Marie-Antoinette, Daughter of the Caesars: Her Life, Her Times, Her Legacy

by Elena Maria Vidal

Marie-Antoinette, Daughter of the Caesars is about the life, death and legacy of Louis XVI's tragic Queen, based upon the author's thirty years of research. Whenever possible the historical persons speak for themselves out of memoirs and letters. Marie-Antoinette is seen in light of her Imperial heritage as a child of the Habsburg dynasty. Having assumed the crown of the Holy Roman Empire in the 1400’s, the crown which had originated with Charlemagne in the year 800, they were seen as the continuation of the Roman Empire of the West. The Habsburgs and their allies kept the Muslims from overrunning Europe at both the Battle of Lepanto in 1571 and at the battle of Vienna in 1683. The fall of Marie-Antoinette, as both Queen of France and the youngest daughter of the Imperial Family, is indicative of the end of Christian civilization and the birth of the secular state, which was the object of the French Revolution. Through her death, Marie-Antoinette has been dubbed “Martyred Queen of Christian Europe” for in killing her the revolutionaries also symbolically killed all that she represented, the ancient heritage of Christendom.

568 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 3, 2016

About the author

Elena Maria Vidal grew up in the countryside outside of Frederick, Maryland, "fair as the garden of the Lord" as the poet Whittier said of it. As a child she read so many books that her mother had to put restrictions on her hours of reading. During her teenage years, she spent a great deal of her free time writing stories and short novels.

Elena graduated in 1984 from Hood College in Frederick with a BA in Psychology, and in 1985 from the State University of New York at Albany with an MA in Modern European History. In 1986, she joined the Secular Order of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel. Elena taught at the Frederick Visitation Academy and worked as a private tutor as well as teaching children's etiquette classes. During a trip to Austria in 1995 she visited the tomb of Empress Maria Theresa in the Capuchin crypt in Vienna. Afterwords she decided to finish a novel about Marie-Antoinette she had started writing ten years before but had put aside. In 1997 her first historical novel TRIANON was published by St. Michaels Press. In 2000, the sequel MADAME ROYALE was published, as well as the second edition of TRIANON, by The Neumann Press. Both books quickly found an international following which continues to this day. In 2010, the third edition of TRIANON and the second edition of MADAME ROYALE were released.

In November 2009, THE NIGHT'S DARK SHADE: A NOVEL OF THE CATHARS was published by Mayapple Books. The new historical novel deals with the controversial Albigensian Crusade in thirteenth century France. Elena has been a contributor to Canticle Magazine, Touchstone Magazine, The National Observer, and The American Conservative. In April 2009 she was a speaker at the Eucharistic Convention in Auckland, New Zealand. In August 2010 Elena spoke at The Catholc Writers Conference in Valley Forge, PA. She is a member of the Catholic Writers Guild and the Eastern Shore Writers Association. She currently lives in Maryland with her family and is working on a historical novel about her Irish ancestors. Elena blogs at http://teaattrianon.blogspot.com/.

Reviews

[Simon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Vidal has gathered together a fairly extensive number of quotes from 19th century memoirs of the Queen, as well as dipping into the standard biographies, although she obviously relies more upon writers like Nesta Weber than, say, Antonia Fraser. But the book succeeds in bringing forward a number of voices about Marie Antoinette that have not been heard recently --- Weber, Desmond Seward, etc. --- as well as letting readers directly encounter those who knew the actual woman, such as Madame Campan. Vidal also takes the reader on a Cook's tour of the royal palaces, providing interesting information about those that no longer exist (ex. St. Cloud, Marly). The reader also comes away with the impression that we are overdue for a new biography of Madame Elisabeth.

Vidal fails anytime she wanders into analysis of Marie Antoinette's life, or God in heaven, her "legacy". One has only to read the purple blurb for the book at the top of its Goodreads page to see why. Marie Antoinette's execution was not the "end" of Christian civilization (even by Vidal's own standards, shouldn't that be the execution of Louis XVI?). Marie Antoinette was not a "martyr" queen by the tenets of her own Church. If the Roman Catholic Church ever canonizes the Queen or Louis XVI, it will be for political reasons --- just as it was for political reasons that Joan of Arc was raised to the altar after she became a potent conservative symbol for France in the run up to and during World War I. I mention Joan of Arc only because Vidal does several times during the book, but while I too find comparisons with Marie Antoinette apt, it may not be for the same reasons Vidal does.

This isn't history, and it isn't a novel. That doesn't make it a bad book, and it was better written stylistically than Vidal's actual novels about the Queen and her daughter. So what is it?

Daughter of the Caesars comes across as Vidal's impression of Marie Antoinette as though they were best friends. Vidal judges Gabrielle de Polignac, she judges Artois, she judges Du Barry, she judges Louis XV, she judges the Princesse de Lamballe; before the end of the book she has pretty much moralized about everyone in the Queen's life. It gets a bit over the top. I have no idea if Antoinette and Fersen were actual lovers (Vidal seems to think that it would have been too physically difficult because of her guards, which may be --- although nothing stopped the Queen from writing hundreds of treasonous letters under the "eyes" of her captors, suggesting that they sometimes left the room). I do think Vidal has a point with the observation that the Queen was over the top with all of her friends when she wrote to them. But Fersen mooned about after her death, certainly giving the impression that their relationship was romantic. Was it an actual love affair? Despite Vidal's almost endearing efforts to protect her "friend's" reputation, I think the jury is still out. Barring the discovery of new evidence, it likely always will be.

What Vidal has achieved in Daughter of the Caesars is exactly the kind of memoir that people like Campan wrote. It has some of its virtues --- the portrait of Antoinette has a (deceptive) immediacy that, say, Fraser's lacks. It matters personally to Vidal how the Queen is perceived, which is endearing on an adolescent level. But the book also suffers from the defects that many of these memoirs carried (see Marilyn Yalom's examination of Mme. de Tourzel's in Blood Sisters, for example). Vidal has a very, very large ax to grind. But is is interesting that someone is still working in the genre of Revolutionary memoirs, 225 years after it occurred.

For the record, I purchased this book at full price on Amazon Kindle.

[Cynthia · Rating 5 out of 5]

By reading this book I learned that I was lied to in school. The French Revolution was nothing like the American Revolution. Marie-Antoinette was not a heartless, haughty queen, but a friend to the people. She cared for peasant families and orphaned children who were needy and even adopted them. Surely, she wore magnificent gowns at appropriate events (look at presidents' wives today), but she normally dressed simply and often refurbished her clothes and shoes instead of having new ones made. Her husband, King Louis XVI, inherited the throne when France was in debt following the American Revolution, in which France was an ally of the colonies against the British. Yet one of the first things Marie-Antoinette did as queen was remove a tax that was typically levied on the people when a new queen took the throne. When the French people were hungry, the royal household ate simple food in order to provide more food to the people. The king was kind and patient toward those he dealt with, a servant of God and of France, and a devoted, caring husband and father. I loved learning their histories, often through their own words in letters and other documents. In the end, the king died forgiving his enemies, and the queen praying for her children. The revolutionaries abused/tortured and murdered their children as well, including the youngest, a 7-or-8-year-old boy. One of the revolution's goals was to weaken Christianity and Catholicism, so nuns and priests who did not support the cause were eliminated in various ways. Many members of the court and family so loved the queen that they refused to leave her and were beheaded as she was. I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest review.

[Justine Olawsky · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a charming, insightful, and, ultimately, heart-rending narration of the life of Marie-Antoinette. As Ms. Vidal is quick to acknowledge in her preface, it is not a conventional biography by any means; nor does the author seek to write a history of the French Revolution - its causes, horror, and aftermath. If, however, the reader allows herself to be carried along by the same spirit of gentle consideration for the nobility of Antoinette's lineage, delight in the doomed queen's vivacious manners and transparent feelings, and respect for the way in which both Louis XVI and his queen did their best to live as faithful Catholics under the twin trials of opulence and degradation, she will find a treasure trove of stories and sources that brings this most famous royal consort out of her two-dimensional character cutout as the Revolutionaries' great villainess and history's irredeemable silly person and into a fully human woman of unexpected depth, dignity, and, most of all, loyalty and faith.

I know next to nothing about French history - especially of this era. I cannot speak into the profundity of Ms. Vidal's scholarship in the greater body of Marie-Antoinette research or the correctness of her conclusions. What I do know is that I enjoyed meeting the queen and her illustrious family very much in this recounting. I do know that Ms. Vidal lets primary sources such as memoirs speak for themselves in lengthy quoted passages. I do know that Ms. Vidal does not make the pretense of neutrality in her portrayal of the deep injustices committed against the royal family - and I appreciate that. This was a labor of love. And, with her novelist's sense of character and context, she often writes in ways that make me either tear up or fill my heart with fear. She draws parallels between the bloody terror of Revolutionary France and our current culture in the United States that I don't think were as clear to see when this book was published seven years ago. It is uncanny, but novelists are the prophets of the modern era.

I picked up this book because it occurred to me randomly one day that perhaps Marie-Antoinette had been a devout Catholic and maybe someone had written a biography focused on that aspect of her life. Fortunately, I came across this one. I am very glad I did.

One quick sour note: This book could have used an editor with a far more stringent eye. Some passages are repeated verbatim in different parts of the book (e.g., p. 469 repeats word-for-word - barring the addition of "meanwhile" - two sentences found on p. 459), and there are many superfluous words or missing words sprinkled throughout. A book as sparkling as this deserves a better presentation, and I hope that future editions correct these errors and oversights.

[Lauralee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Marie Antoinette is one of history’s most controversial queens. In this Catholic biography of Marie Antoinette, Mrs. Vidal states that by killing both Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, the revolutionaries were killing the Catholic kingdom that they represented. This is because the goal of the French Revolution was to get rid of the Catholic church. The reason for this is because many Catholics were killed, especially those who were unwilling to convert. She also argues the popular misconceptions of Marie Antoinette that have been passed down for centuries and have been reinforced in Hollywood primarily the Marie Antoinette film starring Kirsten Dunst.

While many biographers highlight Marie Antoinette’s flaws, Mrs. Vidal emphasizes Marie Antoinette’s good traits. She grew up as a devout Catholic under Maria Theresa. She was a young girl who loved her family and when she was forced to move to France, it traumatized her so greatly that it took the French Revolution for her to mature. Marie Antoinette esteemed to be a moral woman and the reason for her conflict with Madame duBarry stemmed from her morals.

When Marie Antoinette became queen, she had many charities and adopted many peasants, including an African boy. She promoted women artists and women writers. She also sought to reform her corrupt court, making rules to uphold her morality. Mrs. Vidal also concludes that Marie Antoinette did not have an affair with Count Fersen and that she was faithful to Louis XVI. This is because Marie Antoinette wanted to be a moral queen. Also, if she did have an affair with Count Fersen, it would be considered an act of treason. It would also be impossible for her to conduct an affair because she was a public figure and everyone was watching her.

Not only did Ms. Vidal give a good portrait of Marie Antoinette, but she also gave a good insight into her husband Louis XVI. Louis XVI was also a devout Catholic. Unlike the myth of Louis XVI being a simpering fool, he was one of the most intellectual kings during his time. He knew many languages and had an acute understanding of politics. He agreed to help America because he was thinking of a long-term alliance. He thought that when France needed help, America would in turn help France in dire need. Contrary to popular opinion, Louis XVI was not opposed to change. He would have welcomed reform, just not the French Revolution.

Mrs. Vidal also overturned the popular misconceptions about Marie Antoinette’s friends, especially Princesse de Lamballe and the Duchesse de Polignac. The Princesse de Lamballe was one of the most intelligent people at Marie Antoinette’s court. She read a lot and was deeply involved in the politics of her time, which sometimes bored Marie Antoinette. She also had liberal leanings. Louis XVI feared Lamballe’s political influence on his wife so he steered her toward the Duchesse de Polignac, who had no inclination towards politics. The Duchesse de Polignac preferred simplicity and was a devoted mother to her children. She did not want to leave Marie Antoinette’s side during the French Revolution, but only did so when Marie Antoinette told her to think of her children. Throughout the Duchesse de Polignac’s days, she remained faithful to Marie Antoinette. When she learned of Marie Antoinette’s death, she died shortly thereafter because she was so heartbroken over her queen’s death.


Overall, this was a very detailed and sympathetic biography of Marie Antoinette. I came away from this book knowing a great deal more about Marie Antoinette, her husband, and her friends. Marie Antoinette, Daughter of the Caesars was a bit dry at times and often went into too much detail about the religious aspects of Marie Antoinette’s life. Occasionally this made it difficult to understand. Still, this biography can be easily read by the general reader. While this is a Catholic-oriented biography on Marie Antoinette and often discusses religion, this book can be enjoyed by all Marie Antoinette enthusiasts. For those of you who love Marie Antoinette, Marie Antoinette, Daughter of the Caesars is not to be missed because it highlights Marie Antoinette’s goodness rather than her flaws. You will come away seeing a different side to Marie Antoinette that is completely opposite from the portrayal in Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette.

[Michael Russell · Rating 5 out of 5]

A tour-de-force! Vidal's magical prose combines with meticulous research to bring to life the legendary queen of France.

[Neena Simon · Rating 5 out of 5]

"When you wake up, you'll immediately upon arising go through your morning prayers on your knees and read some religious texts......"
Great book!.