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Francine du Plessix Gray on THE QUEEN'S LOVER
Francine du Plessix Gray's beautifully realized historical novel reveals the untold love story between Marie Antoinette and Swedish aristocrat Count Axel Von Fersen. Their first electric encounter at a masked ball, when they are both nineteen, launches a love affair that will span the course of the French Revolution.
After fighting with French troops for American independence, Fersen returns to find France in upheaval. When the Revolution greatly impedes the freedom of Louis XVI and his family, Fersen tries to help them escape France. The failed attempt worsens the captivity of the king and queen, who will both be executed in 1793.
Grieving his lost love as he returns to his homeland, Fersen begins to sense the effect of the French Revolution even in his native Sweden. Failing to realize that centuries of tradition have waned, he loses his life at the hands of a savage mob that views him as a pivotal member of the ruling class. His fate is symbolic of the violent speed with which the events of the eighteenth century transformed European culture. "A feat of research and imagination," as the Wall Street Journal described it, The Queen's Lover offers a fresh vision of the French Revolution and of the French royal family as told through the love story that was at its center. The Washington Post called it "spellbinding."
Francine du Plessix Gray has been a frequent contributor to The New Yorker and is the author of numerous books of fiction and nonfiction, including Simone Weil, At Home with the Marquis de Sade, Rage and Fire, Lovers and Tyrants, Soviet Women, and, more recently, Them: A Memoir of Parents, which won a National Book Critics' Circle award.
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LocationThe New York Society Library (View)
53 East 79th Street
New York, NY 10075
United States
Categories
| Kid Friendly: No |
| Dog Friendly: No |
| Non-Smoking: Yes! |
| Wheelchair Accessible: Yes! |
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