Abundance, a Novel of Marie Antoinette - by Sena Jeter Naslund (Paperback)

About the Book

From the author of "Ahabs Wife" and "Four Spirits" comes her most astonishingwork yet--a portrait of a young queen called Marie Antoinette.

From the Back Cover

Marie Antoinette was a child of fourteen when her mother, the Empress of Austria, arranged for her to leave her family and her country to become the wife of the fifteen-year-old Dauphin, the future King of France. Coming of age in the most public of arenas, she warmly embraces her adopted nation and its citizens. She shows her new husband nothing but love and encouragement, though he repeatedly fails to consummate their marriage and in so doing is unable to give her a child and an heir to the throne. Deeply disappointed and isolated in her own intimate circle, and apart from the social life of the court, she allows herself to remain ignorant of the country's growing economic and political crises, even as poor harvests, bitter winters, war debts, and poverty precipitate rebellion and revenge. The young queen, once beloved by the common folk, becomes a target of scorn, cruelty, and hatred as she, the court's nobles, and the rest of the royal family are caught up in the nightmarish violence of a murderous time called "the Terror."

Sena Jeter Naslund offers a dramatic reimagining of this truly compelling woman that goes far beyond the popular myth.

Review Quotes

"ABUNDANCE is intelligent, beautifully written, and uncomfortably relevant, and Naslund makes her heroine convincing and even sympathetic." - Boston Globe
"Readers of serious historical fiction will revel in it." - Booklist (starred review)
"Naslund recreates Marie so sympathetically that we can't help aching for the queen." - Washington Post
"Hypnotically intimate...With vivid detail and exquisite narrative technique, Naslund exemplifies the best of historical fiction." - Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Lush with description and deep with historical detail...Marvelous." - Library Journal
"The portrait that emerges is sympathetic but realistic...Absorbing." - Columbus Dispatch
"An enthralling work of fiction, one that captures the details of a family reign and a time period long gone." - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"Intimate experiences and thoughts run beautifully rampant through the pages...[a] smart delicious lesson in history." - Fort Worth Star-Telegram
"Naslund uses her words as if they were a camera to record life in late 18th century France." - Sunday Denver Post
"Both a realistic and romantic novel (with) immediately engaging characters...offers a rich, panoramic depiction of an age." - Raleigh News & Observer
"An absorbing, detailed read." - Buffalo News
"With skillful dialogue Naslund re-creates a time and place fresh and fearsome." - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
"Hypnotically intimate. . . . With vivid detail and exquisite narrative technique, Naslund exemplifies the best of historical fiction, finding the woman beneath the pose, a queen facing history as it rises up against her." - Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"A wealth of period details...even the most cynical reader will wish for a last-minute pardon." - Christian Science Monitor
"Perceptive and literate." - Richmond Times-Dispatch
"Naslund's writing is rich with minute details that put the reader into the world of Versailles. A page-turner." - Birmingham News
"Intensive historical inquiry enables Naslund to re-create Marie Antoinette's life with empathy and irresistibly piquant detail." - Seattle Times
"Fascinating...A richly detailed look at the doomed queen." - Seattle Post-Intelligencer
"Sumptuous...gripping...beautifully poignant. If you read one book about Marie Antoinette, let it be Sena Jeter Naslund's." - USA Today
"If you read one book about Marie Antoinette, let it be Sena Jeter Naslund's gripping, gabby and beautifully poignant novel. Naslund's writing is sumptuous and personal, and she manages to make that most remote of subjects--an 18th century queen--relatable to modern times. You know how her story ends. But the journey is so abundant with joy, grief and all those ordinary events that make up our lives, you'll lose your head reading about it." - USA Today
"Naslund mixes historical observation with delight and tension that makes it hard not to turn the page." - San Diego Union-Tribune
"Exceptional...A richly detailed portrait of an opulent, turbulent time. 4 stars." - People
"Scrupulously researched and vividly presented . . . it's an irresistible story and Naslund handles its big moments with impressive assurance." - Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Enchanting...Opulent and fabulous, as encrusted with detail as one of Marie's shimmering dresses...a complete page turner. Grade: A" - Entertainment Weekly
"Opulent. . . . Recreates the glories of Versailles and the political malice that wafts through its many doorways." - Daily News
"The novel is abundant, full of color and detail. . . . An engaging portrait of one of history's bright-colored butterflies." - Atlanta Journal-Constitution