Marie Antoinette

Marie Antoinette is the main subject of the biography and central figure in Erickson's account. She was born the second youngest child of Queen Maria Theresa of Austria and Francis, Holy Roman Emperor. A pretty child, Antoinette was singled out for marriage to the young heir to the French throne, Louis, the grandson of King Louis XV. At the age of fourteen, she was married to Louis and moved to France, where she would remain until her death.

Antoinette was ill-prepared for the intricate political and social web at the French court, and resistant to follow the established etiquette for a young woman in line to the throne of the queen. She soon ran afoul of King XV's mistress, Madame du Barry, and found herself the object of considerable scorn from among du Barry's supporters. As the king's health began to fail, however, the French courtiers began...