The Queen's Lover

Product Information

Francine du Plessix Gray then grew up in New York City, and was naturalized a U.S. citizen in 1952. She was a scholarship student at Spence School. She attended Bryn Mawr College for two years, and in 1952 received her B.A. in philosophy from Barnard College, NY. Grieving his lost love in his native Sweden, Fersen begins to sense the effects of the French Revolution in his homeland. Royalists are now targets, and the sensuous aristocratic world of his youth is fast vanishing. Fersen is incapable of realizing that centuries of tradition have disappeared, and he pays dearly for his naïveté, losing his life at the hands of a savage mob that views him as a pivotal member of the ruling class. A “deeply intelligent” and “spellbinding” historical novel of Marie Antoinette on the eve of the French Revolution ( The Washington Post ) Regardless of what society thought—or the ridicule she received for her looks—von der Schulenburg remained devotedly by George’s side for the rest of his life. They were well suited, with the aristocrat Lady Mary Wortley Montagu noting that von der Schulenburg was “so much of [the king's] own temper that I do not wonder at the Engagement between them.” George showered her with peerages, including making her Duchess of Munster in 1714 and Duchess of Kendal in 1719, and her creation as Princess of Eberstein by the Holy Roman Emperor at George’s request may indicate that he had secretly married her. When George died in Hanover in 1727, Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, returned to Britain where her grief was recognized by the new queen: “My first thought, my dear Duchess, has been of you … I know well your devotion and love for the late King … I hope you realize that I am your friend.” 11. Alice Keppel and Edward VII

She soon returned and remained with the king until his death a year later in June 1377. Although Perrers was not responsible for many of the failings of Edward’s government at the end of his reign, the king’s reputation fell from one of respect and authority to someone whose mistress had “such a hold over him that he allowed important and weighty affairs of the realm to be decided on her advice.” 3. Katherine Swynford and John of GauntShe was later persuaded to restart her music career, however on 15 January 2009, it was confirmed that Adebambo had committed suicide, aged 46. It was almost inevitable that Alice would eventually catch the attention of the Prince of Wales, a notorious womanizer who delighted in the company of the wives of other men. They met in February 1898 when he was 56 and she 29, and their affair would last 12 years and make the Keppels wealthy enough to afford numerous houses both in the UK and abroad, in addition to providing for her brother. In return, she was discreet and a good listener, and, according to one contemporary, made the king “a much pleasanter child.” Edward used her to promote his interests with the government; the government in turn used her as an intercessor. One diplomat wrote that, "there were one or two occasions when the King was in disagreement with the Foreign Office, and I was able, through her, to advise the King with a view to the foreign policy of the government being accepted.”

This fact-filled memoir of Count Axel von Fersen’s chapter in Marie Antoinette and King Louis XVI’s life is an interesting read. Her wisest councillor, William Cecil, knows it must be for policy, not for passion; meanwhile, Elizabeth’s uncle hates Dudley and swears he will murder him rather than have him as part of the royal family. Behind the triangle of loves, the factions take up their places: the Protestants, the priests, the assassins, the diplomats and the moneymakers.Philippa is a member of the Society of Authors and in 2016, was presented with the Outstanding Contribution to Historical Fiction Award by the Historical Writers’ Association. In 2018, she was awarded an Honorary Platinum Award by Nielsen for achieving significant lifetime sales across her entire book output.

Educated, interested in learning more, repulsed? Yes, all three of these. Ms. du Plessix Gray spares nothing with her character nor with her writing style to bring this somewhat pivotal individual to life in this book. Whether or not von Fersen slept with Marie Antoinette or not he did have a deep relationship with the royal family and was responsible for the arrangements for their almost escape from France. The idea of Marie Antoinette is one of legend. Her grace. Her beauty. Her charm. There have been many stories told of the young queen- some of truth, some of misquoting. However, what every story told has in common is the inability to deny that she commanded a room in a quiet, powerful way with not just her beauty, but her charisma as well. She is the queen for which men found themselves speechless in her presence, and, because of this, she is the queen of which stories of scandal have surrounded her. Through the untold love story between Marie Antoinette and Swedish aristocrat Axel von Fersen, acclaimed author Francine du Plessix Gray weaves history with romance in a captivating novel that also offers a fresh vision of the French Revolution. This book is a fictional tale of Count Axel Von Fersen of Sweden's memoirs. He was the lover of Marie Antoinette. The book also includes chapters from the point of view of his sister, Sophie. I really liked the telling of this story from the point of view of a memoir. You get a more intimate look at what Von Fersen was feeling and doing throughout the book. It was interesting to get inside his head.Catherine de Valois, daughter of the French king Charles VI, is born into troubled times. Though she is brought up in a royal court, it is a stormy and unstable environment. Before she is out of her teens, Catherine is married off to England's Henry V as part of a treaty honoring his victory over France. She is terrified at the idea of being married to a man who is a foreigner, an enemy, and a rough soldier, and is forced to leave her home for England. The Queen's Lover begins at a masquerade ball in Paris in 1774, when the dashing Swedish nobleman Count Axel Von Fersen first meets the mesmerizing nineteen-year oldDauphine Marie Antoinette, wife of the shy, reclusive prince who will soon become Louis XVI. This electric encounter launches a life-long romance that will span the course of the French Revolution. Louisa was a very good friend of mine. She did so much for the music, she is well missed and so will Jean. Then someone acts in secret, and for Elizabeth, Dudley and the emerging kingdom, nothing will be as planned.

I may be speaking out of turn here, having never published a book,* but I imagine a "best practice" fiction writers may want to follow is to develop characters that readers can't get enough of. Some writers have figured this out on their own, and as such, Atticus Finch isn't a Southern stereotype with nothing to say, Anna Karenina isn't as sparklessly dull as a Siberian winter, and (to throw our reviewed author a bone here) Henry VIII in The Other Boleyn Girl** isn't a kind-hearted, just and caring king with zero spunk. James Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell—commonly known as Lord Bothwell and described by the English Ambassador as a “[vain] glorious, rash, and hazardous young man”— first met Mary in 1560 when she was still Queen of France. Although he was a Protestant, he was a supporter of the Scotland’s Catholic regent, and in 1561 he was appointed to the privy council by the newly widowed Mary on her return to Scotland. Despite being described as having a “near sybbe [close friendship] unto her grace,” there is no evidence that they were lovers at this time—in fact, Mary was said to be besotted by Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, who she married in July 1565. For much of his reign, George I remained unpopular, in no small part thanks to the actions of his mistress, Melusine von der Schulenburg. She had been George’s lover since about 1690, when he was still Elector of Hanover and she was his mother’s maid of honor. George’s marriage was particularly complicated—he had divorced his wife for her infidelity in 1694, five months after the murder of her lover, for which he has remained chief suspect. Count Axel von Fersen is nineteen when he meets an effervescent girl his own age at the Paris Opera in 1774. She is masked, so Fersen does not know the identity of the charming blonde until she is leaving. She lifts her mask for a heartbeat, and he recognizes Marie Antoinette, the future Queen of France. Thus begins The Queen’s Lover, by Francine du Plessix Gray.The Queen and Prince Phillip the Duke of Edinburgh relaxing with their corgis and newspapers at Balmoral in 1975. (Picture: Anwar Hussein/Getty Images) This intimate relationship is quite possibly true but is not the main thrust of Gray's novel. Fersen doesn't even come across as a very likeable or admirable person, never succeeding in any of his attempts to rescue Marie Antoinette from her fate and not even managing to be faithful to her, despite all his protestations that she is the Love of His Life. So, no, this is not really a love story but is rather more an account of international unrest, intrigues and alliances of the time. Sweden, Russia, Britain, Austria, France, Turkey, etc. Who's allied with whom, what's going on internationally during France's revolutionary mess, this is what makes the book somewhat interesting. If, however, the author's intent is to put the French Revolution into a broader international context by using Fersen and his sister Sophie as narrators, she has succeeded, although her style of writing is at times tedious and less successful at making the book an enjoyable read.