Marie Antoinette: The Journey

Marie Antoinette: The Journey (2001) by Lady Antonia Fraser is a biography of Marie Antoinette, who was Queen of France from 1774 until her execution during the French Revolution in 1793. Fraser is best known for her trade biographies of prominent British nobles, including Oliver Cromwell and Mary, Queen of Scots. Fraser has often taken a particular interest in prominent women, particularly royals, who have been misunderstood, overlooked, or misremembered by history. In Marie Antoinette, Fraser addresses myths about Marie Antoinette and paints a sympathetic, detailed portrait of her life and motivations, arguing that Marie Antoinette was placed in an impossible situation that forced her to navigate the patriarchal expectations of the court, the political pressure of her Austrian family, and the growing demands of the French public. Fraser’s biography served as the basis for Sophia Coppola’s film Marie Antoinette (2006).

This guide references the 2001 Nan A. Talese edition of Marie Antoinette: The Journey.

Content Warning: The source material and guide feature depictions of graphic revolutionary violence, death, child death and pregnancy loss, mental illness, substance use, and offensive language.

Summary

In the Author’s Note, Fraser explains her goals: telling the story of Marie Antoinette’s life without anticipating her execution and correcting myths about the sometimes-reviled historical figure.

Part 1 details Marie Antoinette’s early life. Marie Antoinette was born in Vienna, Austria, in 1755 to Empress Maria Theresa and Emperor Francis I of the Holy Roman Empire. She was the 15th of 16 children. She had a fairly happy childhood, although as the youngest daughter, her education was somewhat neglected. When she was 13, her mother arranged for her to marry Louis Auguste, the dauphin (heir apparent) to the French throne to cement the new alliance between Austria and France. In 1770, 14-year-old Marie Antoinette was sent from Austria to the French court in Versailles.

Part 2 details Marie Antoinette’s first years as the dauphine. Marie Antoinette had to rapidly adjust to the demands of French society by improving her French and finding new friends at Versailles. Her union with the dauphin got off to a rocky start. Louis Auguste, who was only a year older, was more interested in hunting and reading than consummating the marriage. This was a problem with multiple political implications, since producing an heir was the dauphine’s primary responsibility. First, Marie Antoinette’s position was tenuous, as the marriage could be annulled if not consummated. Moreover, the people of France, who initially loved the dauphine, waned in their affection as she failed to become pregnant.

In 1774, King Louis XV died. Marie Antoinette and her husband, now Louis XVI, ascended to the throne. Part 3 details Marie Antoinette’s early life as queen consort. Although she did not have any formal political powers, Marie Antoinette was expected to lobby on behalf of Austria. She was largely unsuccessful; Louis XVI preferred to listen to his French advisors over his Austrian wife. Sexual dysfunction marked their early marriage: It appeared that neither Marie Antoinette nor Louis knew the mechanics of intercourse. During a conversation with Marie Antoinette’s eldest brother, Louis XVI finally learned the necessary information and the marriage improved. Soon after, Marie Antoinette gave birth to Marie Thérèse and then to Louis Joseph, the next heir to the French throne.

Part 4 describes how Marie Antoinette settled into her role as queen consort and mother to her children until the French Revolution began in earnest in 1789. She had two more children, Louis Charles and Sophie, who died as an infant. During this period, Marie Antoinette acquired a property at Saint Cloud, near Versailles, to serve as a family home. This created a controversy, as French queens had never owned property. Public opinion began to turn against the queen, fueled by false rumors published in pamphlets known as libelles about her supposed profligate spending and extramarital affairs. The idea of royal excess, at a time when France struggled to finance the American Revolution against the British and suffered poor harvests and high food prices, contributed to public unrest.

In 1789, Louis XVI attempted mild reform by calling a meeting of the deliberative body known as the Estates General. Concurrently, seven-year-old heir Louis Joseph died of spinal tuberculosis. The negotiations between the king and the Estates General broke down; a faction of the Estates General made up of representatives of the Third Estate (i.e. commoners), rebelled and declared themselves a new deliberative body, the National Assembly. On October 4, 1789, a large group led by market women marched from Paris to the palace at Versailles to demand the government address food shortages. The mob turned violent, capturing Marie Antoinette, Louis XVI, and their family, who were then held under house arrest at the Tuileries Palace in Paris.

Part 5 describes Marie Antoinette’s life in captivity as the French Revolution advanced in strength. As the National Assembly deliberated the fate of the royal family, loyal supporters, including Marie Antoinette’s long-time paramour Axel Fersen, arranged for them to flee to a town near the Belgian border. On June 21, 1791, the royal family attempted their escape. However, due to miscommunications, delays, and poor planning, they were soon recognized and brought back to the Tuileries Palace. A few months later, an angry mob invaded the palace grounds. Fearing for their lives, the royal family fled to the National Assembly, which transferred them to the medieval tower formerly occupied by the Knights Templar, then in 1792, stripped them of their royal titles, ending France’s monarchy, and finally tried and convicted Louis XVI. He was executed in January 1793.

Part 6 describes the end of Marie Antoinette’s life. After the execution of her husband, Marie Antoinette remained hopeful her family would ransom her, but they did not. Instead, at the height of the Reign of Terror—a particularly bloodthirsty part of the French Revolution—Marie Antoinette was put into the Conciergerie, a prison for counter-Revolutionaries. After a show trial, she was sentenced to death and executed by guillotine on October 17, 1793. Her surviving son, Louis Charles, died in captivity in 1795. Her daughter, Marie Thérèse, was eventually released to Austria. Marie Antoinette’s line ended with her.

Marie Antoinette remains a well-known historical figure to this day. Fraser argues that the popular perception of her as an unserious spendthrift does not take into account her generosity or the incredibly difficult historical circumstances she was forced to navigate.