The Marie Antoinette Romances, Vol 3: The Queen's Necklace (Version 2)
Author(s): Alexandre Dumas, Henry L. Williams
Genre(s): Action & Adventure Fiction, Crime & Mystery Fiction, Fantastic Fiction
Narrators: John Van Stan
Number of Chapters: 95
Length: 16 hours and 40 minutes
Language: English
This 3rd volume of the Marie Antoinette Romances begins a decade after the close of "The Mesmerist’s Victim” and is based on a real scandal in Louis XVI’s court, commonly called “The Diamond Necklace Affair.” In this volume, the plotting of a powerful occultist, Count Cogliostro (or “Balsamo”), collides with the long-festering resentments of a previous royal house, Jeanne de Valois (de la Motte), a growing popular movement for sociopolitical reform, and a shrinking supply of bread. It is easy to see how converging sociopolitical challenges can threaten the monarchy, but how can the court of Louis XVI overcome these challenges amidst a famine? After all, in the words of his economic advisor, Turgot de l'Aulnes, “Ne vous mêlez pas du pain” (One must not meddle with bread)! - Summary by jvanstan