Farewell, My Queen: A Novel - Softcover

Thomas, Chantal

Softcover

ISBN 10: 147670645X ISBN 13: 9781476706450

Publisher: Touchstone, 2012

Synopsis

July 1789: at the eve of the revolution, occupants of Versailles live in a miniature universe, unconcerned by the increasing turmoil in Paris. But with the shocking news that someone has woken the King in the night, order begins to disintegrate and word of the fall of the Bastille seeps into court.

Madame Agathe-Sidonie Laborde, the devoted reader for Marie Antoinette, refuses to leave her queen’s side. She watches as the Queen’s attempts to flee are aborted; her most intimate friend betrays her; and the King, appearing to sleepwalk through this crisis, never alters his routine of visiting the Apollo Salon several times a day to consult a giant crystal thermometer. From the tiniest garret to the Hall of Mirrors, where Marie Antoinette stands alone and terrified in the dark, Chantal Thomas creates an intimate portrait of the woman who, like “fire in motion,” was at the center of a world on the edge of oblivion.

About this title

About the Author:

Chantal Thomas, a specialist in 18th century literature, is Director of Research at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, France. She is the author of THE WICKED QUEEN: THE ORIGINS OF THE MYTH OF MARIE ANTOINETTE and COPING WITH FREEDOM: REFLECTIONS ON EPHEMERAL HAPPINESS. FAREWELL, MY QUEEN is her first novel.

From Booklist:

As revolution rages outside the palace walls, inside the court of Versailles--the court of Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI--denial reigns before giving way to alarm, which in turn degenerates into panic and chaos. Thomas spins the familiar events of the 1789 French Revolution into a compelling novel, with the central character less the famously ill-fated queen than the insular and ritualized society of the palace. The story is told by a woman looking back 30 years, to when it was her job to read books aloud to Marie Antoinette. Her status as courtier makes her the best kind of narrator--at once an insider and an observer of the royals. She describes the final days before revolution engulfs the palace with insight and surprising slices of humor. Some passages read almost like satire, as the indulged inhabitants of Versailles cling to the privileges that have defined their now-threatened lives--royals are reluctant to leave the palace without proper traveling attire, courtiers try to flee while lugging heavy possessions. Thomas' formidable skills as a researcher give the book authenticity, and her keen eye for human behavior and talent for storytelling make it sing. Karen Holt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About this edition

• Publisher: Touchstone
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 147670645X
• ISBN 13: 9781476706450
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 256