I should have written sooner; I knew this would happen. I finished the second book, The Queen’s Necklace, of Dumas’ Marie Antoinette series a few days ago, and immediately picked up the third and final book. At the time I thought about making a few notes about the second book so I could write up a little something on it, but laziness prevailed- the same laziness that keeps me reading when I come across an extremely meaningful quote that I want to make note of. It never fails; I come across a profound piece of writing and think to myself- now there! that is something you can sink your teeth into. And repeatedly I tell myself to grab a pen and jot down the page number so I can easily reference it. Yet I never do. I stupidly assume, EVERY TIME, that I will be able to recall the page number at a later date. And I always find myself, either hours or days later, furiously trying to find that page. I’ve lost track of an infinite number of poignant passages that way. Now this laziness has cost me some really good thoughts on the second book. I’m confused as to where the second book ended and the third began.
In any event, as I had previously mentioned, the second book started off a little disappointingly for me. It wasn’t that it was necessarily slow in action, but the characters didn’t seem to have the realistic depth that they did in the first. Granted this book introduced some new characters into the mix and they didn’t appeal to me like the original cast in the first book; unfortunately the original gang didn’t grab me like before either. All in all, the first two-thirds of the book created a rather bleak state of ennui, but luckily the end packed a hearty punch that grabbed my attention. It quickly gained momentum, and in hindsight I suppose the lackluster beginning was all preparation laying the ground work for a fast paced ending.
In this book we continue to follow the French monarchy and are introduced to some of the characters that lay the foundation for the revolution. The Queen’s Necklace seems to portray a more sympathetic account of the monarchy, including Marie Antoinette, whereas the third book, so far, seems to give more insight into the revolutionaries and spirit behind them. I suppose in this way, Dumas gives the reader a historical novel that lends sympathy to both sides of the struggle. The books shed light on the good and evil on both sides scrambling for power. There are heroes and villains interspersed equally. Neither side is completely right or wrong; it’s simply a case of survival of the fittest, the cleverest, and ultimately, the most successful.
I find myself cheering for both sides- chanting with Billot and Pitou for freedom from oppression while simultaneously feeling sorry for Marie and Louis, and vainly hoping they will find some way to escape the direction I know they are head*ing (pardon the uncouth pun).
