Marie Antoinette: Writings on the Body of a Queen [Hardcover]

Dena Goodman (Editor), Thomas E. Kaiser (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0415933943 | ISBN-13: 978-0415933940 | Publication Date: March 7, 2003 | Edition: Reprint

Marie-Antoinette is one of the most fascinating and controversial figures in all of French history. This volume explores the many struggles by various individuals and groups to put right Marie's identity, and it simultaneously links these struggles to larger destabilizations in social, political and gender systems in France.

Looking at how Marie was represented in politics, art, literature and journalism, the contributors to this volume reveal how crucial political and cultural contexts were enacted "on the body of the queen" and on the complex identity of Marie. Taken together, these essays suggest that it is precisely because she came to represent the contradictions in the social, political and gender systems of her era, that Marie remains such an important historical figure.

Editorial Reviews

Review

With superb and intriguing scholarship, these essays capture the complexity of Marie-Antoinette's image from the Old Regime to the present day. The collection stands out for its readability and its insightful analysis of the representation of gender, politics, and sexuality.
–Suzanne Desan, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Marie-Antoinette: Writings on the Body of a Queen brilliantly captures the many facets of the legendary Queen. Through their analyses of correspondence, pamphlets, archives, and iconography, the authors show the complex networks of slander and passion that shaped Marie-Antoinette's fate. Ultimately, the book also provides sobering insights into the suspicions always generated by the fear of women's empowerment.
–Marie-Helene Hunt, Princeton University

Dena Goodman has assembled a terrific collection of essays on Marie-Antoinette. It brilliantly reveals how this inkblot of a queen, a mother, and a woman became so potent a symbol in the French Revolution, and has remained so since. And it shows what some of the most original historical scholars have been up to.
–Keith Michael Baker, Stanford University

Splendid....Showcases work by dix-huitièmistes in history, art history, and literary studies. The contributors, using a variety of sources and methods, analyze the figure of the dauphine/queen from many angles and, in so doing, exemplify creative scholarship in contemporary cultural history. Collectively, the authors transcend traditional petite histoire by examining texts, pictures, and incidents in detail and by speculating about the larger meanings of it all.
–H-France

About the Author

Dena Goodman is Professor of History and Women's Studies at the University of Michigan. Her publications include The Republic of Letters: A Cultural History of the French Enlightenment (1994) and Going Public: Women and Publishing in Early Modern France, which she co-edited (1995).

Product Details

• Hardcover: 300 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; Reprint edition (March 7, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415933943
• ISBN-13: 978-0415933940
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,476,757 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars This isn't a biography, July 28, 2007

By 

Mary Nears - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Marie Antoinette: Writings on the Body of a Queen (Paperback)

I'm not sure what Goodman was trying to do here, but it didn't work. I mean, if you're interested in Marie Antoinette as a SYMBOl of women-in-high-places brought down, then this is the book for YOU....But right now I'm wanting to know about her life. Because I can't call this book a biography, an analysis of Marie Antoinette, or a review of the revolution and how it effected her, I can't recommend it. The purpose of the book is a mystery to me, except to place Antoinette in the context of women since the beginning of time. YAWN. Yet, I read it and I find myself rereading parts of it again and again. I think I have to commend it because there is thought behind the writing. The writer does give a bit of insight into Antoinette's daughter, who is the reason I began reading everything I could get my hands on about the queen...Thing is, if you want to read about women who have been scape-goated throughout the years, turn to female writers of the 1960s and early 1970s. In their hands, this book would've burned.