Regular marked price: $10.95Discount Price: $8.76
Cost Savings: $2.19 (20%)Price fluctuation possible.
How soon does it ship: Normal ship time within one day
Shipping? Absolutely FREE if you qualify for Super Saver Shipping.
Type of bind: Hardcover
EAN num: 9780439076661
ISBN number: 0439076668
Label: Scholastic Ltd.
Manufacturer: Scholastic Ltd.
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 238
Printing Date: April 01, 2000
Publishing house: Scholastic Ltd.
Age index: Ages 9-12
Sale Popularity Level: 63801
Studio: Scholastic Ltd.
Other books you might be interested in perusing:- Elizabeth I: Red Rose of the House of Tudor, England, 1544 (The Royal Diaries)
- Anastasia: The Last Grand Duchess, Russia, 1914 (The Royal Diaries)
- Mary, Queen of Scots: Queen Without a Country, France, 1553 (The Royal Diaries)
- Catherine: The Great Journey, Russia, 1743 (The Royal Diaries) (Royal Diaries, The)
- Jahanara: Princess of Princesses, India, 1627 (The Royal Diaries)
- see more
Editor's Notes and Comments:
Brief Book Summary:
Maria Antonia of Vienna has her whole life mapped out ahead of her. She is to marry Dauphin Louis Auguste, eldest grandson of King Louis XV. As his wife, she will be called Marie Antoinette, and will be the highest princess of France. Upon the death of the King, she will become Queen Marie Antoinette. But she dreads both new roles. I am just thirteen...I am not yet ready to be a dauphine, let alone Queen, she writes
Amazon.com:
'I look up now into the oval mirror and see barely a trace of the mud-splattered girl tearing through the woodland on her horse, or the barefoot girl wading at Schonbrunn... I have become what Mama set out for me to be. Majestic. A Dauphine and eventually a Queen.'
So writes the headstrong 13-year-old Maria Antonia--future Queen of France--in her diary on October 23, 1769. In this engrossing addition to the Royal Diaries series (Elizabeth I: Red Rose of the House of Tudor, Cleopatra VII: Daughter of the Nile), Kathryn Lasky invents a diary of the young Marie Antoinette in 1769--the year she is to be married off to Dauphin Louis Auguste, eldest grandson of the French king Louis XV. Arranged marriages were common in that day and age--as the Empress Theresa (of the Holy Roman Empire of the Germanic Nations) sought to consolidate power among nations by marrying off her children. Thus, the future of Austria and France falls upon Maria Antonia's young shoulders.
To prepare her for this awesome responsibility, she must be trained to write, read, speak French, dress, act... even breathe. Things get even more grim as she is shipped off to the court of Versailles and introduced to her puffy, awkward future husband and confronted with the court's ridiculous customs. Marie--an opinionated and insightful young woman--mocks the court of 'impeccable etiquette and manners' that makes up nasty rhymes about those they hate, but panics when her hair is mussed. Lasky has done an excellent job of creating a very human character in the young Marie Antoinette--one whom young readers will want to learn more about. Fortunately, her story is given plenty of context with an epilogue describing the history of the young Queen after 1769, a historical note offering an 18th-century context, a Habsburg-Bourbon family tree, and various portraits of the royal family. (Ages 9 to 13) --Karin Snelson
User popularity level:
Rated by buyers 
-
With a little more knowledge and understanding of the time and historical facts this book might be less a disaster.
One example: how come Marie Antoinette had to study French when this was the common language at all European Courts.
Frederick of Prussia hardly spoke any German.
Even the Russian tsar spoke it fluently.
The rest of the facts described are as implausible.
Rated by buyers 
-
This was an amazing book. Marie Antonette was a beautiful young maiden who showed her worth to King Louis. This was a great historical story. She was the great queen of England. She was, sadly, forced into an arranged marriage. She then transformed Louis into a kind man. I like this novel because it had real life situations in it and how to get out of them. I would look up to M. A. if she was alive today. She is my historical hero. She is a great role model to all special people.
Rated by buyers 
-
Marie Antoinette: Princess of Versaille, Austria-France, 1769 takes young readers and adults into the world of the Franch history through the eyes of a young Queen. All the cruelties and hypocricies are exposed in sharp contrast to the extreme devotion to fashion and petty perfections.
What a wonderful way to enjoy history -- and an excellent lesson in human nature, as well!
Recommended!
Rated by buyers -
This royal diaries book starts out in Vienna, Austria January 1, 1769. The book continues while Marie Antoina (Marie Antoinette) goes from an Archduchess in Austria to a Dauphine in France. Marie Antoina becomes Marie Antoinette when she marries Louis Auguste. This book kept me entertained from the very first page. When Marie Antoinette very first arrives in France she is told to leave everthing Austrian behind and she feels alone. She encounters Madame du Barry, King Louis XV's mistress and ends when she makes up her mind to talk to du Barry after ignoring her for a while in the book. The Epilogue finishes up Marie Antoinette's life in a few pages and a brief description. A Historical Note explains how the world was changing and calling for revolution. A family tree that includes the Habsburg-Bourbon family tree with descriptions of Marie Antoinette's parents, husband and children. There are pictures in the last pages too of Marie Antoina, Antoina's mother, Antoina and her children, castles, and du Barry. There is also 2 and a half pages about the author.
Rated by buyers -
This book was written based off of the diary of Marie Antoinette. When she is given a diary, she doesn't know at very first what to write in it. She just writes her daily chores down & what she's done that day. She is born as the daughter of Empress Maria Theresa as Maria Antonia. Her mother is a very strict person who likes things done her own way. As custom, Maria Antonia is 13 & awaiting to find out who she will marry. Her mother picks out her husband just as she had done for her 3 sisters before her. She is only allowed to marry royalty because her mother needs allies for Austria. Years before, a ruler from another country had seized power of land that had belonged to her family. Ever since then, her mother had been making allies to take the land that she rightfully owned back. Unfortunately for her mother, Maria Antonia is a very headstrong young girl. She, also, knows what she wants & won't stop until she gets it. She obeys her mother but similtaneously listens to her wilder side. When she is told she is to marry the prince of France & live in Versailles, she isn't quite sure of what to think. She expects him to be a very handsome prince because his grandfather was. She spent months getting ready for the court of Versailles. The rules & manors are very different. This once independent girl has to learn how to let everyone else do everything for her. She isn't even allowed to give herself a bath. She doesn't adjust very well either. She believes that the manors are completely pointless. She doesn't understand why it is that in Versailles, belching at the table is considered polite. She also must change her name to Marie Antoinette to sound more French. The rules are almost opposite from her home. The worst part about her trip is that she cannot take anyone with her except for her dog. Her little dog will be her only companion as she leaves her home to join her awaiting new family & husband. When she gets there, Louis, the prince, is not exactly her idea of a fairytale prince. He's quite overweight, very shy, & has very bad acne on his face. For the very first few weeks, he barely speaks to her. He is very sweet but she wants to get to know him better. She decides that if they are going to talk, she's going to have to start the conversations until he gets used to her better. She does, however, make friends with his aunts who aren't too much older than they are. She finds out a lot of important court information from them. Soon, she learns of a secret room in her apartments that had been used by previous princesses to get away from the constant media. When she wants time to herself, she can go in there. She talks to Louis about it & he has it decorated for her. Eventually, they warm up to each other & get to know each other better. When they don't share interests in a particular subject, they still support the other one & watch them anyways. They both teach each other a lot & do grow to like each other. Marie Antoinette knows that she will never truly love him but because they cannot divorse, they are at least good friends. They live a very good adolescent life together. The book stops a few years after their wedding. It doesn't go into her adult life at all but knowing about her childhood, I believe that she led a very independent lifestyle & probably changed some things about the Versailles manors when she became queen. This book was excellent & a good way to learn about history & a very important French ruler.
Find other books like this one:
