Oh, to be Queen...

I finally finished it. I picked this up at a used book store for like 6 bucks probably 3 months ago. I, of course, have seen the movie, and I'm one of those people who sees a movie and has to know more when it comes to historical things. Let's just say when I was younger and watched Anastasia, I immediately did a Wikipedia search. So, when I found this, I knew I had to have it. Let me tell you, I'm so glad I did.
This was a really engrossing biography. I felt like I was there, in Versailles experiencing it all. I feel like the author went past just cold facts but into the personal responses and psychological being of Marie Antoinette. I feel like I got to know her, became part of her inner circle. It was really interesting to learn all of this about such an iconic historical figure. I mean, we all know who she was: Queen of France who was beheaded during the Revolution. But what more do we really know of her and her story? It was fascinating to follow her from a young girl in Vienna to the young Dauphin clumsily attempting her role at wife and foreign princess to the beloved Queen to the hated fallen royalty. What I liked most about this book was that I responded to it as I would a novel. I was anxious, excited, worried about what was going to happen next. It didn't feel like other biographies I have encountered which seemed nothing more than a lot of cold facts strewn across a page. Perhaps it was the tragic and romantic story itself that attributed to the novel-esque feel of the book, but I still feel that the writing was key as well. Throughout the book the author would present certain situations that have been under argument as to whether they actually occurred. She would point these sections out and would clearly point out how they're up for argument but put forth evidence as to which way she believed to be the case. 
I'm not an expert, no where near, however I do believe this is an excellent and thorough biography. I definitely recommend reading it even if you're not a history buff like me. It's a great story if nothing else to recommend it.