The Wicked Queen: The Origins of the Myth of Marie-Antoinette

by Chantal Thomas

Book Overview

The Wicked Queen is not a biography of one of the most infamous queens in history. Rather, Chantal Thomas presents the history of the verbal and visual representations of Marie-Antoinette, the history of her mythification. Almost as soon as Marie-Antoinette, archduchess of Austria, was brought to France in 1771 as the bride of Louis XVI, she was smothered in images.

In a monarchy increasingly under assault, the charm and horror of...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0942299396
• ISBN13: 9780942299397
• Release Date: May 1999
• Publisher: Zone Books
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 1.24 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.9" x 9.0"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

From saint to sinner, a la the press

"The Wicked Queen" by Chantal Thomas is a thoughtful, well-researched book that explores the role of the queen in France, as well as how, through the power of the propaganda hate machine, the public image of Marie Antoinette was morphed from the sweet, fresh-faced Dauphine that the people adored upon her arrival in France, to the sexually deviant, murderous queen they accused her of being as the revolution took hold. As a bonus, in the back of the book are a handful of the original pamphlets of the day, fully translated into English. These are quite interesting, as I've always wanted to read some of the infamous pieces of propaganda (some of which are often referenced in various biographies of Marie Antoinette), complete and unedited. One can almost feel the sadistic glee infused by its authors into the writing, which was specifically crafted to tap into the public's rage and despair over the prevailing social order, using one woman as a scape-goat for all evils. As such, the pamphlets' content is quite crude and blunt . . . so if you're not entirely interested in the disgusting specifics of the accusations hurled at the queen, you may easily skip that section of the book (which is pretty much a separate entity, buried behind Author's Notes, etc.). All in all, if you're interested in the origins of the generally accepted -- and mostly false -- pop-culture image of Marie Antoinette (as the unsympathetic tart who flippantly proclaims "Let them eat cake!"), I definitely recommend this book for an interesting, informative read.

Marie Antoinette out of Context

Unfortunately publishers feel that a book on Marie Antoinette will sell every couple years, so like clockwork we see an avalanche of pro royalist, sympathetic, out of context garbage. Most of them repeat the same legends...They base their accounts of the flight to Varennes on Carlyle and talk about her martydom...With the exception of Le Notre not one of her biographers has also done a biography of one of the leaders of the Revolution. Most demonstrate an alarming lack of understanding of basic events such as the the Bread March on Verseilles, September Massacres, the Necklace Affair or even how official Court appointment were made.This is the first book in sometime that has put Marie Antoinette back into the context of her time...unfortunately for Royalist Mythology she was commonly referred to as the Austrian .... By her actions she precipitated the Revolution...she was provocative and weak...a flammable combination.As for the reader who's sensibilities are offended by the "riding the penis" cartoon...you obviously haven't seen the several thousand cartoons of time that are available...the one you refer to IS tame...you should see the ones where she is dressed like a nun....You should also read the pamphlets sold at the Palais Royale...While Hebert did indeed make things up in her indictment, it is hard to get around the fact that she has to shoulder a lot of responsibility for the revolution...I recommend this book as one of the best books on Marie Antoinette in last 20 years...it has also prompted me to seek out the author.I think the book is well researched, devoid of sentimentality and attempts to place Marie Antoinette back into the context of the tapestry of her times.Michael La VeanFellow, International Napoleonic Society

Excellent work

I am a college student majoring in History and I thank Chantal Thomas for writing this excellent work. I first ran across her name when researching the propaganda against Marie Antoinette (I wrote my thesis on this during the semester). I have found her to be the authority, at the present time, on the pamphlets, propaganda, etc. written against MA. If you are interested in reading about this, I strongly recommend this book. She includes copies of the actual phamplets written and they are truely fascinating. One can see the fervor of the Paris mob on the pages of these vile, xrated pieces. If you love French history or women's history, buy this book today!

It's sad when UMass students don't even know how to spell

What has happened to our schools???? A third year college student who can't spell "research" or "blame" correctly?

This book was not just da bomb, but da bomb digity!

I thought this book was thought provoking and sencible. It is about the painful struggle of Marie Antionette, queen of France and what her people thought of her. I strongly suggest that who ever is interrested in her life and the people around her read this book for research or just for fun. I had to submit a report on Marie and her life and influencial expansion. I am a third year college student at UMass and I recieved a B+ on my paper in French History seminar/class. I got the most of my reserch in this book and found it a little shocking,to say the least. Most of the book talks about her life and the leading up time to her reign as queen. It speaks specifically of how she was misrepresented and blaimed for incidents beyond her control. My personal favorite chapter is that of chapter six when the reader learns of her blaim in her husband being unable to father her children. If you have an important report to write, I strongly recommend this book.