Part 1, Madame Antoine Summary and Analysis

In chapter one, "A Small Archduchess," Maria Antonia Josepha Joanna, daughter of Maria Teresa who is "Queen of Hungary by inheritance and Empress of the Holy Roman Empire by marriage," is born the fifteenth child of the family. Her mother continues running the affairs of the country while she is in labor and is "signing papers from her bed" soon after the birth. The baby's father, Emperor Francis Stephen, announces the arrival of the daughter because Teresa had put a stop to the practice of having visitors in the room during the delivery. The baby would become known as Antoine during her years in her mother's court but becomes known later as Marie Antoinette when she moves to France. By the time Antoinette is six months old, there is political upheaval in Europe with dramatic changes in...