| Victoria Holt took the life of Marie Antoinette and wrote this book as if she, herself, was the young French queen. The story begins with Marie marrying the king of France, Louis XVI. It then goes into detail about her wild spending habits which embittered the French people. The story is written as if she were thinking back and remembering every mistake she made and every possible thing she said that could have angered the French population. The story then tells of her affair with a young Lord, with whom she fell in love. When the French Revolution actually broke out in Paris, several of her closest friends were tortured and killed. Then the people executed their king and the story ends with Marie Antoinette in her cell actually writing the story that was just read. The story seems to be left with no ending because the young queen "writing" the story is then executed. | ||
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Plot & Themes Time/era of story Marriage/Married Yes Marriage subplot: Action/suspense subplot? Yes Action: Who: - sister If one lover chases another... - Children/Pregnancy Yes Family focus? Yes Family, loving Yes Main Male Character Profession/status: Age/status: - 40's-50's Sex makes him Unusual characteristics? Main Female Character Age/status: - 20's-30's Profession/status: Effect of sexing Setting Europe Yes European country: - France City? Yes City: - dirty, dangerous (like New York) Writing Style Accounts of torture and death? - moderately detailed references to deaths What % of story is romance related? - 30% How explicit is the sex? - vague references only Focus of story - Her How much dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog |
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