The queen's necklace

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Dumas, Alexandre, 1802-1870

Contributor:

Maquet, Auguste, 1813-1888

Standardized Title:

Le collier de la reine. English

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource : multiple file formats

Place of Publication:

Salt Lake City, UT : Project Gutenberg,

Summary:

"The Queen's Necklace" by Alexandre Dumas and Auguste Maquet is a historical novel written in the late 19th century. The narrative delves into the intricacies of French society during the pre-revolutionary period, particularly focusing on events surrounding the infamous Affair of the Necklace scandal involving Marie Antoinette. Key characters include Jeanne de la Motte, who claims noble heritage, and the marshal de Richelieu, among others involved in the tangled web of court intrigues, deception, and aspirations for power and prestige. The opening of the novel features a prologue that introduces a dinner gathering at the home of Marshal de Richelieu in April 1784, where he engages in a comical and contentious dialogue with his maître-d'hôtel over the dining arrangements, which serves as a humorous precursor to the more serious themes of the story. This scene shifts to a somber atmosphere outside, depicting the harsh winter conditions affecting the poor in Paris, before introducing two noble ladies discreetly traveling through the city. Their conversation hints at the struggles within the upper classes and foreshadows the unfolding political manipulations deeply entwined with the lives of individuals such as Jeanne de la Motte, setting the stage for a dramatic intertwining of personal and societal conflicts. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Credits:

Juergen Lohnert, Wilelmina Maillière, and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team

Notes:

Reading ease score: 83.0 (6th grade). Easy to read.

Wikipedia page about this book: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Queen%27s_Necklace

Release date is 2006-12-16