Sena Jeter Naslund made flesh and blood a boldly original fictional character called "Ahab's wife". Now, she combines rigorous scholarship and blazing imagination to illuminate the life of Marie Antoinette, one of the most courageous—and misunderstood—queens in history.
"Like everyone, I am born naked."
This opening line of Naslund's compelling new novel, a very human Marie Antoinette invites readers to live her story as she herself experiences it. Marie Antoinette was a child of fourteen when her mother, the Empress of Austria, arranged for her to become the wife of the fifteen-year-old Dauphin, the future King of France. The young queen embraces her new family and the French people, and she is embraced in return. She shows her new husband nothing but love and encouragement, though he fails to give her a child and an heir to the throne.
Deeply disappointed and isolated, the queen allows herself to remain ignorant of the country's growing economic and political crises, and the people turn against her. Poor harvests, bitter winters, war debts, and poverty precipitate rebellion and revenge known as "the Terror."
Once again, Sena Jeter Naslund has shed new light on an important moment of historical change. Exquisitely detailed, beautifully written, heartbreaking and powerful, Abundance is a novel that is impossible to put down.
Library Journal
Lush with description and deep with historical detail, Naslund's (Ahab's Wife) latest novel weaves the epic of Marie Antoinette in all her misunderstood glory. Beginning with the ceremony that transforms the Hapsburg archduchess into the dauphine, the story captures a young girl's becoming the product of her circumstances. From her struggles to be diplomatic with her new family and subjects, to her marriage left unconsummated for years, Marie recalls her life in intelligent and mature observations. And when the first tremors of the French Revolution are felt, we see her struggle with her wishes to keep her children and husband safe. Immersing us in the life of the French court at its most vulnerable and decadent time, Naslund's marvelous work is more detailed and has more depth than Carolly Erickson's The Hidden Diary of Marie Antoinette. Highly recommended for all public libraries.
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