I’m almost through reading the superb new bio Queen of Fashion, which explains Marie Antoinette and the French Revolution in terms of clothing, hairstyles and accessories. I wish all history were thus laid out before me!
But the author, an otherwise smart and wary historian, repeats the old urban legend that Marie Antoinette’s hair went white from fright during her three-day flight to Varennes! As we all know, such a thing is not possible unless she had her hairdresser and a bucket of bleach in the carriage with her. Very disappointed that historians repeat such nonsense without stopping to think first, “gee, is this even physically possible?” (Yes, that’s my four-star review on Amazon).
Other than that, terrif book.