Overview

"It was once the job of Madame Agathe-Sidonie Laborde to read books aloud to Marie-Antoinette. Now exiled in Vienna, she looks back twenty-one years to the legendary opulence of Versailles and meticulously reconstructs July 14, 15, and 16 of 1789. When Agathe-Sidonie is summoned to the Queen's side on the morning of the 14th, Versailles is a miniature universe, sparkling with every outward appearance of happiness and power, peopled with nobles of minutely calibrated rank, and run according to a hundred-year-old ritual called the Perfect Day. 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. Soon Versailles's beauty is nothing more than a shell encasing rising panic and chaos. Agathe-Sidonie 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 shows us a world on the edge of oblivion and an intimate portrait of the woman who, like ""fire in motion,"" was its center."

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Reviews

Susan Lynne Harkins Orlando Sentinel Illuminating...intimate....The charm of its language, Thomas's thorough research, and her compassion for her subject not only imbue the novel with remarkable authenticity but also render it a memorable billet-doux to a bygone France.

"""A fascinating portrayal ... Gorgeous details."" -""The Christian Science Monitor"" ""Compelling . . . Thomas's formidable skills as a researcher gives the book authenticity, and her keen eye for human behavior makes it sing."" ""--""Booklist (starred review) ""Delightful ... Vivid and elegant ... [A] rich tableau vivant ... In these pages the ill-fated queen is allowed to be human."" -""The New York Times Book Review"" ""Elegant, powerful ... No ordinary historical novel. It's a bravura glimpse into a time past and a dreamlike life that seemed to have nowhere to go but into oblivion."" -""The Washington Post Book World"" ""Graceful, exquisitely detailed . . . the delights of this rendition lie in the details. . . . Like the tiny enamel painting of Marie Antoinette's bright blue eye that inspires Laborde's reminiscences, this is a cunning, gem-like miniature."" --""Publishers Weekly"" (starred review) ""Illuminating ... Intimate ... The charm of its language, Thomas' thorough research, and her compassion for her subject not only imbue the novel with remarkable authenticity but also render it a memorable billet-doux to a bygone France."" -""Orlando Sentinel"" Alan Riding ""The New York Times Book Review"" Delightful...vivid and elegant...[a] rich tableau vivant...in these pages the ill-fated queen is allowed to be human. Ron Charles ""The Christian Science Monitor"" A fascinating portrayal...gorgeous details. Susan Lynne Harkins ""Orlando Sentinel"" Illuminating...intimate....The charm of its language, Thomas's thorough research, and her compassion for her subject not only imbue the novel with remarkable authenticity but also render it a memorable billet-doux to a bygone France. Zofia Smardz ""The Washington Post Book World"" Elegant, powerful...no ordinary historical novel...a bravura glimpse into a dreamlike life that seemed to have nowhere to go but into oblivion. Alan Riding""The New York Times Book Review""Delightful...vivid and elegant...[a] rich tableau vivant...in these pages the ill-fated queen is allowed to be human. Ron Charles""The Christian Science Monitor""A fascinating portrayal...gorgeous details. Susan Lynne Harkins""Orlando Sentinel""Illuminating...intimate....The charm of its language, Thomas's thorough research, and her compassion for her subject not only imbue the novel with remarkable authenticity but also render it a memorable billet-doux to a bygone France. Zofia Smardz""The Washington Post Book World""Elegant, powerful...no ordinary historical novel...a bravura glimpse into a dreamlike life that seemed to have nowhere to go but into oblivion. Alan Riding""The New York Times Book Review"" Delightful...vivid and elegant...Ýa¨ rich tableau vivant...in these pages the ill-fated queen is allowed to be human. Ron Charles""The Christian Science Monitor"" A fascinating portrayal...gorgeous details. Zofia Smardz""The Washington Post Book World"" Elegant, powerful...no ordinary historical novel...a bravura glimpse into a dreamlike life that seemed to have nowhere to go but into oblivion. Susan Lynne Harkins""Orlando Sentinel"" Illuminating...intimate....The charm of its language, Thomas's thorough research, and her compassion for her subject not only imbue the novel with remarkable authenticity but also render it a memorable billet-doux to a bygone France."

Author Information

Chantal Thomas is a French writer and historian known for her novel, Farewell, My Queen, which was adapted into a film. She worked as a teacher at numerous American and French universities.

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