Historical fiction author, Juliet Grey will be taking readers into the exciting world of Marie Antoinette. Grey has created a trilogy on the story of Marie Antoinette. The first novel, "Becoming Marie Antoinette" will be released on August 9th. The novel will show the young woman's journey from her early days in Vienna to becoming the dauphine of France in the glittering French court of Versailles.
Grey enjoys writing about and researching European history. The author and her husband split their time between New York City and Vermont.
"Becoming Marie Antoinette" which will be available on August 9th is the story of Marie Antoinette, the doomed Queen of France. What made you decide to tell Marie Antoinette's story?
Grey: "BECOMING MARIE ANTOINETTE" is the first book in a trilogy. The narrative spans Marie Antoinette’s early years, from the day in 1766 when, as a ten-year-old she learns she is to wed the dauphin of France, to May 10, 1774, the day Louis XV dies and she and her husband become the new king and queen. I had researched the lives of Marie Antoinette and her husband Louis Auguste, the dauphin of France for a nonfiction book; and the more I learned about the pair of them the more I realized how maligned they were. In essence, they became scapegoats for all the ills in France. Up until about 15 years before their marriage, their respective countries had been enemies for 950 years. Always perceived as the outsider, Marie Antoinette was blamed for everything from bad harvests and crop failure to the national deficit when France’s treasury was already bankrupted by Louis XV’s government by the time Marie Antoinette arrived. In fact, the biggest reason for France’s empty coffers during her husband’s reign was the enormous amount of money spent on military aid to the American colonists during our revolution.
How much research went into writing "Becoming Marie Antoinette"?
Grey: I read about a dozen biographies of Marie Antoinette as well as other books about her and her family, Louis XV and XVI, Madame du Barry and other key figures in the novels, books about the palaces she lived in . . .in fact, I decided to include a bibliography at the back of the novel, which is unusual for fiction, but I wanted to give my readers an idea of the scope of the research that went into writing the book. And I didn’t even list any of the articles I read about arcane little details, such as the type of orthodontia Marie Antoinette would have worn. Yes—she was indeed fitted with braces on her teeth as part of a radical physical makeover to prepare her to become dauphine of France.
There have been numerous portrayals of Marie Antoinette throughout history in novels and movies, how would you describe your personal portrayal of Marie Antoinette?
Grey: "BECOMING MARIE ANTOINETTE" is devoted completely to her early years (from age 10-18), a period that many novelists and filmmakers gloss over or rush through in order to get to (or spend more time at) Versailles. I didn’t have to rush because have two more novels to develop all of that. In BECOMING MARIE ANTOINETTE I show the events and years that shaped the girl who became the woman, the queen, of the later years and explode many of the stereotypes depicted in some of those movies and novels. No other portrayals show in detail, if at all, the extensive makeover she had to undergo as a preteen. That information was even hard to find in her biographies. I hunted for the names of each of the men responsible for transforming the archduchess Maria Antonia and where possible tried to find portraits of them because it was really important to me to be as accurate as possible, even though I was writing a novel. It was a matter of pride with me to see how much I could find without having to make it up. Another thing that sets my personal depiction of Marie Antoinette apart is that she did not go from heedless to headless, as some of her portrayers would lead people to believe. She was not a bubbleheaded spendthrift. I was convinced that there was a rationale behind everything she did and in my novel when she behaves a certain way I make sure to justify it.
Did you read any other novels or watch any movies on Marie Antoinette for inspiration?
Grey: In the past I have read other novels and seen films about Marie Antoinette, but while I was writing I deliberately avoided all other interpretations because I didn’t want to be influenced by them, even subliminally.
Other than Marie Antoinette, what other historical figures in the French court during that time interested you?
Grey: After I finish the trilogy, I’d love to play around with telling part of the Marie Antoinette story from another character’s point of view. One character who kept threatening to steal the show (and she did the same thing when I narrated the audio book of "BECOMING MARIE ANTOINETTE" as well) was Madame du Barry. She’s such an alluring creature even though through Marie Antoinette’s eyes (because the novel is told in the first-person), she’s a nemesis. Still, I had researched Jeanne du Barry’s life not only for this novel but for a nonfiction book I am writing for another publisher, which will include a chapter on her love affair with Louis XV. She was quite an interesting woman with a rags-to-riches childhood, and the events of her life after the death of her royal paramour were quite intriguing as well.
What other areas of history and times periods would you like to write about in future novels?
Grey: I do have a particular affinity for the eighteenth century. I’m attracted to the manners, the mores, the fashions, the wit, the elegance, the architecture, the literature…
I’m also a fan of the Restoration (I’ve written a lot of nonfiction about the Merry Monarch, Charles II and his myriad mistresses) and there’s one whose story has yet to be told. Right now I’m keeping my finger to my lips.
Where have you traveled in inspiration and research for your novel and future novels?
Grey: For "BECOMING MARIE ANTOINETTE" and the rest of the trilogy I visited Paris and Versailles. And I have also been to Vienna where I visited both the Hofburg and Schönbrunn, both palaces where the young archduchess Maria Antonia was raised. I did a tremendous amount of research on the era and on the principal figures in the books as well.
What other historical fiction authors do you admire or enjoy? What authors from the past and present do you enjoy or have inspired you?
Grey: I’m a historical fiction junkie in general and in a way I’m uncomfortable singling out certain authors because other authors I read and admire (and so many are friends, at least through social media platforms) might wonder “hey, why didn’t she name me?” So I’ll toss out a few names and titles among many: I adored Sandra Gulland’s "Josephine B trilogy"; I love Sarah Dunant’s “voice” and her unusual plots; I wish I had written half of Susan Holloway Scott’s novels; the scope of Michelle Moran’s Madame Tussaud impressed the heck out of me … I could keep going, but you’d run out of cyberspace. As far as deceased authors go, I’m also a passionate Jane Austen fan (I read "PRIDE AND PREJUDICE" about once a year; it’s the perfectly crafted novel and it always makes me smile); and I love Edith Wharton, Mark Twain, and good old fashioned swashbuckler authors like Dumas and Sabatini and the Baroness Orczy. I also admire the clean literary lines of Hemingway, Steinbeck, and Hammett. Basically, I’m attracted to “voice-y” fiction, no matter the century. All of my favorite writers have a distinct voice.
Lastly, there have been so many slanders on Marie Antoinette's name throughout history. Name something positive that you believed she did as Queen of France.
Grey: Most of what was written about Marie Antoinette is completely false. She never said “let them eat cake.” She never had affairs with her brother-in-law the comte d’Artois or any of her female friends and attendants (though quite possibly she did enjoy a love affair with the Swedish Count Axel von Fersen; she had both motive and opportunity to do so, and I do believe he was the great love of her life). And, compared to the amount of money being spent by the rest of the members of the royal family at the time, her extravagances were not in fact extraordinary. When it came to charity and philanthropy Marie Antoinette was her mother’s daughter. From the time Marie Antoinette was a child, her mother, the Empress Maria Theresa of Austria, taught her the virtues of charity; and when Marie Antoinette first came to France she was shocked to discover that the Bourbons did not go out among their subjects and distribute alms. She was a tremendously compassionate woman who consistently opened her purse, beginning when she was the teenage dauphine of France—contributing generously when (for example) hospitals burned to the ground, and peasants’ fields were trampled by the royal hunting parties.
*A huge thanks to Juilet Grey for this thoughtful interview*
"Becoming Marie Antoinette" in trade paperback and audio book format (narrated by Juliet Grey) is available now for pre-order. It will be released on August 9.
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