PDF Marie Antoinette's Darkest Days: Prisoner No. 280 in the Conciergerie by Will Bashor in History

Review

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. Excellent account of Marie Antoinettes last days.By THOMAS BWell written and researched. A unique book on the final days of a tragic and somewhat misunderstood queen. Heart wrenching description of her being cruelly taken from her children. Final description of her trial and trip to the guillotine in an open cart through the streets of Paris were vivid. I would recommend this book highly to anyone that's interested in this tumultuous time in French history.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Scholarly analysis and lively narrative: brilliantBy wordsandpeaceScholarly analysis and lively narrative combine here to provide us with a magnificent presentation of Marie-Antoinette’s last days. For all history buffs.In Marie Antoinette’s Darkest Days; Bashor’s aim is to document Marie-Antoinette’s last days of imprisonment in the fairest way; helping readers find sense between numerous conflicting accounts; without taking part. He does it brilliantly and I thoroughly enjoyed this book; as much as I did the previous one by the author; on Marie-Antoinette and her hairdresser.This book is based on archived documents and second sources material (from the 18th and 19th centuries). All the quotes have been (correctly!) translated by the author; with the original French text provided by the author in end notes (a total of 43 pages; where you can find all the references alluded to).The former queen was first imprisoned with her children in the Temple prison. Then; her son Louis-Charles was separated from her and incarcerated in worse conditions. After rumors of conspiracy; she was taken to the Conciergerie prison; in the middle of the night. Her main trials also happened by night!Amidst the general hatred towards her; it was interesting to see mentions of goodness and compassionate help given to her; for instance through the prison wardens. Common workers and small merchants even joined forces to organize plots. Along those months; many plots were actually organized to save the queen (even one by a British actress!); but last minute details blocked the plans; as well as originally her refusal to escape without her children.Some scenes (for instance the scene of separation when she was transferred from one prison to the other; and when she was led from la Conciergerie to her place of execution) are recounted in a very lively style. You could easily imagine following the events through your own eyes.There are also amazing descriptions of the horrific conditions of the prisoners in la Conciergerie; which fit what I saw when I visited it myself a few years ago. Add to that the heavy hemorrhaging the queen was constantly suffering from; and the records of cold temperature in France that October; and you understand this was a far cry from Versailles; to say the least!!The author provides a very detailed presentation of the major interrogation series (the first after the Carnation plot; and the other one of course right before Marie-Antoinette’s execution); with everyone involved. Her very long final indictment is analyzed paragraph by paragraph.Here and there; I found interesting tidbits I had not read about; for instance the fees she was charged for book rentals while at la Conciergerie!She spent 76 days in prison; longer than usual for the prisoners of the time; waiting for their execution. Originally; instead of killing her; the idea was to use her as a hostage to exchange for Austria’s ending of the war; going on at the same time!After the execution; the author examines what happened to her children and the other main actors of the story. Plus the whole question of her burial; her disinterment and reburial at Saint-Denis (all the pictures are mine); with the possible questions about the real identity of the remains considered hers.Bashor provides a scholarly; fair; and lively analysis of Marie-Antoinette’s last days; always choosing the “dignity and respect due any human being”.Each chapter ends with some extra material on points of related interest.The narrative is accompanied with beautiful black and white illustrations.After the end notes; one can also find 11 pages of selected bibliography as well as a complete alphabetical index.All these fascinating data should help you get a glimpse at Marie-Antoinette’s real portrait. She was mostly used as a political pawn; from her early years; when her mother sent her to be married to a Bourbon; hoping to strengthen an alliance with Austria’s enemy. Political parties still tried to use her image after her death.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Learning about Marie Antoinette!By Jessica JohnsonI will admit I do not know much at all about Marie Antoinette. I read a fiction book with an alternate history about her that piqued my curiosity in regard to her life(Insatiable: A Macabre History of France by Ginger Myrick). Darkest Days does not deal with her whole life; it focuses on the last few months of her life; specifically her 76 days in the Conciergerie.Will Bashor obviously did his homework! He researched this topic very well and was able to provide specific details of Marie Antoinette’s “life” in the Conciergerie. It wasn’t much of a life. Her husband was executed; her children taken away from her; and subpar living quarters with no privacy. Her health went downhill during her time in the Conciergerie. Regardless of your opinion of Marie Antoinette; her last days her horrible. As she left the Conciergerie for the guillotine; she was mistreated even then. It was a horrible way to end a life. I felt sorry and sad for her. You also learn about plans to rescue her that failed.Will Bashor writes the book in form of a novel which made it easy to read. Some historical books can be dry and flat; but at times this book was hard to put down. I also enjoyed seeing the pictures and maps provided in the book: that made some things in the book seem more real as the book was being read.Reasons the book could not be given 5 stars:The book doesn’t seem meant to be read in e-reader form:-It was hard to read on a kindle as I wasn’t easily able to go back and forth to look at the map then read the description of places in the map.-Footnotes in the book were in the middle of paragraphs which broke the flow of reading.-There were several paragraphs where the paragraph was one sentence. The sentences were not necessarily run on sentences; but those long sentences make it hard to read the book. I had to read some paragraphs multiple times because of this.(Please note: My copy was an electronic ARC- so maybe these will be corrected by the publication date).If you are a fan of French history or even Marie Antoinette; check this book out. Despite the issues mentioned above; I do recommend the book.I received a copy from NetGalley that I voluntarily read.