and I look forward to the other books when they come out.