By Kristen Krueger-Corrado, Grand Rapids Public Library, Main Branch

I am new to the world of historical fiction, having assumed that it would be similar to a very dry history course full of esoteric facts and dates. I selected Abundance to read because I was interested in seeing the recent film about Marie Antoinette and thought this might be a good primer. Imagine my surprise when I read the entire book (over 500 pages) in one day, dragging myself away from the engrossing story only to eat dinner or to tell my husband to stop talking to me while I was reading. For days afterwards, I delighted him with interesting facts I had picked up until he begged me to stop.

Marie Antoinette gets a bad rap in history textbooks — the frivolous young queen who cares little about her subjects, an attitude that ultimately leads to her demise. But in Abundance, the queen is portrayed in a much more flattering light. The story begins with her marriage to the Dauphin, Louis August, at the age of 14 and chronicles their 22-year marriage, the births of their four children, the fall of their monarchy and their beheadings.

Marie Antoinette was a devout Catholic, dedicated to her family and friends, determined to keep her marriage together and lived to serve the people of France. The book is told in the first person, and it is very evident that while Marie Antoinette had good intentions, she could not even begin to understand the plight of her people. And although I knew how the story would end, I was rooting for her to succeed. Abundance is a good read, but not one to lose your head over.