BOOK REVIEW: "Flaunting, Extravagant Queen" by Jean Plaidy

The pretty and sweet Marie Antoinette left her safe, secure, and friendly Austrian family and court to come to France to marry the Dauphin, become his Dauphine and eventually rule France as queen at only fifteen years old.  Naive, trusting, and desperate to be loved, Marie Antoinette encounters a rude awakening in France.  Trapped in a marriage with an awkward young husband, craving love and affection, and quite lonely, she becomes an extravagant and frivolous young woman only concerned with pleasure and delights.  Stuck in a hostile country and court, Marie Antoinette learns about truly falling from grace.  "Flaunting, Extravagant Queen" by Jean Plaidy follows the life, the ups and downs of Marie Antoinette.

This novel focuses on Marie Antoinette's leaving her mother and safe Austrian court in her teenage years to become the Dauphine of France and eventual Queen of France.  Marie Antoinette is a pretty, spirited, and charming young girl who marries the awkward, shy, and unattractive Dauphin, Louis Auguste.  Young and delightful, Marie Antoinette charms the people of France and enjoys dancing, clothing, gambling and visiting Paris.  She is lost though amongst the etiquette, scheming and plotting in the court of Versailles.  When Louis and Marie Antoinette are quickly given the throne they become King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette and take over a country that is bankrupt and longing for change.  Marie Antoinette goes from the lovely girl who charmed everyone to the hated Austrian woman who the people eventually ruined.  This novel shows the highs and lows of Marie Antoinette's life.  It details her relationship with her husband and other members of the French court, her beloved children, her friends, her affair with Count Fersen, plots and scandals she became involved in, and her eventual downfall and execution.  It is a glittering account on the life of Marie Antoinette.

"Flaunting Extravagant Queen" is a fascinating portrayal of Marie Antoinette who has often simply been portrayed as a spoiled, childish, and vain woman.  This novel paints her as she most likely was, a kind-hearted, young, naive, lonely, and foolish girl then women.  She is not perfect, but she loved with her whole heart and tried to win the love of everyone around her.  The novel brilliantly portrays the awkward turned kind and understanding marriage between Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette and also the deep and powerful relationship between Count Fersen and Marie Antoinette.  It also features fascinating accounts of the Affair of the Diamond Necklace, the revolution forming in France, and Marie Antoinette and the French royal family's complete and total downfall.  Plaidy presents a likable and delightful Marie Antoinette who you find yourself rooting for throughout the novel.

The only problem with the novel is the introduction of so many characters.  There are characters being thrown at readers in every chapter and it can get to be over-whelming.  The reader almost needs to keep notes on who is who and who is friends with who and who are enemies.

"Flaunting Extravagant Queen" is one of the best historical fiction novels available on Marie Antoinette.  You'll find yourself lost in the beauty, splendor, and glamor of Versailles with all the drama, plotting, and scheming.  You'll also find yourself rooting for the doomed Marie Antoinette, the dazzling queen. 

To purchase "Flaunting Extravagant Queen":

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Flaunting-Extravagant-Queen-French-Revolution/dp/0099493381

For more information on Jean Plaidy:

http://http://www.randomhouse.com/author/results.pperl?authorid=24084