Chapters 22 and 23 Summary and Analysis

By 1789, Antoinette was urging her husband to get the court far away from Paris, which was just a couple hour's walk from Versailles. The lawlessness and animosity toward the royal family grew every day and she feared they would be kidnapped or killed. Her fears were not unfounded, for a mob of Parisians marched to Versailles and stood outside the palace demanding that the king come to Paris. The king addressed the crowd and said he would come to Paris, but only with his family.

In chapter twenty-three, Erickson describes the family's move into the Tuileries, a dilapidated old palace in Paris that was quickly made inhabitable. Sentiment against Antoinette was at a peak among the outspoken Parisians, and they were now closer than ever, surrounding the Tuileries and mocking her whenever she came in sight. The family lived...