Marie-Antoinette

The Last Queen of France

By: Evelyne Lever

Narrated by: Lorna Raver

Married for political reasons at the age of 14, Marie Antoinette was naive, impetuous, and ill-equipped for the role in which history cast her. From her birth in Vienna in 1755 through her turbulent, unhappy marriage, the bloody turmoil of the French Revolution, her trial for high treason during which she was accused of incest, and her final beheading, Marie Antoinette's life was the tragic tale of disastrous circumstances colliding.

Drawing upon her diaries, letters, court records, and memoirs, Evelyne Lever paints a vivid portrait of Marie Antoinette, her inner circle, and the lavish court life at Versailles. What emerges is a surprisingly average woman thrust into a position for which she was wholly unprepared, a combination that proved disastrous both for her and for France.

©2000 Evelyne Lever (P)2006 Blackstone Audio Inc.

Critic reviews

"This spicy, unsparing chronicle reads as both a brainy bodice ripper and a fascinating morality tale." (Entertainment Weekly)
"[Lever] shines a penetrating light on the opulent Versailles subculture....This is an absorbing work of meticulous scholarship and easily supplants any recent biographies of the tragic queen." (Library Journal)
"A tempered and very accessible account....A valuable reassessment of a notorious life." (Booklist)

great story to read

a wonderful read. a better understanding of French history! a must read history buffs bliss

Reads like a Novel

After a recent trip to Paris and Versailles, I became fascinated with King Louis the 16th and Marie Antoinette. What a great way to learn history! Highly recommend.

Marie Antionette

When you have a long trip-like going to France, this is an excellent read.

#280 Widow Capet.

I’ve listened to this audio book three times now and each time learn something new. This is excellently written. The narrator is perfect. If you are looking for an interesting story this will fit the bill. If you are looking to learn about history, this is excellent.
How a life can be reduced to a prisoner number is always heart breaking.

A little harsher of a history than the other biography

I love consuming history pertaining to Marie Antoinette. She is incredibly interesting to me. The author of this book gave a little more leeway to some of the grayer stories and rumors of history. It’s a bit more bleak of a story.

enjoyable nonfiction listen

I loved learning about the last Queen of France. You should definitely check this book out!! Clean, interesting, a little gossipy. I think it would be better to listen to than read because of all the French names that would be tricky.

Bad story, bad audio quality

Terrible.

Audio quality extremely poor with static/interruptions at minimum twice a chapter. As someone who has read a lot about Marie Antoinette this book is extremely biased and fails to highlight some of the complex political movements and anti royal sentiments that were building up even prior to Louis XVI ascension.

Would not recommend.