Maria Antonia of Vienna has her whole life mapped out ahead of her. She is to marry Dauphin Louis Auguste, eldest grandson of King Louis XV. As his wife, she will be called Marie Antoinette, and will be the highest princess of France. Upon the death of the King, she will become Queen Marie Antoinette. But she dreads both new roles. I am just thirteen...I am not yet ready to be a dauphine, let alone Queen, she writes
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
"I look up now into the oval mirror and see barely a trace of the mud-splattered girl tearing through the woodland on her horse, or the barefoot girl wading at Schonbrunn... I have become what Mama set out for me to be. Majestic. A Dauphine and eventually a Queen."
So writes the headstrong 13-year-old Maria Antonia--future Queen of France--in her diary on October 23, 1769. In this engrossing addition to the Royal Diaries series (Elizabeth I: Red Rose of the House of Tudor, Cleopatra VII: Daughter of the Nile), Kathryn Lasky invents a diary of the young Marie Antoinette in 1769--the year she is to be married off to Dauphin Louis Auguste, eldest grandson of the French king Louis XV. Arranged marriages were common in that day and age--as the Empress Theresa (of the Holy Roman Empire of the Germanic Nations) sought to consolidate power among nations by marrying off her children. Thus, the future of Austria and France falls upon Maria Antonia's young shoulders.
To prepare her for this awesome responsibility, she must be trained to write, read, speak French, dress, act... even breathe. Things get even more grim as she is shipped off to the court of Versailles and introduced to her puffy, awkward future husband and confronted with the court's ridiculous customs. Marie--an opinionated and insightful young woman--mocks the court of "impeccable etiquette and manners" that makes up nasty rhymes about those they hate, but panics when her hair is mussed. Lasky has done an excellent job of creating a very human character in the young Marie Antoinette--one whom young readers will want to learn more about. Fortunately, her story is given plenty of context with an epilogue describing the history of the young Queen after 1769, a historical note offering an 18th-century context, a Habsburg-Bourbon family tree, and various portraits of the royal family. (Ages 9 to 13) --Karin Snelson
From School Library Journal
Grade 5-8-Lasky takes historical fact and weaves it into a sympathetic account of an adolescent Marie Antoinette. Antonia's diary begins shortly before her politically arranged betrothal and marriage to Louis Auguste, Dauphin of France. It describes her struggles with strange new customs, in particular the elaborate French Court etiquette. The descriptions of Versailles and palace life hold true to fact and fit well into the diary of the Dauphine experiencing her new country. The diary also does a believable job of taking Marie Antoinette from a girl of 13 to a young woman of 15. Antonia goes from playing childhood games to become Marie Antoinette, future queen, playing political games with Madame du Barry. At the conclusion of the novel, an epilogue continues the story to its historical completion. Notes and a family tree are useful for readers who know little of 18th-century royalty and politics. This will be a popular addition for readers who favor the diary format in historical fiction. An excellent companion to this series is Milton Meltzer's Ten Queens (Dutton, 1998).
Carolyn Janssen, Rockford Public Library, IL
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Carolyn Janssen, Rockford Public Library, IL
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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More About the Author
Hi Readers! Thanks for coming by my author page. I've written all sorts of books - from fantasy about animals to books about science. One of my favorite animal fantasy series, Guardians of Ga'Hoole, is a major motion picture. I liked writing about Ga'Hoole so much that I decided to revisit that world in a new series, Wolves of the Beyond. Visit my website, www.kathrynlasky.com to see a slide show about the real wolves I researched for the series and for the latest update on the Guardians of Ga'Hoole movie. All my best, Kathryn
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
19 of 20 people found the following review helpful
By Julia
Format:Hardcover
This book is great. She was married at 13! My favorite part tells about Marie Antoinette in France and she thinks the French etiquette is sometimes too much. I agree. She teaches her husband lots of Austrian things he has never heard of. Overall this book deserves the best rating. I recommend this book for book worms and girls ages 10-14.
19 of 21 people found the following review helpful
By S. Joshi
Format:Hardcover
Written about the "headstrong" Austrian archduchess Maria Antonia (as the future Queen of France was called as a child), this book portrays her as a girl who wants to be herself. Tired of her mother's incessant attempts to mold her into a beautiful, ladylike Queen, Maria Antonia just wants a chance to develop her own character and make decisions for herself. This book also deals with Maria Antonia's marriage to Louis XVI, the Dauphin (or Crown Prince) of France. Maria Antonia has been meticulously prepped so that she will make a good impression on the Dauphin and his grandfather, the incumbent French monarch. However, when she actually meets her fiance, Maria Antonia discovers to her shock (and horror) that he is not at all handsome and that he is overweight--which is completely the opposite of what she was expecting him to look like. But Maria Antonia and her husband grow closer throughout the final third of the book and become good friends at last. They are on the verge of falling in love when the book ends. Maria Antonia also has to deal with Countess du Barry, the King's mistress. Du Barry is unfriendly to Maria Antonia and goes out of her way to insult the young Dauphine. In spite of this, Maria Antonia is expected to talk to du Barry and be courteous to her--which the Dauphine refuses to do. The book also talks about Maria Antonia's bond with her older sister Elizabeth, who was once a great beauty but whose skin is now scarred as a result of smallpox. Titi, or Theresa, who is Maria Antonia's seven-year-old niece (the daughter of her older brother Joseph and his late wife Isabella of Parma), is also a close friend of the Archduchess. A principal character in this book is Queen Maria Theresa (Maria Antonia's mother), who is controlling and strict (but not cruel). This book interested me in the history of the Habsburg family (of which Maria Antonia was a member). The author aptly describes the scenery of Maria Antonia's home(s) in Austria--expertly enough so that I could recognize every single landmark mentioned in the book when I visited Germany, Switzerland, and Austria, coincidentally a few days after I finished the book. An excellent read!
22 of 26 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
The year is 1769; the place, Austria. The pressure is on thirteen-year-old Maria Antonia, youngest daughter of the Empress Maria Theresa, to excell so that she will be chosen to marry the future king of France. Antonia, as she is called, must learn French language, fashions, customs, and etiquette so that she can impress the king's messengers. She is given no time to act her age; when she does attempt to enjoy life as a girl should, she is severely punished. When she is sent away to France, her life is little better - she makes enemies of the mistress of the current king, who is the grandfather of her husband-to-be. She is forced to observe customs she can barely keep straight. And she is having a hard time getting along with her fiance. I viewed Marie Antoinette differently after reading this book. It was obvious from the book and the afterword that Marie and her husband were not trained well by their parents and teachers on how to become good rulers, and Marie had been taught from the time she was young that the most important thing was to look good. This is most likely why they became such bad rulers and ended up losing their lives.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Queen Marie
Good book. Tells of her early years and what she endured. She writes where you can understand what is going thru her mind.
Published 24 days ago by Calvin
4.0 out of 5 stars
Beautiful but a bit boring
Very good but a hint of bore involved in this book. I still thing it'd do great as a 2nd to read in this series. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Catty
4.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting
Very interesting story, told in a very interesting manner. The author's voice (Marie's) was light and allowed for easy reading. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Sadsack
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great
For its level, I found this to be a very good book. Explored the life of Marie Antoinette in a fictional, yet historic manner. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Van
3.0 out of 5 stars
Princess of Versailles; Marie Antoinette
When I originally read this book it was way back in middle school, for some reason I decided I should read it once more. Read more
Published 22 months ago by Jennifer Shuman
4.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent book!
I have always loved this book! It is extremely well written, very interesting, and has cool descriptions of the clothes Marie wears! Read more
Published on January 17, 2011 by Karin Fosnot
4.0 out of 5 stars
A GOOD FAST READ!
I really liked this book! Its quick and gets to the point. Its a YA book definitely but its good still at least from my point of view. Read more
Published on July 31, 2010 by Iusedtobeacat
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Austrian
I read this book while in high school and loved it, I re-read it and bought it for my daughter, i hope she loves it too! Read more
Published on March 10, 2010 by Nidkah
5.0 out of 5 stars
Just as advertised
This book was presented to us in a padded envelope. The condition is New. Nothing torn, nothing stained and no discoloration. There is no need to be concerned with the seller. Read more
Published on February 23, 2010 by Ultimix
5.0 out of 5 stars
A great book!
This is one of my favorite Royal Diaries. Marie Antoinette is a young Austrian archduchess who lives a peaceful life at her family's palace. Read more
Published on February 8, 2010
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