Marie Antoinette et le collier de la mort

BASIC INFO	LANGUAGE LEVEL	COMPREHENSION-AIDING FEATURES
Book Title Marie Antoinette et le collier de la mort (Marie Antoinette and the Necklace of Death) Author Diane Touchet Illustrators Cover Art by Kristy Placido Photo credits: Donna Tatum-Johns, Lydia Smith, Tiffanie Elrod, Vaughan Other Contributors Edited by Carol Gaab and Donna Tatum-Johns Published by Fluency Matters (Wayside Publishing) Publication date 2020 Genres Historical Fiction; Mystery and Adventures	From the back cover Level 2+ (This text uses passé composé instead of passé simple.) Total Word Count 5475 words, 225 unique word count	Illustrations YES Glossary YES Guiding Questions NO Context NO Other NO

IDENTITIES PRESENT IN THE TEXT		SYNOPSIS
Races White Nationalities French Languages spoken French Sex and Genders Female and male Ages Young Adult: 18-35 Mid-life Adult: 35-65 Senior Adult: 65+ Social classes Upper Class	Sexual Orientation Heterosexual (Dis)Abilities and Neurotypes None disclosed Religions, Syncretism, and Spirituality Catholic (mention of a cardinal) Relationship and Family Structures Heterosexual marriages Body Descriptions “Elle a les cheveux blonds et les yeux bleus. Elle ressemble à la reine” / She has blond hair and blue eyes. She looks like the queen (p. 19). “La comtesse était une très belle femme” / The countess was a very beautiful woman (p. 10).	From the author/publisher’s website In 1772, France’s King Louis XV commissions Parisian jewelers, Messieurs Bassange and Boehmer, to create a diamond necklace. The king dies before he pays for the elaborate and extremely valuable piece, leaving the jewelers strapped for cash and struggling to find a buyer. Convinced by a friend to win back the favor of the queen, Marie Antoinette, Cardinal de Rohan steps up to buy it on her behalf. After a 13-year search, the desperate jewelers think their problem is finally solved… until they find themselves at the center of a scandal that will change the course of history. This tale of greed, deception, and fraud is based on the true story of Marie-Antoinette and the famous necklace scandal.

ILLUSTRATIONS	STORY	SOCIAL JUSTICE
To what extent do the illustrations present positive and thoughtful representations of identities? A map, historical portraits of real people, and photos of places and artifacts are reproduced in black and white. Credit is given to photographers, but no credit is given to the artists of the original paintings used on the cover and throughout the text. Due to its age, the art is in the public domain.	We understand identities are complex and no single story represents the spectrum of identity-based experiences. Also, a text may address a stereotype, misrepresentation, or generalization without relying on it. *Does any stereotype, misrepresentation, or generalization affect any positive and thoughtful representations of identities in the text?* No.	This section is for teachers who are working towards sourcing more texts within the four domains of anti-bias education. We are excited about reading all books and we understand that not all books are written for this specific purpose. *Does this text work toward goals within any of the* four domains of anti-bias education as defined by Learning for Justice? No.

LLLAB’s REVIEW
Set in Paris in 1778, just before the French Revolution, Marie Antoinette et le collier de la mort tells the “scandal of the necklace that ruined the French monarchy” (p. 50). The Affair of the Diamond Necklace was a historic event in which Countess Jeanne de la Motte tricks Cardinal Rohan into purchasing an expensive necklace to gain Queen Marie Antoinette’s favor, but then de la Motte disappears with the precious necklace instead of delivering it to the queen. Although the story is titled Marie Antoinette et le collier de la mort, the queen makes only two appearances in the story. In the first, she declines the king’s gift of the necklace, saying that it could buy “74 navires pour la France” / 74 boats for France (p. 8). The second appearance is when she declares to the jewelers, “Le cardinal ne m’a pas donné de collier” / The cardinal did not give me the necklace (p. 31). Because she has so few appearances in the book, her identity is portrayed via judgments of others and she is reduced to her obsession with luxury to the detriment of the French people. In other words, according to this text, her extravagance is the reason that the French people are poor and suffering. “Tout le monde en France est pauvre à cause de son obsession pour les choses luxueuses. C’est pourquoi la France a beaucoup de taxes! C’est pourquoi les enfants n’ont pas de pain!” / Everyone in France is poor because of her obsession with luxury items. It’s why France has a lot of taxes. It’s why the children don’t have bread! (pp. 3-4). The mastermind behind the deception involving the necklace is Comtesse Jeanne de la Motte, who is described as beautiful and very intelligent. She manipulates her lovers (Cardinal Rohan and Rétaux de Villette), as well as a young woman known as Nicole le Guay, into participating in the scheme. Even after the details of the scandal are revealed at the trial, the public continues to blame the queen for France’s misfortunes: “Elle est innocente! C’est la reine qui est une criminelle!” / She’s innocent! It’s the queen who is a criminal (p. 42). Marie Antoinette et le collier de la mort offers teachers an opportunity to discuss: – Gender roles and stereotypes – Economic and political power structures and dynamics – Public opinion and appearances – Admiration for crimes against the rich and powerful – Who is historically important and whose story deserves to be told? If you are the author of this book and you have feedback, please contact us here. If anything we have written is inaccurate, misleading, confusing, poorly worded, or lacking important context, we would be happy to update our review.

LLLAB’s REVIEW

     Set in Paris in 1778, just before the French Revolution, Marie Antoinette et le collier de la mort tells the “scandal of the necklace that ruined the French monarchy” (p. 50). The Affair of the Diamond Necklace was a historic event in which Countess Jeanne de la Motte tricks Cardinal Rohan into purchasing an expensive necklace to gain Queen Marie Antoinette’s favor, but then de la Motte disappears with the precious necklace instead of delivering it to the queen.

     Although the story is titled Marie Antoinette et le collier de la mort, the queen makes only two appearances in the story. In the first, she declines the king’s gift of the necklace, saying that it could buy “74 navires pour la France” / 74 boats for France (p. 8). The second appearance is when she declares to the jewelers, “Le cardinal ne m’a pas donné de collier” / The cardinal did not give me the necklace (p. 31). Because she has so few appearances in the book, her identity is portrayed via judgments of others and she is reduced to her obsession with luxury to the detriment of the French people. In other words, according to this text, her extravagance is the reason that the French people are poor and suffering. “Tout le monde en France est pauvre à cause de son obsession pour les choses luxueuses. C’est pourquoi la France a beaucoup de taxes! C’est pourquoi les enfants n’ont pas de pain!” / Everyone in France is poor because of her obsession with luxury items. It’s why France has a lot of taxes. It’s why the children don’t have bread! (pp. 3-4).

The mastermind behind the deception involving the necklace is Comtesse Jeanne de la Motte, who is described as beautiful and very intelligent. She manipulates her lovers (Cardinal Rohan and Rétaux de Villette), as well as a young woman known as Nicole le Guay, into participating in the scheme. Even after the details of the scandal are revealed at the trial, the public continues to blame the queen for France’s misfortunes: “Elle est innocente! C’est la reine qui est une criminelle!” / She’s innocent! It’s the queen who is a criminal (p. 42).

     Marie Antoinette et le collier de la mort offers teachers an opportunity to discuss:
– Gender roles and stereotypes
– Economic and political power structures and dynamics
– Public opinion and appearances
– Admiration for crimes against the rich and powerful
– Who is historically important and whose story deserves to be told?

If you are the author of this book and you have feedback, please contact us here. If anything we have written is inaccurate, misleading, confusing, poorly worded, or lacking important context, we would be happy to update our review.

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