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Kötü Kraliçe: Marie Antoniette (2000)

by Carolyn Meyer(Favorite Author)

3.9 of 5 Votes: 3

languge

English

genre

Romance

series

Young Royals

review 1: Where to start? For a teen historical novel, it's OK. In fact, I think it would probably pique a lot of teens interest in 18th century history and Marie-Antoinette. However, for a Marie-Antoinette novel, it lacks proper direction. I honestly think that Marie-Antoinette's story is far too complicated and long to be shoved into one book, unless it's a true bio like Antonia Fraser's. This story would have benefited from either being split into two, or perhaps a trilogy. It felt a bit drawn out in places where it didn't really need it, and then too fast in the areas where it needed the details. The Revolution was glossed over, as was MA's romance with Count Fersen (which was a disappointment because that's what I look forward to in these MA novels). I also disliked how she mad... moree it out that MA and Fersen never had a physical relationship when they did. Maybe because it's a teen novel, the author took the liberty to write it otherwise.The beginning was an awful lot like Becoming Marie-Antoinette by Juliet Grey. Juliet Grey was wise enough to make it a trilogy, though her first two installments were extremely dull. She made up for it with the third installment focusing on the Revolution, which this novel did not. Again, it was glossed over and given little detail.I also disliked how it was turned over from MA's perspective to her daughter's, Marie Thérèse. She could have ended it with MA's perspective, her time at the Conciergerie. Again, it would have benefited from more time spent on certain events.It was a fast read, though not very enjoyable.
review 2: The Bad Queen hasn’t made me like Marie Antoinette any more, but it has helped me understand her. Which was, of course, Carolyn Meyer’s goal when she wrote this book. Most readers will probably like the character of Marie, but I did not simply because our personalities are far too different. From her early childhood, she is a spoiled princess, a dreamer who is not interested in academics at all. I’m the exact opposite, so you can probably tell why I did not like her, but could at least empathize with her.We follow her journey from when she is betrothed to Louis, all the way past her execution. Since this is written in journal form, we get to learn about the aftermath of her execution through the writings of her daughter. Readers will see the part of the French Revolution that people rarely see—its aftermath, including what happens to the children of the doomed couple.The Bad Queen is not exactly fast-paced, but neither is it unbelievably slow, so it is quite an interesting read. Personally, I learned an enormous amount of French history in an enjoyable fashion because I know next to nothing of French history. The customs of the French monarchy were absolutely ridiculous, so I can see why Marie eventually rebelled against them. Truthfully, learning of the sheer excesses of the court at Versailles makes me wonder why the French peasants didn’t rebel sooner.I would recommend this for ages 13+ because of some brief sexual content, but it really depends on the maturity of the reader.I give this book 3.5/5 stars, rounded up to 4 stars for Goodreads rating purposes. less

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