Unpublished Letters of Marie Antoinette and Marie-Clotilde of France

What it is

This is a book, published in 1876, containing letters written by Marie Antoinette to Marie-Clotilde of France, sister of Louis XVI and Queen of Sardinia. The letters, in French, were gathered from archives and edited by the Comte de Reiset, with illustrations and facsimiles.

Why it matters

These letters are Marie Antoinette's own words to a member of her husband's family, adding to the primary record of her personal relationships beyond her immediate household. Together with her other surviving correspondence, they help historians understand her family connections and how she communicated across the royal courts of Europe.

Look closer

• Why might letters to a sister-in-law reveal different things than letters to a mother or brother?
• What does the survival and publication of private letters decades later tell you about how historical sources are found?
• What might be missing from a collection of only one side of a correspondence?