Marie Antoinette, Phantom Queen
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
Nominee:
YALSA Great Graphic Novels for Teens
During the 1930s, Maud, an artist, discovers she has a psychic gift. The first signs manifest themselves in the royal gardens of the Trianon where gradually she understands that a woman from the beyond is attempting to communicate with her. The revelation is beyond belief: it is the ghost of Marie Antoinette appearing to her to share a terrible secret that has tormented her for centuries. After being guillotined, the Queen is said to have been thrown into a common grave but then exhumed and buried with her husband, Louis XVI, in the Saint-Denis basilica. Yet the ghost tells Maud that her remains are still in the pit on which a chapel stands today. The queen asks Maud to move her body to the right place so she can finally find peace and no longer haunt people. Part fantastic ghost story, part biography, this is a delicious beautifully illustrated look into French revolutionary history by the artist of the bestselling 'Girl in Dior.'
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This follow up to Goetzinger's YALSA Award winning Girl in Dior is written in collaboration with scripter Rodolphe (the Kenya and Namibia series). It's as lavish in design as the predecessor, though the story, inspired by a true tale, is lightweight. In 1910, the ghost of Marie Antoinette contacts painter Maud, guiding and advising her in skillfully navigating the complicated social structure of the early 20th century. Goetzinger's radiant art outshines the familiar territory of a celebrity ghost story. A quintessential model of modern-day French cartooning, her finely detailed couture, interior decoration, and landscapes complement but never overwhelm the foreground characters. The gorgeous coloring muted, subtle pastels add to the ethereal quality of the story (as during a s ance depicted in shades of black and gray) or its social aspects (an opera scene contrasts gentlemen's ubiquitous black-tie with brilliant emerald and scarlet gowns for the women). This is a clich d and lightweight historical ghost story that's elevated by the sublime artwork.
