Marie Antoinette and the Downfall of Royalty
Imbert De Saint-Amand
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"Paris in 1792 is no longer what it was in 1789. In 1789, the old French society was still brilliant. The past endured beside the present. Neither names nor escutcheons, neither liveries nor places at court, had been suppressed. The aristocracy and the Revolution lived face to face. In 1792, the scene has changed."
France was now on the verge of the Reign of Terror (la Terreur), the violent years following the Revolution, and this book chronicles the terrible period of French history which culminated in the proclamation: "Royalty is abolished in France. All public acts will be dated from the first year of the Republic. The seal of State will be inscribed with this motto: Republique française." (Summary by Ruth Golding, with quotations from the book itself) (11 hr 9 min)
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Reviews
Worth a listening
Oliver
The book though brilliant, has a difficult style. Sometimes poetic, sometimes quite dry. The end has gruesome chapters. I liked very much to see the side that was showing a royal perspective. I could suddenly sympathize with Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. Fearing for their kids and lives. I felt very sorry for Louis XVII, the little boy. what had the children done to anyone? Losing everything and many loved ones. The terrible waste of the senselessly sacrificed Swiss Guards and many more.How few the apparently payed real culprits of the massacres were is a meaningful aspect. Some of the readers were a bit difficult to understand. Especially the last reader was good though.