New Giveaway: The Queen's Confession by Victoria Holt

I have 1 used paperback copy (cover differs from image below) up for grabs!  Please note that Victoria Holt is actually Jean Plaidy (the Godmother of Historical Fiction). 

To enter the giveaway please leave a comment with your email.  Also, I would LOVE to hear your thoughts on Marie Antoinette:  spoiled royal or tragic figure?



SYNOPSIS:  The unforgettable story of Marie Antoinette, from her pampered childhood in imperial Vienna, to the luxury and splendor of her days as Queen of France, to her tragic end upon the scaffold in the bloodbath of the Revolution . . .


This giveway open to domestic and international entries. 

Giveaway ends on:  December 28th



GOOD LUCK!!!





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70 comments:

  1. Certainly she was a tragic figure, but I think much of the tragedy was a result of her being so spoiled and self-centered. I listened to the audio book Abundance and was pretty much turned off by her pettiness. I'm sure I need to read other novels about her to possibly get a different perspective. Thanks for the giveaway opportunity.

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  2. I would love a chance to win this book. I haven't read a lot about Marie Antoinette, but from what it sounds like to me I would consider it a tragedy.

    joannelong74 AT gmail DOT com

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  3. I have to agree w/ Linda as far as her being tragic because of her spoiledness. She had such an intelligent mother, so it is surprising she didn't educate or prepare her daughter for the life she knew she would someday lead.

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  4. I think she was somewhat misinterpreted by history. As always the winners write the tale. I also think she was just a child when she went into a court with no controls.
    thanks
    kaiminani at gmail cot com

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  5. I haven't read much about her, but she certainly is a tragic figure. She was probably quite spoiled though.
    amandarwest@gmail.com

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  6. Great contest.
    I think that Marie is a spoiled royal and tragic figure. She wanted too much and too soon. Let them eat cake! very spoiled even if it didn't happen.


    Nina.happyendings@yahoo.co.uk

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  7. I haven't read much about her but I think she is a tragic figure.

    crimson_haze(at)hotmail(dot)com

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  8. No need to enter me - I have it in hardcover :) I loved this book so much! It's my absolute favorite on Marie Antoinette. I think she was more a product of circumstances than a spoiled monarch and this is played up in Plaidy's novel (well, Holt) ;)

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  9. Tragic figure.

    linds84@gmail.com

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  10. I also think that Marie was a spoiled royal and tragic figure and it upsets me that people believe lines that she never said such as "let them eat cake!" and which have only maligned her persona thru history. My first historical novel about her was this one, by Holt, a story that stayed with me forever. So far every novel I’ve read about Marie Antoinette has moved me deeply and has always left me with more questions than I can handle, especially about her children’s fate. It brakes my heart to think about the little Dauphin's fate under the cruel Simon the Cobbler, and ‘till now I don’t know exactly if princess Marie-Therese went to live an incognito life or what? The Queen's Confession makes a great story to read.

    Great giveaway Amy, no need to enter me since I do have a copy. Thank you!

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  11. I think she was a little bit of both. It would be nearly impossible to be royal and not at all spoiled. I don't think that she had to die, though. That's what makes her tragic.

    Rachelhwallen@gmail.com

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  12. I read many of Holt's books back in the 60's and 70's. This should be a good read!

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  13. I think the common popular image of her is unfortunately and inaccurately negative. A pawn of her family, at 13 she had to take her place in a foreign court as wife of the future king. Not unusual during that time. She attempted to change the court structure and make things a bit less formal. Court intrigue spread rumors and untruths about her and what she was doing. I don't think she was the spoiled, totally out of touch person she has been portrayed.
    Have enjoyed Victoria Holt and Jean Plaidy's books for years. Would love to have this one.
    librarypat at comcast dot net

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  14. I cannot imagine being taken from my homeland at the young age of 15/16 and pushed into the cold French court with a husband that would rather hunt than make love:}
    I think I would have been much more wild than the tales spun about Marie...ohh la la

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  15. FYI Amy...I've added this contest to my sidebar...hope this helps, Roberta

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  16. I think she's some of each. The royals were spoiled, they had no idea... but she was tragic, too.
    Thanks for the giveaway.

    s.mickelson at gmail dot com

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  17. Honestly I think she is more of a tragic figure at first [what with her mum forcing her into a marriage and herself trying to make Louis want her] then as she realized how much her worries can be erased by her pleasures [ie shopping sprees, gambling, and other extravagant means] she became more of a spoiled rotten royal. She could have anything that she wants with just a snap of her finger.

    rubs.escalona [at] gmail.com

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  18. A spoiled royal yet an innocent tragic. I believe many females that would be placed in Antoinette's situation would act in a similar fashion. She just happened to wake up to reality a little too late.

    julitastudio(at)gmail(dot)com

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  19. I think when speculating about Marie Antoinette one has to try and remember the age in which she lived.
    To us she may seem like a tragic figure and a spoiled one but that could probably have been said about any royal personage over hundreds of years.

    I only get suspicious when someone tries to portray a royal as a selfless, humanitarian. That is something that probably never was.

    Also revoilution throughout the ages has always resulted in tragedy for the ruling group and probably always will even in the next millenium. The Tsar and his family was just such a tragedy.

    We may not have any absolute rulers and powerfull royal houses these days but we have the modern day equivalents and our feelings are still the same about them,only now they are movie stars, polititians and business moguls.

    Carol


    buddytho {at} gmail DOT com

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  20. I have not read anything about Marie Antoinette! Would love to be entered for this book!

    Thank u Amy!

    givingreadingachance AT gmail.com

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  21. First of all, don't enter me as I already own this book (for years). I just had to stop by and comment though because I loved this book! I read it years ago and kept it (as I do most of my books) because I plan to read it again someday! Also, I had no idea that holt was Jean Plaidy...OMG...that is thrilling =o)

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  22. Hi! I believe Marie Antoinette was a bit of both options. That she ended as a tragic figure, but she was also a spoiled royal. Most of the royalty was spoiled, though, back then...

    carianmoonlight at gmail dot com

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  23. Please enter me in the contest, I would like to read this book. Shades of gray, neither black nor white, I think Marie Antoinette was both a spoiled royal and a tragic figure, who, tragically, only really grew up when it was too late.

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  24. Spoiled royal, however tragically misunderstood. Thank you for this chance.

    knittingmomof3 (AT) gmail (DOT) com

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  25. Thank you so much for this giveaway.
    I am leaning heavily towards tragic.

    libneas[at]aol[dot]com

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  26. What fun! My email is:
    waztootie@googlemail.com
    Poor Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna! :)

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  27. She is a mix of both. lol

    gahome2mom/at/gmail/dot/com

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  28. Please enter me... I have not read a lot about Marie Antoinette but I would have to say abit tragic and spoiled and all the strong and powerful women who cam before and after, a pawn of men to be used how they see fit!!!

    momkelly2003@yahoo.com

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  29. I believe that she was both a spoiled royal and a tragic figure. Definitely a fascinating person. Please include me in the giveaway.

    Thanks!

    heatherzilla@care2.com

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  30. I would say tragic. Thanks for the chance.

    simplystacieblog at gmail dot com

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  31. I am a history buff and have not read much about Marie Antoinette and think this book would be a great start.

    I think she is a little of both though how one acts in adulthood is typically formed as a child.

    Kristen

    militarygrrl@gmail.com

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  32. I would love to read this book. I am doing a history esasay on Marie Antoinette and getting a fictional point of view on her story might make it more interesting to research the facts. :) Thanks!

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  33. I would like to be included in the draw for this book, firstly because I am a new Jean Plaidy fan,(presently working my way through the Plantagenet series), and secondly am not very au fait with the life of Marie Antoinette.
    Have chosen as one of my books for the Historical Reading Challenge for next year - The Hidden Diary of Marie Antoinette by Carolly ERICKSON.

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  34. What a great giveaway! I don't know much about Marie Antoinette that I didn't see in the recent movie about her staring Kirsten Dunst. :/ So this book would be a good read for me! My e-mail is mycreativeimagination (at) yahoo (dot) com

    Thanks, Amy!

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  35. Marie Antoinette was ahead of her time if you want to think about it. She was the mother of the Feminism movement then. what was good for the goose was Great for her too!


    Usagi_21@hotmail.com

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  36. I think she was a little bit of both -spoild and tragic.

    Great giveaway!!

    My e-mail:
    anniesbooks(at)hotmail(dot)com

    Thanks!

    Annie...

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  37. Soryy!!! I put my mail wrong!! (how silly is that??)

    It's:

    anniesbooks(at)hotmail(dot)es

    Sory, sory sory!!

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  38. She is definitely one misunderstood historical figure, unfortunately. I feel bad for her.

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  39. I would LOVE to read this! Great giveaway :)

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  40. This book sounds intriguing. I'd certainly love to read it.

    I would say she was a tragic figure.

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  41. Ooh, I would love to be entered.

    caramellunacy at gmail

    As to Marie Antoinette - I think she's a bit of both spoiled royal and tragic figure. She was certainly pampered at the French court (I mean, she has her own faux-pastoral hamlet!), but I think she had a tough time fitting in when she came to France, trouble with her husband who largely ignored her, and constant letters from her powerful, but overbearing mother.

    Plus, as thoughtless toward expense and the troubles of the peasants as she might have been - I think guillotining is enough to make anyone's story tragic. Particularly when a mother is torn from her children in that manner!

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  42. I think she was a tragic figure (I've been influenced by the movie though). She was surrounded by wealth and privilege and really had no say in the direction her life would take. She was a pawn in the power games of her country and her mother and really had no purpose other than to produce children. She probably had little education and was taught to beieve that she had been born to rule over lesser people. Who knows what that would do to anyone not strong enough to see beyond the tight circles of royalty?

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  43. Please enter me into the contest.

    Hmmmm. Marie Antoinette - tragic figure, I'd say. I guess it was just the environment she was brought up in; everything was always provided for her.

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  44. I would probably say tragic-but I really do not know enough about her.

    chocolate and croissants at yahoo dot com

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  45. Sounds like a fascinating book. I think Marie was quite tragic. She was raised in a way that molded her personality. Yes, she was spoiled rotten royalty, but was that really her fault...but in the end it was the death of her.

    jasmyn9[at]hotmail[dot]com

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  46. I think she is an interesting combination of spoiled royal and tragic figure - a poor little rich girl, how unpleasant to live your life in the french court without a second of privacy throughout your life. A roomful of "court" while you are in childbirth. However, being so completely oblivous to the suffering of your people definitely feeds the spoiled royal image.

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  47. I think she became tragic as she was spoilt from birth almost. As Michelle said she was oblivious to what was happening around her and was so isolated from life that it is surreal.

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  48. We are all a product of our experiences, and Marie's life was a series of protected, isolated, carefully orchestrated experiences. The tragedy is that she could have been so much more, at a time when France needed her to be more. The French Court was so full of pomp and protocol, I think to a degree she couldn't help what she was. Victim? Possibly. Totally unprepared to be a leader? Certainly. As a younger daughter of a large family, it was never expected that she would marry so high (nor would she have, were it not for the untimely demise of older sisters).
    I can't help but defend her, given her circumstances, lack of preparation, weak husband, and restraints of court life.
    My verdict: Tragic heroine.
    melanieglade AT gmail DOT com

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  49. Definitely tragic figure. I'd love to read this novel!
    e-mail address:
    learnonline.mgs@gmail.com

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  50. I view her as mostly a tragic figure. She was a pawn in men's games, as most women were back then.

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  51. Sorry, I forgot to include my email:

    teddyr66 at yahoo dot com

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  52. I would really love to win this book. I think she was more tragic than spoiled. She was so young and unprepared for the role she took on.

    ~Briana
    thebookpixie[at]yahoo[dot]com

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  53. Would love to be entered for this book and I would definitely say she was a tragic figure.

    Marie
    utah91960[at]yahoo[dot]com

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  54. Hello! Please enter me in this contest.

    I would have to say that Marie was both- A spoiled royal and a tragic child. Of course, no one is perfect.


    aqua_lily13@hotmail.com

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  55. justpeachy36@yahoo.com

    Please enter me in the giveaway.

    I have always loved reading about Marie Antoinette. I think she had a very difficult time with a difficult husband, who for most intents and purposes wanted nothing to do with her.

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  56. Definitely spoilt - royal, privileged, rich she couldn't really have been anything else.

    But on a more human level she seems to have been kind and caring to her own family. Maybe with a better education she would have been more sympathetic and understanding of what the starving masses were suffering. Though just understanding doesn't necessary mean she could have changed anything.

    eshchory[at]gmail[dot]com

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  57. Me please!
    I think MA is a tragic figure. Yes she is a bit spoiled, but that was how she was raised. When that is all you know, and the only way people will treat you, well then you are being set up to fail.
    Her husband on the other hand was a complete idiot! He should have taken more interest in his country and how it should be run. No sympathy for him whatsoever!

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  58. A fascinating historical figure! It would be truly wonderful to win a copy of this book... :)
    ~S.

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  59. Please enter me in this giveaway!

    I think Marie Antoinette was a spoiled royal, which is why the citizens of France began to question her behavior and despised her endless pursuit of pleasure and extravagences.

    saemmerson at yahoo dot com

    Sarah Emmerson

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  60. I would love to win this book!

    I think Maria Antoinette was a spoiled royal, but there was something tragic about her as well. People that go to such excesses are usually trying to mask their true feelings, or make up for some short comings.

    vvperesk@gmail.com

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  61. Great giveaway! I think Marie Antoinette is such a fascinating character because she was much reviled. But I think she was just a sad and lonely person.

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  62. I would love to enter in this giveaway..

    From whatever I have read about her I feel she is definitely a tragic figure and circumstances did play a role.

    Thank u AMy

    shweta8416[at]yahoo[dot]co[dot]in

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  63. Most of my knowledge comes from Antonia Fraser's biography of her, so I've always viewed her as a woman with a good heart and a desire to do well, but just unable to truly understand what was needed of her.

    I also think a lot of the things that infuriated people (then and now) about her just aren't true, like the affair of the diamond necklace and the "let them eat cake." The things and extravegances that she actually had are disappointing, but hardly unusual for royalty of the time.

    Marie Antoinette got a bad rap.

    Also, I like her because we share the same initials (MA) and I've stolen her intwined MA cipher as my own for my personalized cards. I have no idea how weird that is.

    Please put me in the list for this book! m[dot]ashton[dot]phillips[at]gmail[dot]com!

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  64. Tragic figure who's been overly villified.

    readingwoman219(at)gmail.com

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  65. I would love to win this book. I haven't read enough about Marie Antoinette to have an opinion.

    spav05@gmail.com

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  66. Spoiled rich girl, that's what she is. walkerd@primus.ca

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  67. Would love to win this book. Please accept my entry. Thanks!
    Definitely a tragic figure. Yes, she was spoiled, after all she was royalty. But how many choices in life did she really have beyond what to wear? She was a child & a pawn.
    Thanks for the great gveaway!

    gevin13{at}gmail{dot}com

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  68. I am sure she was spoiled also, but I believe she was truly a tragic life. I have always enjoyed reading about her and her life.

    Judy (magnolias_1@msn.com)

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