Name: Jeni Enjaian's review of The Bad Queen by Carolyn Meyer
Item: The Bad Queen
Rating: 2
Author: Jeni Enjaian

Carolyn Meyer

Drowning her unhappiness in luxurious parties and scandalous fashions when she falls short of impossible court standards and expectations, Marie-Antoinette incites the wrath of her impoverished French subjects and her disapproving mother. By the award-winning author of Doomed Queen Anne.

Rules and Instructions for Marie-Antoinette

The Bad Queen

Jeni Enjaian

Convicted of plotting against her cousin Queen Elizabeth I of England and awaiting execution in 1587, Mary Stuart, queen of Scotland, recounts her life story, including how she became a widow at age 18 and her brutal campaign to regain her sovereignty after being stripped of her throne. 25,000 first printing.

The Days and Nights of Mary, Queen of Scots

The Wild Queen

jess

i thought this was a very comprehensive and engaging tale of queen mary's life. i enjoyed it so much - i couldn't stop reading. i loved how historically immersive it was - i can't speak much for the historical accuracy, but i feel that it was really good in that regard. mary had a distinct voice that i loved to read. she was commanding but not arrogant, and emotional but not whiny, which is hard to master. 

i also like how the author handled the fact that history had an extremely small name bank to choose from. also, the fact that mary had four attendants/friends ... all of whom were named mary ...

Cassidy

The French Revolution is one of my favorite time periods to learn about. I have read many books and seen movies about this time period. This novel is one of the best historical fiction novels I've read about this selfish queen. It takes the reader from Marie leaving her home to her becoming Queen of France, to when she is captured be the French people and sent to her death. Carolyn Meyer never disappoints me.

Mary Stuart became Queen of Scots before she could even talk. She was pressured her whole life to follow the rules flawlessly,even when she didn't know them. Mary eventually broke out and took control of her won life, and this novel shows the rewards and consequences of her actions that shocked the world.

Everything I said about another of Carolyn Meyer's books, "Cleopatra Confesses," holds true for this book as well.

The title of this book, "The Wild Queen," with the exception of one or two mentions in the narrative, feels wildly inappropriate for the protagonist as portrayed by Meyer. I have read plenty about Mary, Queen of Scots, before, both fiction and nonfiction. This book ranks dead last in all I have read about her.

I do not recommend this book at all.

Unfortunately, once again, Meyer's attempt to write a novel about a famous queen falls flat. Although Meyer tells the book from Marie Antoinette's point of view, the reader never really learns much about her. She looks back on excesses in contrite hindsight but never seems to actually learn her lesson.

Then at the end when Meyer switches the narrative from Marie Antoinette to her daughter, I lost interest altogether, finishing the book only because a little over 50 pages remained.

I do not recommend this book at all.

Jeni Enjaian &
The Bad Queen by Carolyn Meyer

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Jeni Enjaian &The Bad Queen by Carolyn Meyer

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Jeni Enjaian &
The Bad Queen by Carolyn Meyer