Author: Carolly Erickson
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 9780312361501
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 372
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Book Description
This captivating retelling of Marie Antoinette's life turns the tables by giving heart and mind to one of the most sensational, and maddeningly complex, historical figures of all time.
Author: Carolly Erickson
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
ISBN: 1429904062
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 372
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Book Description
Imagine that, on the night before she is to die under the blade of the guillotine, Marie Antoinette leaves behind in her prison cell a diary telling the story of her life—from her privileged childhood as Austrian Archduchess to her years as glamorous mistress of Versailles to the heartbreak of imprisonment and humiliation during the French Revolution. Carolly Erickson takes the reader deep into the psyche of France's doomed queen: her love affair with handsome Swedish diplomat Count Axel Fersen, who risked his life to save her; her fears on the terrifying night the Parisian mob broke into her palace bedroom intent on murdering her and her family; her harrowing attempted flight from France in disguise; her recapture and the grim months of harsh captivity; her agony when her beloved husband was guillotined and her young son was torn from her arms, never to be seen again. Erickson brilliantly captures the queen's voice, her hopes, her dreads, and her suffering. We follow, mesmerized, as she reveals every detail of her remarkable, eventful life—from her teenage years when she began keeping a diary to her final days when she awaited her own bloody appointment with the guillotine.
Author: Caroline Weber
Publisher: Macmillan + ORM
ISBN: 1429936479
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 452
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Book Description
In this dazzling new vision of the ever-fascinating queen, a dynamic young historian reveals how Marie Antoinette's bold attempts to reshape royal fashion changed the future of France Marie Antoinette has always stood as an icon of supreme style, but surprisingly none of her biographers have paid sustained attention to her clothes. In Queen of Fashion, Caroline Weber shows how Marie Antoinette developed her reputation for fashionable excess, and explains through lively, illuminating new research the political controversies that her clothing provoked. Weber surveys Marie Antoinette's "Revolution in Dress," covering each phase of the queen's tumultuous life, beginning with the young girl, struggling to survive Versailles's rigid traditions of royal glamour (twelve-foot-wide hoopskirts, whalebone corsets that crushed her organs). As queen, Marie Antoinette used stunning, often extreme costumes to project an image of power and wage war against her enemies. Gradually, however, she began to lose her hold on the French when she started to adopt "unqueenly" outfits (the provocative chemise) that, surprisingly, would be adopted by the revolutionaries who executed her. Weber's queen is sublime, human, and surprising: a sometimes courageous monarch unwilling to allow others to determine her destiny. The paradox of her tragic story, according to Weber, is that fashion—the vehicle she used to secure her triumphs—was also the means of her undoing. Weber's book is not only a stylish and original addition to Marie Antoinette scholarship, but also a moving, revelatory reinterpretation of one of history's most controversial figures.
Author: Carolly Erickson
Publisher: Macmillan + ORM
ISBN: 1429904054
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 398
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Book Description
One of history's most misunderstood figures, Marie Antoinette represents the extravagance and the decadence of pre-Revolution France. Yet there was an innocence about Antoinette, thrust as a child into the chillingly formal French court. Married to the maladroit, ill-mannered Dauphin, Antoinette found pleasure in costly entertainments and garments. She spent lavishly while her overtaxed and increasingly hostile subjects blamed her for France's plight. In time Antoinette matured into a courageous Queen, and when their enemies finally closed in, Antoinette followed her inept husband to the guillotine in one last act of bravery. In To the Scaffold, Carolly Erickson provides an estimation of a lost Queen that is psychologically acute, richly detailed, and deeply moving.
Author: Carolly Erickson
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
ISBN: 1429969407
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 336
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Book Description
Author of The Hidden Diary of Marie Antoinette Courageous, attractive, romantic, intelligent, Catherine Parr became the sixth wife of Henry VIII. Her story, as Carolly Erickson re-creates it, is page-turning drama: from the splendors of the Field of the Cloth of Gold to the gory last years of the outsize King Henry, when heads rolled and England trembled, Catherine bestrode her destiny and survived to marry her true love. Catherine Parr attracted the king's lust and, though much in love with the handsome Thomas Seymour, was thrown into the intrigue-filled snake pit of the royal court. While victims of the king's wrath suffered torture and execution, Catherine persevered—until, at last, she came within the orbit of the royal fury. King Henry toyed with her, first ordering her arrested, then granting her clemency. She managed to evade execution, but she knew that the king had his wandering eye fixed on wife number seven. She was spared by his death and married the attractive but dangerously unbalanced Seymour. Her triumph was shadowed by rivalry with the young Princess Elizabeth, whose lands and influence the lecherous Seymour coveted. Catherine won the contest, but at great cost. In The Last Wife of Henry VIII, critically acclaimed author Carolly Erickson brings this dramatic story of survival and redemption to life.
Author: Chantal Thomas
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 147670645X
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 248
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Book Description
Follows a woman whose function it once was to read books aloud to Marie Antoinette, as she recounts her memories of living at Versailles during the final days of the French revolution.
Author: Carolly Erickson
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 031259691X
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 303
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Book Description
A fictionalized account of the life of Catherine Howard traces her early years as a sensual plaything for a series of lovers and her treasonous passion for Tom Culpeper before her failure to produce a son for the king and scandalous allegations condemn her to death.
Author: Evelyn Farr
Publisher: Peter Owen Publishers
ISBN: 9780720610017
Category : France
Languages : en
Pages : 0
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Book Description
In this definitive new edition of her acclaimed study Evelyn Farr draws on fresh evidence from archive sources - including decoded secret correspondence - to peel back the layers of misinformation obscuring the Queen's great love affair and to reveal its impact on the destiny of the French Royal Family.--Publisher.
Author: Carolly Erickson
Publisher: Macmillan + ORM
ISBN: 142990402X
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 392
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Book Description
“Alexandra’s story is heartbreaking” and this New York Times–bestselling author “excels in the details” in this biography of the last Russian Empress (Chicago Tribune). Taking advantage of material unavailable until the fall of the Soviet Union, Erickson portrays Alexandra’s story as a closely observed, enthrallingly documented, progressive psychological retreat from reality. The lives of the Romanovs were full of color and drama, but the personal life of Alexandra has remained enigmatic. Under Erickson’s masterful scrutiny the full dimensions of the Empresses’ singular psychology are revealed: her childhood bereavement, her long struggle to attain her romantic goal of marriage to Nicholas, the anguish of her pathological shyness, her struggles with her in-laws, her false pregnancy, her increasing eccentricities and loss of self as she became more preoccupied with matters of faith, and her increasing dependence on a series of occult mentors, the most notorious of whom was Rasputin. With meticulous care, long practiced skill, and generous imagination, Erickson crafts a character who lives and breathes. “Entertaining. . . . One of the book’s strengths is its emphasis on the private life of the court.” —Publishers Weekly “Carrolly Erickson is one of the most accomplished and successful historical biographers writing in English.” —London Times Literary Supplement
Author: Meghan Masterson
Publisher: Bookouture
ISBN: 1800193874
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 307
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Book Description
One woman must choose between loyalty to her queen and the man she loves… Giselle always dreamed of making beautiful dresses, but never thought she would be chosen to attend to the elegant, but troubled, queen of France, Marie Antoinette. Within the glittering, mirrored walls of the palace, Giselle ensures the queen shines brighter than anyone, with not a single feather or ruffle out of place, no matter how she might feel inside. Being so close to the queen, Giselle is there for her most private and unguarded moments. As whispers spread through the court about the violent protests sweeping across the country and the growing threat to the royal family, Giselle sees the cracks in Marie Antoinette’s perfect image. On a visit home to her family in Paris, Giselle experiences the troubles first-hand, getting caught up in a dangerous riot. When handsome Léon comes to her aid, she falls in love with this kind, clever young man. But Léon does not share her admiration for the royals, siding with those who believe they should no longer be in power. Returning to the palace, Giselle is shocked to find the very lives of the royal family now at stake. Marie Antoinette appeals to her to help them escape France and Giselle faces a heart-wrenching choice. Will Giselle risk the guillotine herself to save the life of her beloved queen? And can she do so without betraying the man she loves? Based on true events, this is an absolutely gripping historical novel of loyalty, betrayal, power and passion. Fans of Les Misérables, Girl with a Pearl Earring and My Dear Hamilton will be totally swept away by this heart-breaking page-turner. Previously published as The Wardrobe Mistress. Readers are captivated by The Queen’s Dressmaker: “An addictive story!… I just could not stop reading… I was swept away by the story… A great choice for readers who love history and romance.” Goodreads Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “Sexy, absorbing, and suspenseful, this story sweeps you along to its riveting conclusion.” Goodreads Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “Compelling and drew me in. There is suspense, romance, and many surprises along the way.” Goodreads Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “I found myself captivated by this novel… Royal court intrigue, fashion… All of the ingredients are here to make for a page-turning story.” Goodreads Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “I adored the narrator, Giselle… I found myself wishing that I had a tricolor rosette for my own lapel. A stunning debut from a fresh new voice in historical fiction.” Goodreads Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “Fast-paced read that was tough to put down. Giselle is a brave heroine it was easy to root for her.” Goodreads Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “Masterson is masterful at historical fiction!… I recommend to those interested in the French Revolution and historical fiction alike!” Goodreads Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “I felt like I was in the middle of Paris during this tumultuous time. I can't wait for Meghan Masterson's next book!” Goodreads Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
