I wouldn't recommend this if, like me, you know very little about Marie Antoinette and your objective is to learn more. It's not the right book for that. It is more like those dramedies that give the story their own modern twist. It has Antoinette behave and speak as if she were alive today. If you like this kind of thing, then this is certainly worth reading. It's also evidently well researched. But again, it's confusing if you miss the necessary background.

I had a very basic memory of Marie Antoinette’s life (which is mostly comprised of what I know from the Sofia Coppola movie). I will say I wish the author let us in on more of her research, I felt like she assumes everyone will know about the history and I just felt like I needed more character description and a little more detail/explanation. The writing style changes throughout the novel and makes it more confusing. I did find the writing to be lovely but overall felt like I missed out on information.

Thank you so much NetGalley and Grey Wolf Press for the eARC

This reissue of the 2002 novel from Graywolf Press initially caught my eye because the cover is stunning and because Marie Antoinette has been an object of fascination for me since I read her book in The Royal Diaries series twenty-five years ago. I love when a book gets a second life whether it’s a rediscovered classic, an anniversary edition, a launch with a new introduction, or a reissue like this one. These are opportunities to consider why the book dipped out of the cultural consciousness and why it deserves a reconsideration now. On one hand, a book featuring and sympathizing with a royal family whose lavish lifestyle came to symbolize the instigation of a violent revolution feels a little out-of-touch at the moment. The way Davis lingers on the opulent and excessive details brings Versailles to life, yes, but I felt myself resisting being drawn in because of the role extreme wealth is playing in our own political moment. At the same time, Davis’s clever exploration of the way people with power rely on narrative to maintain that power felt timely in the best possible way. She articulates this theme expertly through the character of Antoinette, but more impressive to me were the formal shifts throughout that highlight the performative aspects of power and the way power shifts from person to person as characters move through time and place. Not infrequently Davis shifts between first and third person, as well as making use of a play format that forces the reader out of the characters’ heads and into the role of removed spectator. It’s a reading experience that requires some effort, but because the subject is fairly familiar to most readers, it’s easier to navigate the formal experimentation. In a highly enjoyable note on the text at the end of the book, Davis considers what it means to tell a story when the ending is already determined and how authors can build tension and interest in spite without an unknowable plot. This might have been my favorite part of the book and it serves as an invitation to consider how successfully Davis navigates that in Versailles. For me, her ability to continually grow Antoinette as a character and playfully poke at her relationship with Louis did keep me turning the pages, though I must admit I still found myself wondering frequently about the value of such fictionalized histories.

Kathryn Davis presents a meticulously researched book about Marie Antoinette & her life at Versailles (and after). The book begins with Marie Antoinette traveling to France & end with her death. However, this book has a very unique style. Sometimes it’s from the queen’s pov, sometimes others, sometimes almost like a play. I think it could be polarizing for some but I didn’t mind. Though due to the varying styles, the book can be disjointed. There is a section at the end where the author discusses how she came to write the book and some of her methodology, which was interesting.

Thank you NetGalley and Graywolf Press for a copy of this book.

Historical Fiction telling the story of Marie Antoinette, the mostly misunderstood queen of France. The story begins with 14 year old Antoinette travelling to France from Austria to unite with her bethroted Louis XVI of France. A match based on strategic geopolitics rather than love or compatibility. The book is written in a very unique style, part narrative, part stream of consciousness and part what reads like screenplay. I would suggest going into it knowing the story of this unfortunate royal couple and the history of France at the time. Otherwise it can get highly confusing. While I liked the premise of the novel, I would have preferred a more in depth and linear narrative.
Thank you NetGalley and Graywolf Press for the ARC

I was excited about reading this story, but unfortunately it’s way too literary for me. I couldn’t figure out what was going on. Literary fiction fans might enjoy this book.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.

VERSAILLES is a book that attempts to capture the elusive spirit of Marie Antoinette and the opulence of Versailles at its peak. A fluid combination of poetry, screenplay, first-person and third-person perspective, I never really knew what was going on while I was reading but I could sense the emotion of the story.

Reading it felt like a fever dream mixed with an interpretive dance (or maybe like when you're a child with the flu and are passing in an out of consciousness with the History Channel playing on the tv)-- not quite suited to my tastes, but maybe you're up for the challenge?

Ever since I watched Sophia Coppola's Marie Antoinette, I have been fascinated with her. This was a really interesting way to portray her life! I found it a little hard to follow at times the narrative jumped around a bit, though it could be partially because I don't know the actual history very well. I think if I were better versed in the actual story, I would have been able to follow this one better.

Kathryn Davis is a brilliant writer and this book is her at her best.. She uses many voices and different voices, smoothly pivoting amongst varying genres and characters.

I took many notes while reading in preparation for writing this review but when I sat down to write but when I sat down to write this review, I was overwhelmed by how much I had written. The text is rich and the prose beautiful.

Davis wrote an afterward which I found fascinating--it made me want to read the book all over again. She explains the why and a bit of the how--some of the decisions she made about how to write an historical novel in which there is no suspense since we all know how the story ends! But I also realized that she had achieved her purpose so well the afterward mostly affirmed my interpretations.

The book is about several things--primarily, of course, Marie Antoinette, but equally--as can be inferred from the title--about Versailles itself. The opulence, the decadence, the beauty--but also the ways in which it entraps the people who live in it. Versailles is a character in the novel--probably the most powerful presence in it.

Davis shows how the 14-year-old child Marie Antoinette was when she arrived in France from their enemy country Austria and her development into the woman we know about. Davis is neither sympathetic nor condemning. She shows the forces which helped shape the queen as well as the choices she made which contributed to her downfall.

There are many beautiful descriptive passages, settings in nature, in the highly ornamental and controlled palace grounds with vivid descriptions of the palace itself. Davis uses many voices--poetic, vulgar--and forms, as I said: poetic, dramatic (scenes written in the form of plays or opera) as well as the more expected types of narrative.

The book is carefully and exhaustively researched--I checked many of the details, all of which were accurte. I also googled pictures suggested by the text but I realized after a few times that in fact the writing itself gave me all the pictures I needed.

The book is a tour de force. I went to Versailles many years ago and was indifferent to its charms--now, in the light of this book, I wish I could return to see it through the eyes of Davis.

A brilliant work that I strongly recommend. I am grateful to Greywolf Press, NetGalley, and the author for providing me with a copy of this book.

This was a creative, impressionistic portrait of Marie Antoinette.

The author took the unusual step of painting a portrait of the protagonist, rather than telling a detailed story of her reign. I applaud the innovative approach, but miss a detailed historical account of the period, the political climate, and the elements affecting her life. This is effective as an impressionistic sketch of an historical figure, but less satisfying as an historical novel.

Thanks to NetGalley, Kathryn Davis, and Graywolf Press for allowing me to read a copy of Versailles before it gets republished. I received a copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

It is difficult to describe what exactly this book was. Part of it is written in first person narrative, part of it is poetry, and part of it is reading a script for a play. It is as if the author did not know what she wanted to write and so she just threw a bunch of styles together to tell a jumbled up story. If you are looking for something different, then sure read this. If you want a more authentic telling of Marie Antoinette, then there are better options to choose from. The only thing saving this one is that it is a short read. I would have preferred if it was written entirely as a play because those were the parts that drew me in the most.

This retelling from Marie Antoinette’s perspective is... interesting.

The author writes with a beautiful and lyrical prose, giving Antoinette a voice. The storytelling isn’t what I was expecting. It changes from inside Antoinette’s head to something you’d expect more from reading a play –describing stage direction and characters speaking lines. Plays can be difficult to read if they aren’t your kind of thing. This isn’t a play but some pages it felt like it... I was often confused.

I don’t have a lot to add, just that if you are wanting a different “vibe” in an Antoinette retelling, you might like this one.

Thank you @graywolfpress and @NetGalley for sending an Advance Reader’s Copy for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚: ★ ★ ★ ★
𝗥𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗦𝗘 𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: November 12, 2024
𝗔𝗥𝗖 𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪:

I loved this. This was my very first book by Kathryn Davis and I will now have to find all the books they put out. The writing style is beautiful, and our author has such a beautiful way of writing and leaving you with vivid images through the entire book, each transition of this book flows so well and moves you along. I loved that our narrator in this book is Marie Antoinettes spirit, I thought this was a neat concept. This book will find its people and those will fall in love with every single part of this book. I cannot wait for its release for people to have this on their TBRs and enjoy it as much as I did.

Versailles by Kathryn David tells the story of the famous queen Marie Antoinette in a way that might be off putting to quite a few readers. If I had not been familiar with the history of the doomed royal, I may not have been able to follow the story as well as I did.

This story has lyrical prose, but will suddenly break out into script as if being recited by actors on a stage, and then more of a brief snippets that are almost scene setting.

While I did enjoy the prose of the author, I didn’t quite enjoy the story telling method. I still think this is worth checking out for fans of Marie Antoinette, but do do knowing that this story isn’t told in a straightforward manner.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Graywolf Press for the advanced reader copy.

This historical fiction book has an atypical structure. I think Marie Antoinette is fascinating but the ‘day in a life approach’ was difficult to engage with. There are some strange details, number of stairs, for example. I could not stay engaged.

Thank you to NetGalley and Graywolf Press for the advanced readers copy.

Almost all the history teachers at my high school were the football coaches so all I ever did was color maps with colored pencils. Then, in college I was a double major in English and Political Science so I didn’t have to take any history classes. I am history deficient.

I’m not sure this book helped very much.

In it, fourteen year old Marie Antoinette (who, it appears, was maybe only ever called Antoinette? I can’t really tell..) is traveling from Austria to France to meet her future husband who will become Louis XVI and will rule France. For a time. Til it all goes wrong. But it’s not entirely his fault, because it seems like things were going south for quite some time, definitely from the time that his grandfather declared himself a god?

Neither Louis nor Antoinette were particularly well equipped for their roles and she, in particular, suffered under the weight of the responsibilities. She was never really accepted into his world and he was kind of a mess himself.

This book is a very dreamy look at her life. I have to say I enjoyed it much more after reading the author’s afterword. I won’t give away what she does, but I didn’t catch it at all, and it was quite interesting.

Also note that it appears this book was first published back in 2002, so it is certainly not new. I liked it, though, but it’s probably not for everyone. If you are looking for a fact-based accounting this is not the book for you.

This was a difficult read to finish, but thankfully it's a short book.
The narrative tone is immature, silly, and largely observational which makes sense as it's from a young Marie Antoinette's point of view. She arrives to Versailles as a young woman who has, up until her arrival, has lived a sheltered, simple life relative to the complicated, volatile ecosystem of Versailles and the royal French court. However, it is because she is a young woman who we're supposed to believe knows little that all of the intricate details didn't make sense. Also, I can't believe I managed to tolerate her stream-of-consciousness narration.

The intention of this book was not misplaced, but execution was very poor.