To The Scaffold

Author: Carolly Erickson

One of history's most misunderstood figures, Marie Antoinette continues to symbolize the glamour, the extravagance, and the decadence of French society before the French Revolution. Yet there was a poignant innocence about Antoinette, sent away in her early teens from her home in Vienna to the chillingly formal French court.

Married to the maladroit, ill-mannered dauphin and condemned to childlessness by his inability to beget an heir, Antoinette sought pleasure in costly entertainments and grotesque eccentricities of dress. Along with most members of the court, she spent lavishly while her husband's subjets, overtaxed and increasingly hostile toward their sovereign and his mismanaged government, blamed her from France's plight and accused her of every imaginable vice.

In time Antoinette matured into a capable and courageous queen, though her husband, Louis XVI, remained timid and inept at a time when France needed bold and visionary leadership. When the forces arrayed against the monarchy finally closed in, however, Antoinette followed her husband to the guillotine, an aged, white-haired widow not yet forty.

In To the Scaffold, acclaimed biographer Carolly Erickson provides an unusually nuanced portrait of a lost queen, a portrait that is psychologically acute, richly detailed, and finally, deeply moving.

So, pretty much, I've wanted to read this biography for quite a while since I've read Carolly Erickson's novel about Marie Antoinette several times and I wanted to see how they compared, since, frankly, the novel is extremely historically incorrect. I was actually really surprised because I thought it was a pretty good biography, because the reviews that I read weren't so great.

Erickson presented a lot of information that I've never heard before. She gave some really interesting details, for example, Marie Antoinette's childhood. Normally, biographers give you a quick overview and don't really talk about it in depth much. I was very excited that Erickson decided that that information was important enough to include! I feel like I definitely learned a lot of new things about Marie Antoinette from her book.

However, there were some points where I didn't feel like there was enough details. Her friends weren't mentioned much, and they were a huge part of Marie Antoinette's life. There was a short section about the Polignacs, but not much on Princesse de Lamballe, who was Marie Antoinette's first best friend, and the one that was with her in the end. The time that the royal family spent in the Temple prison doesn't get very much mention at all, and that disappointed me a bit.

I thought that the book was very well written. It definitely read more as a story than a biography, in my opinion. That makes it a really good choice for those people that are interested in Marie Antoinette's story, but are turned off by a biography.

However, Erickson wasn't very kind to Louis XVI. While I know he was not the best leader in the world, I don't think he was as horrible as she thinks he was. She also says that Marie Antoinette made all the decisions for many more years than any of the other books I've read say. So I guess that I wasn't a big fan of her portrayals of some of the people.....

And finally, I, of course, have to mention the Axel Fersen myth. Erickson did present why everyone thinks the affair did happen, but she treated it as a complete truth. I feel like she also made up facts to make it seem like a bigger deal than it actually would have been. It felt like she was saying that Fersen was the most important person to her, even over her children! This I know not to be true from everything else I've read.


I didn't really have a ton to say about it, but I was pleasantly surprised. You should read it. =D So next up I think I'm going to reread Sharon Lathan's In the Arms of Mr. Darcy because I really feel like more Darcyness. =D After that, I have quite a few choices of new books on my shelf to choose from. So I'll review one of those next. =D And sorry for my super short review!

Thanks for reading!

Love,

Kristi

In the Arms of Mr. Darcy

Author: Sharon Lathan

If only everyone could be as happy as they are...

Darcy and Elizabeth are as much in love as ever-even more so as their relationship matures. Their passion inspires everyone around them, and as winter turns to spring, romance blossoms around them.

Confirmed bachelor Richard Fitzwilliam sets his sights on a seemingly unattainable, beautiful widow; Georgiana Darcy learns to flirt outrageously; the very flighty Kitty Bennet develops her first crush, and Caroline Bingley meets her match.

But the path of true love never does run smooth, and Elizabeth and Darcy are kept busy navigating their friends and loved ones through the inevitable separations, misunderstandings, misgivings, and lovers' quarrels to reach their own happily ever afters...

So, if anyone has been paying my Twitter any attention, you'll know that I've been looking forward to it ever since I realized that it didn't come out when I thought it did. I kind of have mixed emotions about it. I liked it, but it wasn't as awesome as I was expecting, which was disappointing...

The reason it probably didn't reach my expectations is because, surprisingly, despite the book having Darcy in the title, I didn't think that it focused on Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy as much as it should have. Instead, it changed perspectives quite a bit. Sharon Lathan has done this before in her other novels, but not to the extent that she did in this one. I mean, I love Austen's Pride and Prejudice and Lathan's Darcy Saga mostly because I love Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth. So it just seemed that they were ignored way too much in favor of other characters, especially Lizzy. I just feel like she didn't have a huge part in this book, which is a shame.

However, I did like that we got to see the characters in their own mindset more. I just think it was a tad too much. The fact that we got into other characters' perspectives, like Colonel Richard and Mrs. Smyth along with others, definitely helped me know them better. I was able to make connections with some of them and developed some very strong feelings for others. For example, I've decided I hate Mrs. Smyth. She's a jerk. =D Also, it was a better way to depict some scenes, like Caroline's engagement than just having Lizzy and Mr. Darcy summarize it later. But like I said, it was just used way too often for my liking. I miss Lizzy and Darcy!

Also, I thought a lot of the events were way too rushed! It was very strange and I definitely wasn't expecting it, since usually Lathan is very detailed. But some scenes had a huge buildup and then were resolved in two paragraphs! I thought it made it kind of anti-climatic. There were also a lot of skipped events that I was really expecting to see in this book, since they were such a big part of the last book. For example, Mary's wedding to Mr. Daniels, as well as Anne's to Raul Penaflor. Mr. Darcy and Lizzy discussed them for about five seconds, each getting maybe five sentences as a summary. However, I do see reason for shortening them (just not to this extent). I mean, there were two weddings in one month, so it would have been repetitive. I just wish they had gotten a little more mention. Another example would be the Darcy's second anniversary/ Alexander's birthday! They got no mention other than saying they were two days away. The book was 355 pages and covered a whole year, while the previous three each covered a few months each, if that gives you any idea how rushed it was.

Also, a few of the events seemed a little pointless, especially in the beginning of the book. Things would happen and then it would go away and make no difference to the story. For example, the whole murder thing in the beginning. It happened and had a big build up, then was pretty anticlimactic (although I may just think this because I do read quite a few of murder mystery books and I'm used to the big ending), and then Darcy went home, summarized it in a paragraph or so and then it was never mentioned again. I just wasn't very impressed with that.

Now, the other problem I had has all to do with my OCD. In the beginning Cast of Characters, it said Darcy was 29, but he's 30, as he had his 30th birthday in the 3rd book. And then there were several spelling errors. So I just think a little more perusal by the proofreader would have been nice. =D

One last thing, I don't really care how old your kid is, whether they're only a few weeks old or much older, having sex while your kid is in the room is just nasty. I'm sorry.

Overall, I liked it, it just didn't reach my expectations. The third is still my favorite, but this one wasn't bad. I'm looking forward to the next one, which I just realized is called A Darcy Christmas, which is a collection of three stories by three different authors. Maybe that one fills in some of the blanks from this novel about Lizzy and Mr. Darcy's doings at Christmas... So I might read that one, but I can't promise anything since I have a thing about more than one author in one book. I think it's kind of awkward. But then again, I'm a strange, weird person as my roommate likes to say.

So up next is Carolly Erickson's To the Scaffold, which is, of course, a biography about Marie Antoinette. I'm really excited to see how Erickson's novel and biography compare, since the novel isn't exactly the closest thing to historical accuracy ever, but whatever. =D I'm excited! I'll definitely review it. I'd also like to point out that this is my first post since I got into college! I feel totally accomplished now. =D So, as always, please comment about anything. I love talking, so I'll respond to anything you say, unless it's just dumb. Then you're on your own. =D

Anyways, thanks for reading!

Love,

Kristi