(One of history's most misunderstood figures, Marie Antoinette represents the extravagance and the decadence of pre-Revolu-tion-ary France. Yet there was an innocence about Antoinette, who was thrust as a child into the chillingly formal French court. Married to the maladroit, ill-mannered Dauphin, Antoinette found pleasure in costly entertainments and garments. She spent lavishly while her overtaxed and increasingly hostile subjects blamed her for France's plight. In time Antoinette matured into a courageous Queen, who followed her inept husband to the guillo-tine in one last act of bravery. In To the Scaffold, Carolly Erickson provides an estimation of a lost Queen that is psychologically astute, richly detailed, and deeply moving.

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