The Untold Love Story: Marie Antoinette & Count Fersen [Paperback]

Evelyn Farr (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 29, 1999

The Austrian whore , accused of every imaginable sexual and political crime - or saint, pure and unsullied? Neither was true, but the life and tragic death of Marie Antoinette have, over the centuries, assumed almost mythical proportions. She was fourteen, married to an obese, uncouth husband who could not consummate the marriage. In her loneliness she turned to the young, sympathetic and attractive Axel Fersen, who soon became for her that most loved and loving of men . Their devotion to each other was known only to a few at Court and lasted for their entire lives. In this moving study, using contemporary and other documents, Evelyn Farr peels back layers of libels and misinformation which continue to obscure the fateful story of the love between the French Queen and the Swedish Count.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'A vivid and poignant portrait' The Sunday Times

About the Author

Evelyn Farr is a graduate of University College, London and has published two other books, "the World of Fanny Burney" and "Before the Deluge", a study of pre-Revolutionary Parisian society

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Allison & Busby (September 29, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0749003707
• ISBN-13: 978-0749003708
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,660,284 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #70 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( A ) > Antoinette, Marie

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Farr fails as historian and excells as a painter with broad, August 2, 2000

By 

Glenn Brown - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Untold Love Story: Marie Antoinette & Count Fersen (Paperback)

brush strokes. Never before have I read such conjecture...truly, I am appalled by the liberties Farr takes in construing the facts to suit her case. Indeed, I too am of the opinion that Marie Antoinette and Fersen were lovers; however nothing concrete has ever surfaced in any correspondence before and after the Queen's death to concusively determine the exact nature of the relationship. According to the publisher, Farr makes use of previously unpublished documents...really? Which ones? Did I miss something? This message is less a review to benefit other readers than a severe admonition to Farr: you have given the public nothing with this tissue of loosely woven fantasy...seemingly your fantasy. Stanley Loomis wrote the definitive book on this subject with The Fatal Friendship. Don't flatter yourself, Farr, the "story" has been told often enough (and more accurately) before you.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars ** Don't waste your money **, October 19, 2000

By 

jeanplaidyfan - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Untold Love Story: Marie Antoinette & Count Fersen (Paperback)

The best thing this book has going for it is the Bibliography - because if you read that you will be enlightened as to some other books which you would be far better off investing in. Apart from that the book has a 'pretty' cover - so if you want to waste your money on a 'pretty' picture & a good Bibliography then go ahead & buy this book. Do yourself a favour - skip this one & invest in something like Joan Haslip's 'Marie Antoinette' or 'The Fatal Friendship' by Stanley Loomis, or even 'Louis and Antoinette' by Vincent Cronin.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Written for a Market, April 12, 2003

By 

M. La Vean "LaVean" (Michigan) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Untold Love Story: Marie Antoinette & Count Fersen (Paperback)

I agree with the sentiments of reviewer who wishes that publishers would take a vacation from publishing M.A. books for awhile...sadly I am sure we will see more...

They will push authors in their stable to crank out yet another rehash...

This book is also indicative of another lamentable trend...editors are spell checkers not fact checkers...while this is not as bad as Schom's book on Napoleon which lists both dates Josepine died in the index (both are wrong) it would be nice if they could have people who know the subject give it a fact read.

I agree with the sentiment that the Fatal Friendship by Stanley Loomis is a good book, however I suggest Le Notre's biography of M.A. as a more balanced and better researched book than some of those mention...what gives Loomis balance is that he has written some "essays" (I can't say he is a biographer)in his book Paris in the Terror. It is also what gives Le Notre balance. He has done excellent biographies of Robespierre and a misnamed biography of M. F-Tinville which goes into great detail on the trial of M.A.

Castelot and Cronin are journeymen who certainly do an adequete retelling...but they were written for the popular market...as were their other biographies of Napoleon, Louis XVI, etc.

Le Notre is definately the person you want to discover...no really good library is complete unless you have a complete collection of the Le Notre books of time period...I also suggest his books on the September Massacres and the Noyades of Nantes.

Michael La Vean
Fellow, International Napoleonic Society