This book, written by a woman who was a part of Marie Antionette's household from her introduction to Versailles almost until her imprisonment in the Temple, will break your heart in a hundred ways. The portrait of Marie Antoinette that Campan creates is of a good hearted not terribly well-educated but sincere young woman thrown into a circumstance that no one could have succesfully negotiated. Campan was in the room when Marie Antoinette received the letter that instigated "The Diamond Necklace Affair" and in that instance, and in many others, testifies to Marie Antoinette's unfailing honesty. She also describes how, once the royal family had been removed to the Tuilleries Palace, Marie Antoinette's inner circle (including the tragic Princesse de Lamballe) rallied around her, even attempting to physically protect her from a crowd that once burst into the palace and systemically lambasted the Queen as she sat, calmly, behind a table while the crowd of women filed past regaling her with whatever verbal abuse they could come up with. Any interference from the Queen's actual gaurds was viewed as being too inflammatory so MA sat behind a table while her friends stood close by ready to interfere should the Queen be attacked.
