A seemingly endless parade of books, films and television shows have kept Marie Antoinette in the spotlight for over two centuries since her execution in October 1793. For many, she is the ignorant embodiment of foolish, careless, decadent excess, and a deserving example of the terrible fate that on occasion befalls members of the mega-wealthy ruling class who exploit and ignore the needs of those less fortunate than themselves. Meanwhile, for others, she is a source of endless fascination thanks to the flamboyant fashions of her era, the pastel-hued beauty of her surviving residences and, above all, the extraordinary drama of her almost unbelievable riches-to-rags life. She was a complex woman who lived in a remarkable time, and yet she was also a very simple one whose main desire in life was to love and be loved in return.

This engaging and intimate biography of Marie Antoinette takes a fresh look at the story of this most fascinating and misunderstood of queens, exploring her personal tribulations such as her emotionally unfulfilling marriage, rocky friendships and the loss of her children, as well as the series of scandals, mistakes and disasters that took her from the gilded splendour of Versailles to the guillotine.