Book Reviews of The Hidden Diary of Marie Antoinette

Page turner. Nice historical fiction. An even better "diary" account of Marie Antoinette is "The Queen's Confession" by Victoria Holt. Erickson's version is a lighter read, and casts a very sympathetic hue on MA and her tragic life.

This book was a joy to read and easy to understand even if you are not up on all of your historical facts. I was surprised to see how much of the book was really true. Very few of the details were fictional. A quick read and very interesting.
Genny Sikes

I loved this book. I'm a fan of historical fiction, and this book satisfied; I felt as though I learned something about Marie Antoinette and life in France during that time AND I was completely caught up in a very engaging story!

I think a friend recommended the book to me and I thought it sounded interesting. Carolly Erickson was very new to me and I think I might just look into other books by her. She gives this feel that she isn't the one that is writing but rather Queen Mary Antoinette. It really feels like the Queens diary.

You get to experience life through Marie Antoinette's eyes as a young girl before her betrothal to Prince Louis (later King Louis the VXI). We get to see her perspective on meeting Louis for the first time and his awkward social skills. She continually relates Louis inability to act as King along with the poor decisions being made on a regular basis, many things she contributes to unknowingly or without full understanding. You do get the impression that as young as she was, she didn't understand the predicament she had gotten herself into until it was too late.

I can't say I knew much about Marie Antoinette before I started reading this book, or her children, except that she was beheaded by the guillotine. Because of my lack of knowledge I read up on her, her son, the downfall of her and her husbands reign and the time leading up to their deaths.

No one can say that they were a good ruling monarchy. In fact, from everything you read you begin to realize that Louis was a very poor monarch and Marie Antoinette pretty much acted the part of a teenager having fun and partying and carrying on. While Louis continued to make poor decisions, in Marie Antoinette's later years she started to realize the problems going on in their monarch and tried to her limited ability to do something but having little experience and next to no allies, there was little she could do.

I think the book accurately accomplishes portraying this fact. While you know what is going to happen to Marie Antoinette you still have a sense of excitement and hope at all the escape attempts and the promises made by Count Fersen (a real life love) to try their best to help her and her children. There are so many moments that really pulled a few tears for me, so of them sad life events and others just the bitter sweet finality of history.

While everything written in this "diary" is not true, it seems that Carolly Erickson did her best to portray Marie Antoinette's world and entries with as much true facts as possible. And while some characters are made up to add something to the story, a lot of the people in the story were actual people in Marie Antoinette's life.

This book is well worth the time it takes to read it.

I have never read a historical fiction before, but I really enjoyed this. I liked the diary-written format and enjoyed my daily lunch break reading. I may even look for the recommended book "Diary and Correspondence of Count Axel Fersen."

The Lifetime TV movie version of Marie Antoinette. Awful.

Wonderful reading, great details, fast paced and exciting. Written in diary entries. Follows her from teenager to queen to death. Great book.

Interesting perspective...I enjoyed it for a change. It did, however, leave me somewhat unfulfilled...wanting to know more about Marie Antoinette. Maybe that is what literature is supposed to do though?!

Very good book and a fast read! A really different (and refreshing) perspective of Marie Antionette and how she lived. You'll find yourself wishing for a better outcome at the end - even though we all know history can't be changed. Highly recommended!

I've always been fascinated by Marie Antoinette. This book was interesting, but seemed somewhat juvenile at times. It was an easy read and you can move through it fairly quickly.

I loved this book and, not surprisingly, it was far better than the TV movie that was based upon it. Marie's voice was clear, emotional, strong and vibrant. You could see her child-like qualities, how she evolved and grew with age and experience and understand her perspective on the times. Too bad her husband, the King, was such a dolt and didn't take her warnings and council seriously or she might of lived to see her grandchildren.

I gave the book 3 stars because it seemed a bit fluffy for my taste and it also seemed like the author took a bit too much liberty with the facts. I did like learning more about Marie Antoinette and it has motivated me to learn more about her.

I really enjoyed this book.

Very interesting fictionalized account of Marie Antoinette's life as she becomes queen of France. Very similar to the recent movie with Kirsten Dunst.

Not that impressed. Was expecting much more.

Wonderful book...interesting, hard to put down. It gives one a whole new understanding of Marie Antoinette aside from "Let them eat cake!"

Most enjyable. Marie is portrayed sympathetically yet so frustratingly ignorant. There are so many times during the novel I just wanted to scream "Just do something! You are going to die!"

Good first-person account of Marie-Antoinette's life. Kept me reading as I waited to see what happened in her day to day life, as well as the events that led up to her eventual sad end.

I really enjoyed this book. It is a quick read and a lovely fictional insight towards Marie Antoinette's life.

I thought the book started slow, but once I got into it I enjoyed it.

This book gives a more personal aspect of her life....not just facts.

This was an "O.K." book. Not as interesting as some of the others written by this author.

This is an interesting read. It's written in letter form, which I enjoyed because it made the historical period come alive for me.

A different slant on the story of Marie Antoinette. Thoughtfully written it does draw you in immediately. The ending is inevitable but you still keep hoping for a different outcome. A great read!

Wonderful book! Couldn't put it down and was into it from page one. I loved this book and will seek out others written by it's Author -Carolly Erickson.

Carolly Erickson's books are vrey similar to Phillipa Gregory. She is a great story teller and I highly recommend this book!. I t is excellent.

While not as good as Erickson's other books - it was still a good read that left me looking for more details online.

Completely gripping - I could barely put it down.

Written with partial fiction, part factual, but putting a different spin on Marie A that I really enjoyed.

I loved this book - the way it was written in the diary form made it so easy to read, and the author's style made me feel I knew her! Very interesting - I could not put it down! 4 stars!

Very Good!! Didn't want to put down

loved it! finished in just a couple of days...

I loved this book it left me craving more. The fake characters were so real it made you feel like they were really there.

Great read. Sad ending. I couldn't put it down.

I could not put it down!

Quick read...this book has piqued my interest in this time period.

Very Good

Good book even if it is only a historical perspective of Marie Antoinette.

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