Marie Antoinette, a woman in turbulent European history
From Habsburg Princess to Queen of France

Marie Antoinette's "Unparalleled Consolation in Life" Born in a Time of Tragedy
In this inevitable historical destiny, which side will you stand on?

Her history has been manipulated.
The truth and lies about her that never end.
“If they have no bread, let them eat cake.” Marie Antoinette never actually said such a thing.
Marie Antoinette was born as the Austrian princess and became the queen of France.
They could have whatever they wanted, they were trendsetters, and they were loved by the people.
But fate, which so easily brought her to the top, now places her on a cruel scale.


Stefan Zweig, the European intellectual who inspired the movie [The Grand Budapest Hotel] and Germany's greatest biographer.
The author unearthed letters that had been hidden in Austrian archives for half a century, forbidden from publication.
The finally completed biographical novel, Marie Antoinette: Versailles and the French Revolution, unfolds the most honest story and history of the French royal family.


Marie Antoinette, the perpetrator or victim of the French Revolution, was forced to be sacrificed in the flow of time.
Or she who deserved to be sacrificed.
The historian says:
It's so easy to judge something after it's all over, when you know the ending.


A woman who fell into the swamp of history without even knowing its depth.
Stefan Zweig recreates her life with sharp psychological description and analysis.
The great creator of history chose this ordinary person instead of a hero to create a more dramatic story.
In this inevitable fate, which side will you take?

But the great creator of history chose this ordinary person instead of a hero to create a more dramatic story.
Tragedy also occurs when a very ordinary person is caught up in a fate that overwhelms him.
I believe this type of tragedy is more humane and poignant.
… … “Only in misfortune do people discover who they are, their true selves.” Marie Antoinette, the last moments of this ordinary human life, finally reach the climax of tragedy, and this story becomes great, just like her fate.
--- p.9~10

History is like a spider's web, weaving an inescapable web of fate.
In the intricately orchestrated machinery of history, even the smallest cog can exert tremendous power.

--- p.28

Everyone stood blankly before the powerful waves of the times.
Some dipped their curious hands into the waves and tried to grasp a few sparkling pebbles.
And like children, they would laugh and play on the scary shore.
But no one felt the waves growing stronger by the minute.
--- p.73

Maurice Maeterlinck says this in Wisdom and Destiny:
“It is all too easy to judge something after it is all over, when we know the ending.” The French Revolution gave the word “revolution” the broad and intense historical meaning we use today.
For the first time, the concept of revolution was engraved in blood and spirit.
--- p.159

Ironically, Louis XVI made a tearful effort to understand the revolution.
He was deeply impressed by David Hume, the author of A History of England, whom he met and talked with during his childhood.
During his time as crown prince, he felt a special sense of tension after seeing the scene in 『History of England』 where Charles I of England was executed.
… But the attitude of trying to understand the French Revolution by looking to other revolutions was precisely what brought about disaster.
It is useless to rely on useless precedents to make decisions at a historical moment.
We needed insight to see into the future.
The storm doesn't stop just because you've furled your sails.
Louis XVI searched history to try to understand the incomprehensible.
--- p.160

Marie Antoinette had to deal not with the lawyers or judges who had come forward as accusers.
There was only one true judge: history.
“When are you going to become who you really are?” Maria Theresa, a desperate mother, wrote this letter to her daughter 20 years ago.
Now, facing death, Marie Antoinette began to regain her dignity.

--- p.294