Catriona Seth rexamines what Marie Antoinette’s letters can reveal about the life and character of the doomed Queen of France
Marie Antoinette is a historical figure who has been much mythologised – as callous, superficial, extravagant and out of touch with reality. But if we go back to the original sources and examine her own letters, what kind of woman emerges? Speaking to Ellie Cawthorne, Catriona Seth reveals what the Queen of France’s correspondence can tell us about her life and character – from her early years as a teenaged royal bride, to her eventual downfall in the French Revolution.