There were Three of Us in the Relationship: The Secret Letters of Marie Antoinette (vol I) - Softcover

Margaret Anne MacLeod

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0955999103 ISBN 13: 9780955999109

Publisher: Isaac MacDonald, 2008

Synopsis

Read extracts from Marie Antoinette's letters at marieantoinetteletters.co.uk. (These extracts are also accompanied by a fuller introduction to the book).............Who was Marie Antoinette? What was she really like? Discover the real Marie Antoinette in these secret letters from the pen of Marie Antoinette herself (also from her mother, Maria Theresa, empress of Austria, and her mother's ambassador to France, count Mercy).............. Read of the private agonies of the young teenage beauty (married at only 14, to the 15 year old prince), faced with the indifference of her young husband to her universally acclaimed charms. Read the advice of her bewildered mother, to show no ill temper but use sweetness and patience only, to seduce her inept husband into consummating their marriage (Ah - how Marie Antoinette tried - long night after long night for months, years even!). And of course, being the hotbed of tittle tattle which was Versailles, everyone heard of every development in this long running saga, and the delicious gossip became the news of the day. The young prince even promised on one occasion, to sleep with his delectable wife, but became so alarmed when his aunt said a few encouraging words that he simply failed to keep his word............ The beautiful but despairing young woman was even obliged to be present five long years later, to endure the torment of witnessing her sister in law give birth to a crown prince. Everyone was moved by her instinctive kindness to the young woman, but afterwards she sobbed in the privacy of her own room......... Spurned by her husband (who preferred hunting for hours on end, and working with the palace labourers moving blocks, or making locks - anything other than sleep with his wife), Marie Antoinette, when she became queen four years later, at the silly age of 18, turned to pleasure seeking, to distract herself from her unsatisfying marriage. After all, she knew for a certainty that no authority existed which could oppose her wishes (who could have foreseen the riots, the guillotine and the tumbrels laden with aristocrats?)........ Thus began the partying, the nights at the Opera Ball in Paris, without her husband (who disliked late nights). On one occasion the queen stayed at the Opera Ball till 5, came back to Versailles at 6.30 and then left to watch a horse race at 10 (as reported in a letter to Maria Theresa from ambassador Mercy)............The newssheets were full of fanciful stories of her meetings with a succession of different lovers on these occasions - and what did it matter that the accounts were untrue - other stories - such as those of the queen's gambling, were largely true............. In fact the queen's debts were so large that she could not pay them, and she was obliged to borrow from her husband - and again the people heard all the details........... And of course there were the diamonds - which she could not resist......... To compensate for her expenses, her foolish husband doubled her allowance (while the people starved), but nonetheless her donations to charity remained negligible. And in the meantime, taxes continued to rise, and the price of bread continued to rise, as harvests failed.......... Eventually Marie Antoinette s husband was persuaded by a personal visit from his brother in law, emperor Joseph of Austria, to have the minor remedial operation which eventually enabled him to impregnate his wife but by then Marie Antoinette was totally immersed in her pleasure seeking, and remained so until the Revolution broke out, 9 short years after these letter........The letters help to explain the hatred felt by many of the French towards Marie Antoinette - but also reveal the all too human reasons for her foolish behaviour.......These letters, have never been translated so fully before, indeed many have never been translated at all.

About this title

About the Author:

Read an interview with the author when she discusses her opinion of Marie Antoinette, having conducted extensive research for several years into her life, at marieantoinetteletters.co.uk. Also read an accompanying Press Release...............Despite Marie Antoinette's very obvious flaws, MacLeod found that the more she delved into the life of the unfortunate queen, the more she understood and admired the person behind the title. As Marie Antoinette herself said, if my mother could see all that happens here, she would forgive me, because no one could stand it.......... Marie Antoinette was queen at a court where courtiers, all members of powerful aristocratic families, outdid each other in their efforts to harm the young foreigner (just a few days after her arrival in France, courtiers were already plotting against her), and gain personal advantage in doing so. Her mother, Maria Theresa, wrote of the poor innocent queen, surrounded by traitors and scoundrels.........These letters recount their efforts and the subsequent attacks on Marie Antoinette by a fledging revolutionary press, which circulated lies about the young queen, which are still accepted as truth, two hundred years after her death......... Marie Antoinette was isolated at court, with a weak husband who foolishly thought that by giving in to Marie Antoinette's every demand, he was proving his love for her, with false friends who drained her of public affection because of their outrageous demands, and of course with courtiers who with great schadenfreude, enjoyed every setback in the foolish young woman's life........... The author, Margaret Anne MacLeod, a teacher, has spent over fifteen years researching the life of the queen. She spent years painstakingly translating these letters, and the result is an easy to read collection of letters about Marie Antoinette's early years in France, which reveal the early torments of the young princess and queen. This first volume is complemented by the second volume of letters, which focuses on the last two harrowing years of Marie Antoinette's life, until her ordeal was ended on the scaffold. The second volume, which is already completed, will be published next year.......In order to understand Marie Antoinette's cruel end, it is necessary to examine her beginning. These letters reveal that beginning and pose the question - was Marie Antoinette doomed from the moment of her arrival in France?

Review:

Not only for history buffs..., 21 Feb 2009 By Gillian M. Wood 'Woodwordswriter' (Manchester) I can't believe this hasn't been done before (tell me if it has, please!). This fascinating book contains letters written between Marie Antoinette, her mother Maria Theresa, Empress of Austria, and her mother's ambassador to France, Count Mercy. These letters, some of which have been translated for the first time, tell the story of Marie Antoinette's reign and of course her inevitable slide towards her tragic demise. This isn't just for history buffs - it reads almost like a novel - and this first volume charts Marie Antoinette's life from the time she came to France as a 14 year-old in 1770, to her mother's death in 1780. It is clear to see how events will eventually unfold, leading to her public execution only a decade later, in 1793, but we'll have to wait for that story - that comes in Volume 2. --Gillian M. Wood 'Woodwordswriter' (Manchester). Journalist and book reviewer for Amazon.co.uk.

'Rivetting...' Choice magazine 'Remarkable...' funkyfogey.com --Choice magazine and funkyfogey.com

'Vivid...remarkable insights' Society Today magazine --Society Today magazine

About this edition

• Publisher: Isaac MacDonald
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0955999103
• ISBN 13: 9780955999109
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 418
• Editor: Margaret Anne MacLeod