The Journal of Madame Royale by Elizabeth Powers

This chapter book fictionally describes the life of Louis XVI’s daughter Marie Thérèse, Madame Royale as the eldest daughter of the king and lone survivor of the French Revolution in the king’s immediate family. The events of the French Revolution are chronicled engagingly, drawing the reader into each occurrence and bringing the figures to life. As if the journal of the princess, the story follows the royal family from the marriage of Marie Antoinette to Louis XVI through Marie Thérèse’s marriage to her cousin after being traded to Austria for French prisoners of war. One of the primary sources for the account is the writings of the princess herself, as well as accounts by other relatives and royal servants. “Madame Royale’s” account educates the reader with all the major events of the revolution, including various political events and many results of the revolution. Powers also displays particular strength in portraying the horrors of the bloody revolt without unnecessary gore and in humanizing both the hated king and queen and the tricolor-bearing mob that deposed them.

Although the French Revolution was perhaps one of the most bloody regicides in history, Powers carefully avoided detail unnecessary to children. She does introduce the guillotine and occasionally reveals that the French people did not respect the bodies of the beheaded aristocrats. Yet this era could easily have turned into a horror story for children, and she avoids this danger, often by humanizing the characters.

Because the story is told from the perspective of a royal family member, not much allowance is given to the mob. Nevertheless, there is frequent mention of the crowd’s hunger, citing the nation’s bankruptcy, famine, and even the foreign wars and internal riots that all resulted in food shortages. Once, the people are stated to be following malicious leaders, rather than malicious themselves. This seems to be as much forgiveness as can be given to the murderers.

As for the king and queen, the princess describes their frivolous lifestyle, especially that of the queen, reminding the reader that the royals had been brought up for little else than luxury. Marie Antoinette speaks her repentance after their arrest, wishing too late that she had known and responded to the financial state of the kingdom. Apparently she had a small awareness of the state of the peasants, for the queen shows compassion for the poor and hungry long before the revolution begins. The king also seems willing to help the poor and needy of his countrymen, although completely powerless to do anything about it. He is portrayed as brave, but not wise. On one occasion, he attempts to speak reasonably with the mob, with no success. He is unable to develop a speech which will soothe the angry crowd, and his bodyguards pull him back before the mob attacks him. Powers also describes the piety of faith in the king, his sister, and eventually in Madame Royale.

Because of the excellent account of the French revolution in this book, I would recommend it as a well-written supplement to a study of that historical event for any child able to understand and stomach the dark time. Still, the reading level and content are definitely above beginner.