The Embroidered Book is the story of Marie Antoinette, queen of France, and her sister Charlotte, the queen of Naples. But in the world of this novel, magic is…
This is the first in a weekly summer reading series featuring the work of Ottawa-area authors.Antoine’s gilded carriage rolls to a stop. After two weeks on the road, they have reached the edge of the Habsburg universe: the Rhine.
She kisses the two cousins who have come all this way, playmates from childhood, and they all wipe tears away. She holds her dog Mops to her heart. It hurts to leave him behind, after all. She doesn’t love him — she sacrificed that — but she knows she should, and that is nearly the same. The thin walls are hung with tapestries in rich colours, showing pale faces staring off at something unseen. The tapestries do nothing to warm the air that whistles through the slatted walls.
“I hope in private he will call me Antoine,” she says with her warmest smile. “Do you think that would be all right?”She hesitates, then nods. Is she not here to be pretty and suitable? What does it matter what her name is? Gold is not the prettiest colour on her, but gold means power. Gold means we can. A shining new dress, an enormous dress, conforming to the traditions laid down as gospel by the Sun King.Outside the pavilion’s thin walls, there’s distant thunder and the rumble of men’s voices.Advertisement 7One woman takes her old clothing back out through the German door, to give to the cousins, Antoine’s final gifts to them in gratitude for being her last friends on Habsburg soil.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Mix of sun and cloud with high of 22 C WednesdayLooks like a pretty decent summer day out there
Read more »
Every Breakfast Counts back for fifth year of service (4 photos)The eight-week summer program will feed hundreds of local children every day
Read more »
Bank of Canada's jumbo rate hike set to slow lenders' earnings growthMortgages accounted for about 50% of Canadian banks’ loans book, analysts estimate.
Read more »
AROUND THE GREENS: Local superintendents share the magic of St. AndrewsAs The Open approaches, Wes Gilbertson looks into the rich local history of the Old Course at St. Andrews in Scotland
Read more »