The Washington times., 1933-04-11

meets the street, but
SAA"E"H SGA"hS she is at least comprehensive. The
older bographers went through the silly process of falling
in love with their heroine and usually with her least at
tractve traits; Zweg is in love with the whole complex
life in which she moved and particularly in love with
Marie Antonete of the few proofs in history that
human beings rise to the demands of their destiny
Like a Play
Some fifty thousand people already have this book,
since it is choice of the Book of the Month Club and
1t is having good PRESS that throwing bouquets in it's
direction wasted effort AS recommendation to the gen.
era reader all that needs to be said is that the book has
the peculiar quality which sometimes to you at
performance of wellremembered play-wher in your
heart you want to Hamlet not to fence with Laertes
or are in despair at Lears blindness to Cordea So you
know that the flight of Louis and Marie Antonete is
going to end in disaster you the disaster preparing;
ana you live in fear, although you know the end. This
Is the way in which book have life of its own,
and zweigs biography has it in the highest
Freud and Fact
This is one of series of biographies which Zweig has
been writing, by far the best of he carrying out all
the pledges given in the others. The author is
stranger Vienna which MEANS in literarybographcal
circles stranger to the works of Sgmund Freud who
himself the subject of of the studies in Mental
Healers" (the others Mesmer and our own Mary
Baker Eddy) Yet it is not much Freud fact that
directs the analysis Of Marie Antoinette life Zweg sets
down the fact that for her marrageto the
hlng OF France was no more than ceremony, the
tuaity did not exist and the somber duness of Louis and
the frvoy of Marie Antonette both stemmed from this
misfortune 1t is fact skfuly drawn from the mystifi
cations of history that shows the Swede Fersen as the
actual lover of the and gives powerful emotion
to the account of her last days at the palace These
the two revelations of the book and it is amusing to
note that they were perfectly well understood $50 years
ago.
Zweig has Succeeded remarkably in keeping the French
Revolution moving back and forth in his animated pic
ture bringing it to the threshold of Marie Antonetes
silly little life when it touched her, letting it recede when
it became squabbe of fanatics and politicians and then
releasing again that around at the
end BY doing this he has placed his heroine not only in
perspective but in her position tragic character He
has not tried to endear her with the shabby sen
mentality of wigmakers and dressmakers who wrote
pretty little lies about her. Instead he has powerfully
suggested without stressng the poin) that
peopleperhaps ourseves-can grow great in adversty
Who Fell So Far?
I think that of the things which makes this book
engrossing is the feeling all have that world has
crashed about the feeling that have lost little
playthngs uxures and carelessness. We have,
then, placed higher than any of have
been she young she beautiful, she had endless
wealth (snce the whole wealth of France might be d-
verted to her uses) she had devoted lover, she had
power, and she stupid that she to
have dreamed that her world could end. Who of has
ever been so protected from time?
:, She fell. Everything lost. Her son was taken
from her and turned against her. uterng in childish
voice the most horrible accusations. She foully
Jailed faced mobs stood trial before packed jury and
was beheaded. Her last days were those of great
woman If this is the average" the world is nober
place than most of have had any reason to believe
Viking Press