Let them eat cake?
Well, the short answer is no, but after reading the 500-plus pages of "Abundance" by Sena Jeter Naslund, I know a lot more about Marie Antionette than I ever thought I would.
The novel is filled with historical details -- Naslund did her research well, but sometimes I felt overwhelmed with the amount of information I was reading. I also got confused by who was whom -- all the Comtes and Princesses all blended into each other after awhile.
That's not to say I didn't enjoy the book. If it had been 200 pages shorter, I would give it a glowing review.
Marie Antoinette did have an interesting life.
Wed to the future King of France at age 14 to assure peace and stability between France and Austria, she knew she "was never the most talented, the brightest, or the most beautiful," but she did try to do good in her own way.
One bizarre aspect of her life was trying to consummate her marriage -- it took years -- all because her husband suffered from a "too-tight foreskin." To fill her days, she became obsessed with gambling and redecorating, while her husband helped finance the American Revolution, all while his own subjects are suffering bread shortages and starving.
The last part of the book seems to fly through the Reign of Terror and the imprisonment, trial and eventual execution of the royal family. I would have preferred more detail about this time and less information about her hairstyles and gowns while she lived the good life in the Palace of Versailles.
I did feel for her though. Times were changing and she had no idea how to move along with them. The Divine Right of Kings was crumbling right in front of her eyes.
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