As a child I remember my sister loving Jean Plaidy and historical fiction. Well, Victoria Holt, is another pen name for the same author. I love history and do enjoy this genre, as long as it is well written. Holt has done fastidious homework and while much of the intimate detail is fictionalized, Marie Antoinette and the circumstances of the French Revolution are drawn in great detail, from the historical events down to fantastic three-foot high hairstyles and her love of beautiful gowns to the little country home, the Trianon, that she had built on the grounds of Versailles to live her conception of pastoral idyllic life. As one who hated the super-conflated etiquette of the French court, Marie was so ill-suited to the manipulations and contrivances of the age and escaped reality and restriction to Trianon whenever she could. Understanding that she was so young and high-spirited allows the reader to see the tragic train of events unfolding. She and Louis XVI, her husband are tragic characters in a hate-filled, hysterical time that is often romanticized by modern shows such as Les Miserables. Excess, greed, avarice--all the classic seven sins are apparent in this era, but also the sweetness of human bonds. As a character and actual historical personage, Marie is most interesting. She had a happy childhood as the last of fifteen children, born to the Empress of Austria. Growing up in a life of privilege and wealth as an archduchess in Schonbruun Palace, Marie was completely unaware of the world around her and once transported to France as part of an "alliance" pact as a very young teen, she was supposed to immediately consummate her marriage with an equally young Louis to bear an heir, a dauphin, for France. As a foreigner to the court, she was high-spirited, headstrong, and had no idea of the money that she spent or of her detractors which put her in a dangerous position from the very beginning. Although she matures with motherhood, the French people saw her as the scapegoat for the excesses of the nobility that had magnified after the death of Louise IV. Mostly she refused to heed the advice of Mercy, the councilor that was appointed to advice her by her mother. Each chapter begins with quotations for documents of the time, including Marie's copious journals, letters, and memoirs, which center the events. I would recommend this highly but with the caution to read other accounts of her life to get a more complete picture. History is very subjective and as a historian friend reminds me, corroboration of sources is essential.