History : France

Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna von Habsburg-Lothringen, (November 2, 1755 - October 16, 1793), known to history as Marie Antoinette, was born an Archduchess of Austria, and later became Queen of France and Navarre. She was married to Louis XVI of France at age 14, and was the mother of "lost Dauphin" Louis XVII. Marie Antoinette is perhaps best remembered for her legendary (and, some modern historians say, exaggerated) excesses, and for her death: she was executed by guillotine at the height of the French Revolution in 1793, for the crime of treason. [Adapted from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_Antoinette under the terms of the GNU-FDL] more...

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With this opening line of Naslund's compelling new novel, a very human Marie Antoinette invites readers to live her story as she herself experiences it. From the lush gardens of Versailles to the lights and gaiety of Paris, the verdant countryside of France, and finally the stark and terrifying isolation of a prison cell, the young queen's life is joyful, poignant, and harrowing by turns. As her world of unprecedented royal splendor crumbles, the charming Marie Antoinette matures into a heroine of inspiring stature, one whose nobility arises not from the circumstance of her birth but from her courageous spirit. Marie Antoinette was a child of fourteen when her mother, the Empress of Austria, arranged for her to leave her family and her country to become the wife of the fifteen-year-old Dauphin, the future King of France. Coming of age in the most public of arenas, the young queen embraces her new family and the French people, and she is embraced in return. Eager to be a good wife and strong queen, she shows her new husband nothing but love and encouragement, though he repeatedly fails to consummate their marriage and in doing so, fails to give her the thing she—and the people of France—desire most: a child and an heir to the throne. Deeply disappointed and isolated in her own intimate circle apart from the social life of the court, the queen allows herself to remain ignorant of the country's growing economic and political crises. She entrusts her soul to her women friends, her music teacher, her hairdresser, the ambassador from Austria, and a certain Swedish count so handsome that admirers label him "the Picture." When her innocent and well-chaperoned pilgrimage to watch the sun rise is viciously misrepresented in satiric pamphlets as a drunken orgy, the people begin to turn against her. Poor harvests, bitter winters, war debts, and poverty precipitate rebellion and revenge as the royal family and many nobles are caught up in a murderous time known more...

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Presents a social and cultural analysis of civil society and the will of those who actually lived and worked in the penal colonies. more...

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Maxim Silverman analyzes the connection between racism and the development of the nation-state in modern France. He raises important questions about the nature of French society and contributes to the European debate on citizenship. more...

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The Extreme Right in France, 1789 to the Present surveys the history of a fascinating but contentious political and intellectual tradition. more...

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