Customer Reviews

The Bad Queen: Rules and Instructions for Marie-Antoinette

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The Bad Queen is the story of Marie-Antoinette, the queen of France who was married to King Louis XVI and ultimately was guillotined when the French Revolution happened. The story takes us from her beginnings in the Austrian Hapsburg court of Empress Maria Theresa who was Marie's mother. Marie's real name was Maria Antonia, but she had to change it to a French-sounding name when it was decided that she would be a match for the dauphin of France. She had to stop speaking German and had voice lessons in French.

This is the full and complete story of Marie and I am sure that basically the facts are true although Marie's feelings and some of her acts in this novel have been dramatically padded out - but in any case it is a good read. It details all the tutoring and practicing Marie endured before she was sent to France to be the dauphine. She had to have her teeth straightened (by wearing golden braces on her teeth) and having her hair done so that her low hairline did not make her appear unattractive (ultimately her hairdressers decided she should wear her hair up, of course). She was groomed for being queen of France before she was a mature adolescent, and every month she waited breathlessly for the onset of puberty. These parts of the story - her puberty, her wishing to grow breasts and become a woman, her attempts to become pregnant and bear a child to inherit the throne - are all handled very sensitively so that the book is suitable for young adults.

The chapters of the book are the list of dos and don'ts listed by her mother the Empress before she left for France. Some of the rules she obeyed, and some she decided to not pay attention to. She felt since she was Queen she had to put up a good front, so she spent a great fortune on her hair, her jewelry and her dresses, as well as sprucing up the palace at Versailles and making it her own. She kept spending a lot of money even though she knew that the peasant population of France was having trouble feeding itself. In the end of course she takes the blame and is executed. Overall this is a well-told story and enjoyable to read.

I have always loved Carolyn Meyer's Young Royals series since being introduced to it when I was about ten or eleven. As a fan of historical fiction and European royalty, these books are my cup of tea. The Bad Queen is no exception- tracing the story of Marie Antoinette, the last true and recognizable queen of France, the book is a nice break from paranomal and fantasy. However, I don't think The Bad Queen is the best in the Young Royals series- it actually ranks toward the bottom for me. I noticed when reading Meyer's In Mozart's Shadow that her writing was getting less and less impressive. For one thing, Meyer switched the POV two-thirds of the way through the story for no apparent reason, which actually harmed the overall effect of the book. Some things were delved into with great detail, while others were just skimmed over. Case in point: In The Bad Queen, there is a short chapter about the diamond necklace scandal. Nothing really happens during the chapter; it reads like a history book. I almost feel as if Meyer took Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette film (which she says gave her some inspiration for exploring Marie Antoinette's story) and condensed it, putting a sympathetic spin on the infamous queen. That isn't a bad thing, only the end result was a novel that read like a history book. For someone wanting to read good historical fiction about European royals, I'd recommend Patience, Princess Catherine or Duchessina before this one.

I must say I really enjoyed this book ~ this is my first read of any of Carolyn Meyer's 'Young Royals' Series, and this one, 'The Bad Queen', is a fun, young-perspective narrative of the life of Marie Antoinette. Throughout the entire book, I could really see that the author was a big fan of Sophia Coppola's film, which this book seemed to follow along those lines much of the time: the life & struggles of Marie Antoinette are told through short chapter diary entries, in which a rule that she must follow is laid out by others, and then the chapter narrates her life at that point, and how she did or did not follow that rule:

A clever & interesting interpretation of how Marie Antoinette lived, using historical facts as back-up, this book is written in such a way to make it interesting to younger readers or readers of romantic historical fiction: I would not recommend this to anyone in search of a biography or detailed historical fiction, nevertheless, I truly enjoyed this read & would be happy to read more from this author: I have read much about Marie Antoinette in the past, and the freshness of the way this is written, makes it compelling & fun to read: I really liked it!

I have already been interested in Marie Antoinette, so I thought this might be a fun read. There will be some SPOILERS in this review, but not really because it's all historical fact. The book is written from the POV of Antoinette.

The very beginning of the book deals with Antoinette getting ready for her marriage (under the direction of her impossible to impress mother) and traveling to meet her husband. Some of the details involved in that arrangement were very interesting. Things happened to her that you think would never be 'standard tradition' for a queen.

After the couple marries, the queen frets for many, many years because the marriage is not consummated. The king is shy and not interested, despite Antoinette trying desperately to seduce him. While the book discusses this problem a lot, they skip over the actual bedroom part to make it very YA-safe. In fact, early on she *thinks* they have finally 'done the deed', only to find out much later that they still hadn't. During this time the queen's excesses are extravagant, and the citizens of France are becoming worse off. Though the king and queen love each other, it is not a passionate or romantic relationship.

Things start moving faster after Antoinette finally has children. The state of France quickly declines, and before we know it the royal family is imprisoned. This part of the story is truly heartbreaking. The book shows Antoinette in a sympathetic light - she had fancy balls and spent too much money and did not listen when warned, but she also wasn't cut out for the job, did not truly mean any harm to the people, and was lonely and sad for much of her life. Still, the book does not give her an out. It shows how stupid she is being and she is constantly given warnings she could have heeded. Rather than step down her extravagances, Antoinette thinks that instead the right thing to do is "continue to be the queen." Of course, she was wrong.

This book takes us to the end of Antoinette's life (her only surviving child, a daughter, eventually takes over the story at the end). No one in this book, even the one surviving child, really had a happy life. And though Louis and Antoinette were ineffective rulers to be sure, they never were the direct result of anyone's death, and did not ask (or want) to be put in their position. The French people needed someone to blame, and they (especially Antoinette) were the chosen ones. Though you know what the end will be, it really is heartbreaking for all involved.

At the end of the book is a recap of what happens afterward to the daughter and a brief historical note. While some things are obviously embellished or speculation, the book largely sticks to historical record. The story of Marie Antoinette is a great read - it doesn't need any embellishment!

Marie-Antoinette, known as Antonia as a child, grew up as the youngest daughter of Maria Theresa, Empress of Austria, a mother who demanded no less than perfection and dedicated herself to making politically advantageous marriages for her many children. In 1768, the year Antonia turns thirteen, her mother determines to marry her off to Louis-Auguste, the heir to the throne of France, who is one year older than Antonia. From that day forward, everything changes for her. Everything must be perfect - she must look perfect, learn to speak French perfectly, and perfectly memorize the many tedious rules of etiquette practiced at the French court. Now more than ever, her life is no longer her own.

After much tedious education and perfection of her looks, Antonia finally sets off to marry Louis-Auguste in 1770. She must leave behind everything of her former life and give up her Austrian identity, including her name - she is now to be known by her new French name, Marie-Antoinette. At the court of Versailles, she is miserable. She feels unwelcome by many who do not want their future queen to be Austrian, and the many rules that govern her every action at court are stifling. In addition, her marriage is unhappy and she fears she might not produce an heir to the throne and be sent home in disgrace. Determined to at least be happy in some way, she throws caution to the wind, disregards the rules of court life, and decides to live a life of luxury, parties, and entertainments - angering the people of France, who suffer from increasing poverty.

The Bad Queen is a fascinating look at the life of Marie-Antoinette from when she is a young teenager, through the French Revolution, when her own daughter, Marie-Therese, concludes her tragic story. It paints a sympathetic portrait of Marie-Antoinette, and shows how she was not truly a bad or evil person, but simply a girl who at far too young an age was married to a boy who had not been prepared to be a king, leading to poor choices that ultimately caused their downfall. I highly recommend this book, and the other Young Royals books, to readers who enjoy young adult historical fiction.

Disclosure: Review copy provided by publisher.

Carolyn Meyer does not disappoint in her newest addition to her Young Royals series, young adult novels on various historical princesses and queens in European history. She tries to present a balanced portrait of the much-maligned queen, whose life is told through a series of diary entries beginning when she was 12 years old and ending near the end of her life, when the author chooses to change the narrator to the Queen's 12-year old daughter, Marie Therese, who narrates the final few years of the Queen's short life and the tragic ending at the guillotine. Meyer writes in an afterword that she was inspired by the recent Coppola film about Marie Antoinette to examine this monarch, and we see Marie Antoinette evolve from a young teenager overwhelmed by the elaborate court etiquette and gossip of the Versailles court to a queen who makes her own simple world in the gardens of Versailles to escape with her children and friends from the formality of court life. The author explores the early years of Marie Antoinette's marriage, in which her husband, the Dauphin, was unable to consummate their marriage, with particular sensitivity. I highly recommend this novel to any teens or even adults who are enjoy French history and this endlessly fascinating monarch. The only thing that bothered me about the book was the title "The Bad Queen," which I felt perpetuated the many stereotypes about Marie Antoinette that the author tries to address with a balanced point of view in the novel. However, perhaps the publishers felt that the "bad girl" title and the coquettish look of the cover model would help sell books!

Meyer imagines the life of Marie-Antoinette as a young girl through her death giving us a Queen who was not entirely rotten but self absorbed, shallow, and inept at public relations. All of the chapters begin from a rule that was likely given to the monarch, and the bulk of the rules refer to her rampant unchecked spending. Which Meyer details and then lets the young monarch rationalize. Meyer clearly went out of her way to give an impartial view if the notorious Queen. She does play to Antoinette's spoiled and thoughtless reputation, but balances those fatal flaws with the struggles of young girl trying to fit in amongst the anti-Austrian climate and furthermore portrays Antoinette a loving mother her mother and a dutiful wife. My only complaint is that Meyer shifts the narration from Maire to her daughter, Maire Therese, over the last hundred pages, and I am not sure why. I can only guess that she wanted to keep the narration flowing from a youthful perspective. It only serves to alienate the reader from our narrator during the most critical events of her life. Otherwise, though much of the historical details are fashion and court custom based, readers are also given insights into the American and French Revolutions. Plus the author gives a historical note and a bibliography which many of my "adult" fictionalized novels of actual historical figures do not even bother with. The story is an instantly engrossing choice with a tragic appeal that young ladies should devour like cake.

As a fan of historical fiction I was very happy with this book. It follows Marie Antoinette from her childhood until her death. Carolyn Meyer does a god job of illuminating the good and bad qualaties of the notorious queen. The book is 420 pages and I flew through it excited to see what happened next!

Carolyn Meyer writes fascinating historical fiction for juvenile readers. The Bad Queen is a more sympathetic look at Marie Antoinette than I've seen, though she pulls no punches when it comes to describing Marie's careless way with money during an economic crisis. She also is frank about Marie's indiscretions with a handsome courtier, though the scenes are PG 13 in content, and not anything I consider overly offensive. We also learn of the heartbreak Marie suffered being separated from her family, and her highs and lows as a wife and mother. Meyer is a delight to read, and I like the fact that Marie Antoinette's faults were not overlooked or sugar-coated, but she does not seem as evil as history has cast her.

This is a really good book. It is the story of Marie Antoinette from a first person account. That is why the book is fiction. The author did a lot of research and wrote accurately about the events of the times, but she writes in Marie Antoinette's voice. This makes the history come alive and read like a novel although you are learning history in the bargain. The author is very good. Her writing just makes you want ot keep reading. If all the history books I ever had in school were like this, I would certainly know a lot more.