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A review by jlynnelseauthor
The Hidden Diary of Marie Antoinette by Carolly Erickson
2.0
I understand that the style of this book is going to be difficult to pen, as the entirety of the book is a diary. But I was also excited by this challenge and looked forward to seeing how the author brought this idea to life. Unfortunately, this form of writing left nothing of a setting. I know nothing of the French monarchy or this period of time. I was hoping for some more information on this very well-known name. However, I found that I was left more confused. Many characters have similar names and no personality (because they are simply mentions in a diary page). So that became messy for me as a reader -- especially when one of the characters has the same name as the daughter she lost. In one entry she's attending balls and naming colors goofy names. The next the citizens are storming the palace walls trying to kill her. So I was not sure what was going on around her throughout the story, which was disappointing. She seemed to run things for her husband, and I wanted more of this.
As this story does not go beyond the diary, you never get interactions with the other figures of this time period. In addition, it's difficult to keep up with what year it is and even harder to relate to Marie, who is not particularly likable mostly because she is not consistent. While this book spans most of her life, I never saw growth from the character.
Erickson had many diary entries about how Marie was hoping for her family to be saved. As a reader, you know the outcome, so the amount of diary entries on her hopes and wishes of being saved from the parisians fell flat. You know nothing is going to come of this, and unfortunately, it gives the book less credibility. As an author, Erickson had the liberty of skipping chapters like this and really explaining the situation around Marie. In the beginning, sure, she's wrapped up in the dresses and balls. But as she begins to take on her husband's responsibilities, I was hoping for more indulgences into her dealings within the Paris court.
I thought the first few chapters really started out well. However, after she got to France, the book began to drag. I enjoyed the pieces of history like how she was sent dolls elaborately fashioned for her to pick what types of dresses she would wear when she became a "French woman." Things like that interest me. But there was very little about the details of life in this book. I also never understood how Marie Antoinette got the name "Marie." She's really never called this in the book until the end.
This book lacked setting, character depth, and relatability. The idea of this was great. However, there was not much to relate to with the setting or characters. There was no background. And, lets be honest, there is also no hope for a happy ending. I was wishing that perhaps Erickson would pull out something meaningful from Marie Antoinette's death. Perhaps her daughter survived and married for love or her son remembered her fondly and followed her example when leading others (I still need to look up what happened to them). Instead, in the end, we're left with what we heard in the beginning -- the guillotine.
As this story does not go beyond the diary, you never get interactions with the other figures of this time period. In addition, it's difficult to keep up with what year it is and even harder to relate to Marie, who is not particularly likable mostly because she is not consistent. While this book spans most of her life, I never saw growth from the character.
Erickson had many diary entries about how Marie was hoping for her family to be saved. As a reader, you know the outcome, so the amount of diary entries on her hopes and wishes of being saved from the parisians fell flat. You know nothing is going to come of this, and unfortunately, it gives the book less credibility. As an author, Erickson had the liberty of skipping chapters like this and really explaining the situation around Marie. In the beginning, sure, she's wrapped up in the dresses and balls. But as she begins to take on her husband's responsibilities, I was hoping for more indulgences into her dealings within the Paris court.
I thought the first few chapters really started out well. However, after she got to France, the book began to drag. I enjoyed the pieces of history like how she was sent dolls elaborately fashioned for her to pick what types of dresses she would wear when she became a "French woman." Things like that interest me. But there was very little about the details of life in this book. I also never understood how Marie Antoinette got the name "Marie." She's really never called this in the book until the end.
This book lacked setting, character depth, and relatability. The idea of this was great. However, there was not much to relate to with the setting or characters. There was no background. And, lets be honest, there is also no hope for a happy ending. I was wishing that perhaps Erickson would pull out something meaningful from Marie Antoinette's death. Perhaps her daughter survived and married for love or her son remembered her fondly and followed her example when leading others (I still need to look up what happened to them). Instead, in the end, we're left with what we heard in the beginning -- the guillotine.