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Marie-Therese, Child of Terror: The Fate of Marie Antoinette's Daughter
by
Susan Nagel
The first major biography of one of France's most mysterious women--Marie Antoinette's only child to survive the revolution.
Susan Nagel, author of the critically acclaimed biography Mistress of the Elgin Marbles, turns her attention to the life of a remarkable woman who both defined and shaped an era, the tumultuous last days of the crumbling ancien régime. Nagel brin...more
Hardcover, 418 pages
Published
March 18th 2008
by Bloomsbury USA
(first published May 12th 2006)
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"Marie-Thérèse: Child of Terror" by Susan Nagel is a greatly anticipated biography which provides an overview of the turbulent life of the courageous daughter of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette. Rare anecdotes and little-known incidents are pulled together into one volume to make for a consuming read. I would especially recommend it to the readers of the novel "Madame Royale" since it fills in many gaps which the novel, being a novel, did not cover. The Duchesse d'Angoulême, w...more
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Yet another book from my Borders grave robbery. I've read a lot about the French revolution, and especially Marie Antoinette (she's a thoroughly intriguing character), but not much about what happened after. And especially not much about Marie-Therese, the last survivor of that family.
The book starts out with a sketch of her parents. I appreciated the author not falling into what has to be a seductive trap--writing a bio of Marie Antoinette's daughter but focusing on Marie Antoinette ...more
The book starts out with a sketch of her parents. I appreciated the author not falling into what has to be a seductive trap--writing a bio of Marie Antoinette's daughter but focusing on Marie Antoinette ...more
I got this because it promised to reveal the true story of the "Dark Countess". I had no idea who she was, but she sounded like someone I wanted to get to know. She actually doesn't figure much into this book after all, but the story of Marie Antoinette's only surviving child was thrilling enough to hold my interest. And for the record- I think poor Marie got the shaft from history. I'm going to have to get a book on her next.
This excellent biography of the only surviving child of Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI gives an outstanding, scholarly but easily-read depiction of the events and atmosphere leading up to her birth and throughout her more than seven decades of life. I was especiallh impressed by the ease with which rumors could be spread in the mostly-illiterate population, by the role of Louis XVI's cousin Louis-Philippe in propagating rumors in the hope of his own succession and Louis-Philippe's disingenousnes...more
This is practically a hagiography of the royal family. It is a shame because her obvious tendency to adoration makes her portrayal--sometimes, I'm sure, unfairly--seem less believable. It is an interesting story about someone I knew nothing about. I realize that Nagel might simply be attempting to counter narratives biased in the other way of the "let them eat cake" sort. But the constant references, for instance, to members of the royal family "charming" people made thi...more
Marie Antoinette is perhaps one of the most visible queens of all time, her exploits and tragic fate known to even those not well-versed in history. It is because of that notority that she often overshadows the fact that, while the queen herself did not live to see France come out of the fires of the Revolution, her firstborn child did indeed survive and continue on with her life.
Nagel provides an excellent window into the life of Marie Therese, from her idyllic childhood brought up ...more
Nagel provides an excellent window into the life of Marie Therese, from her idyllic childhood brought up ...more
Given her birth to Marie Antoinette, and the loss of the mother, father and younger brother in the French Revolution, you would expect Marie-Therese's life to be full of interest. Instead it's full of horror in it's French half and of dull priggishness once she is returned to the Germans, who allow her to marry back into the French royal family, a course that even the author seems to see as self-destructive. This is living proof that being born a "royal" does not make one a singular ...more
At its most basic level, it's a history book, but written so well as to keep me intrigued; overall this was a pretty quick read.
The human elements of royalty play a major part in the first third of the book -- I grew to admire the royal Bourbon family. Most of the history I've learned of the French Revolution was from the perspectives of the revolutionaries. This book countered that, and proved again that there is always another side to the story.
I was disappointed with what seemed...more
The human elements of royalty play a major part in the first third of the book -- I grew to admire the royal Bourbon family. Most of the history I've learned of the French Revolution was from the perspectives of the revolutionaries. This book countered that, and proved again that there is always another side to the story.
I was disappointed with what seemed...more
I've read other histories/biographies about Marie Antoinette and the events leading to the French Revolution, but never learned more about Marie-Therese than simply that she alone survived. I assumed she just lived out her days quietly in exile. Not the case! Her life was fascinating, with constant upheaval and uncertainty and even a return to the throne.
Marie-Therese had an interesting life, but Nagel really writes with passion about this subject. The characters are portrayed as hum...more
Marie-Therese had an interesting life, but Nagel really writes with passion about this subject. The characters are portrayed as hum...more
Although this book was well-researched in essence, the writing is plodding and slow and lacks any of sort of spontaneity or enthusiasm. The author seems so intent on recounting the long history of Marie-Therese's life that she overlooks the need to analyze the character of her subject, to draw her out. Thus Marie Therese appears intolerably priggish and a hopelessly dull subject, despite her unique birth and place in history. Give it a read if this period of history or the history of royals inte...more
Marie-Thérèse is not always the first name remembered in the history of the French Revolution, surrounded as she was by more famous, more tragic, more ambitious people. She was Madame Royale, the Duchess d'Angoulême, the Dauphine and (to legitimists) the Queen of France. In her own time, she was more famous as the Orphan of the Temple.
Marie-Thérèse was eleven when the French Revolution began. Her one surviving sibling, Louis Charles, was four. The family was forced from their home at ...more
Marie-Thérèse was eleven when the French Revolution began. Her one surviving sibling, Louis Charles, was four. The family was forced from their home at ...more
After reading many biographies on Marie Antoinette, I knew she had four children - two died as children, one - Louis XVII - at the Temple Prison in Paris, and the eldest, Marie-Thérèse, survived. But Madame Royale, as Marie-Thérèse was known as eldest daughter of the King, not only survived but went on to live a long and eventful life.
Born after years of a childless marriage between Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, Marie-Thérèse (named after her grandmother, Austrian Empress Maria Th...more
Born after years of a childless marriage between Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, Marie-Thérèse (named after her grandmother, Austrian Empress Maria Th...more
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I am not quite done with this yet, but I am very close. Also, it's overdue at the library and needs to go back tomorrow, and that will happen whether or not I'm done.
Anyway, this is the story of Marie Antoinette's daughter, Marie-Therese. I picked this up because I have found the stories of the Tudors absolutely fascinating. I've seen the movie "Marie Antoinette" a couple of times and have been curious about the Bourbons, and so I thought this would be a good way to learn m...more
Anyway, this is the story of Marie Antoinette's daughter, Marie-Therese. I picked this up because I have found the stories of the Tudors absolutely fascinating. I've seen the movie "Marie Antoinette" a couple of times and have been curious about the Bourbons, and so I thought this would be a good way to learn m...more
My boyfriend bought me this book at the Shakespeare and Co. book store in Paris across from Notre Dame, which makes it very special to me. While in Paris and after watching Marie Antoinette (Sofia Coppola's version) I wanted to know more about her elusive daughter. This book, although filled with abundant names and dates, was very entertaining and somewhat tragic. It is a piece of history I did not know much about before and am glad I took a peak.
I recently re-read this book and remembered that I did not like it after my first reading. Nagel spends unnecessary time on the "Dark Countess" which pretty much has nothing to do with Marie Therese. In fact, if you read this after Antonia Fraser's excellent "Marie Antoinette: A Journey" you will realize that Nagel makes many baseless claims. In the hands of a better researcher Marie Therese's story would have been well worth reading.
Margaret Sankey
added it
This is a sympathetic and interesting biography of Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI's daughter, Marie-Therese, who survived her parents' execution and time in the Temple prison (her brother the Dauphin died) to be traded to her Habsburg Austrian relatives and eventually married to her first cousin and returned to France with the Bourbon restoration. Because of Salic law in France, she couldn't inherit the throne, and was Queen, technically for 20 minutes between the abdication of Charles X and the...more
an excellent, well-researched piece on the french royal family prior to, during and after the french revolution. i was disappointed with the suposed mysters. the suthor looses track of it along the way and when she revisits it, its without interest. very educational however and a page-turning rendition of factual events.
I LOVED this book!! It didn't feel like a boring documentary or anything. It was extremely informative and I learned a lot that helped bolster what knowledge I did have on the French Revolution and all that fun jazz!! It was a little long, but a book should never be spurned because of its length!!! Everyone should read this!!
Being a massive Marie Antoinette fan I particularly liked reading the first half of this book (well, not liked liked obviously). The second half of the book I quite enjoyed also as I did not know much about the life of Marie Therese post Temple Prison. Recommended read.
I never knew the sad, sad story of the children of Marie Antoinette until I read this book. Although tragic, this book was a wonderful read. The strong spirit of Marie-Therese is the stuff movies are made of. There should be more stories of this heroic woman
I heard the author talk about this book at my library. It wasn't a great program, (the author just read from a script) but it was enough to intrigue me to want to know how the story ended, but I knew I'd never be able to get through reading the 400 plus pages(translates to 15 discs). So, I listened to the audio edition. And that was a great choice on my part. I was a fascinating story about the history of the French government after Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, based around what happened to...more
I got halfway through the book, to the color plates and the political fits thrown about Madame Royal's marriage, and lost interest. Nothing against the writing, which I enjoyed in the earlier chapters. I just had other things I wanted to read more, so I decided not to renew the book.
As all historical biographies are, littered with too many random quotes from people that are of no significance as filler. But its well paced for a biography and manages to keep your attention for the most part.
Marie-Therese's life was extremely tragic, yet for most of it she put on a stoic public face and devoted her life to promoting the cause of the surviving Bourbons, mostly from outside her beloved France. She even stood up to Napoleon himself, earning the approving remark from him, "She is the only man in the family."
While the content was intriguing, it was a bit slow-going at times, and the promised solution to the mystery of Marie-Therese and the Dark Countess seems only ...more
While the content was intriguing, it was a bit slow-going at times, and the promised solution to the mystery of Marie-Therese and the Dark Countess seems only ...more
This book was the first one I read which was solely about Marie Therese and not her more famous parents. I thought it gave a pretty overview of her life. I especially found it useful for learning the history of French royalty post- Marie Antoinette/Louis XVI executions, which I wasn't completely on the ball about... I especially liked the few bits about the identity conspiracy, does every royal who went through some sort of a turmoil have to be ttached to those types of conspiracies?
Excellent story. Very tragic life of Marie Antoinette's Daughter, the only one to survive the Terror.
I am absolutely taken by S. Nagel's writing, and by the intimate look into the parent-child relationship of the Bourbon family. This account is heart wrenching, and very much a story that needs to be read. The strength of Marie-Therese and the charm of her younger brother Louis Charles are both inspiring and grounding. I could only hope to take such abuse with the same grace as these children did.
I'm being generous with the third star, which it earns for telling the new-to-me account of Marie Antoinette's daughter post-Terror.
The book is seriously flawed. It spends too much time on the woes of Marie Antoinette, which is an oft- and better-told story. It sets up a mystery in the introduction, but it turns out that there's no real information to impart. It's marred by poor word choice and punctuation and balky translations.
It's still a fascinating story, so th...more
The book is seriously flawed. It spends too much time on the woes of Marie Antoinette, which is an oft- and better-told story. It sets up a mystery in the introduction, but it turns out that there's no real information to impart. It's marred by poor word choice and punctuation and balky translations.
It's still a fascinating story, so th...more
Mary Frances
rated it
Recommends it for:
biography fans, those interested in discovering strong women of history
Wow, first Antonia Fraser changed my opionion of Marie Antoinette, then I discovered this biography of the sole member of the French Royal Family who survived the guillotine. Excellent, and I really learned something new. The princess, "Madame Royale", was only 13 when the Terror struck, and lost her father, mother and brother (as well as many other friends, relatives and servants) in the horror. She was imprisioned for more than 3 years. She grew up to become a strong and formidable w...more
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