The Lost King of France: How DNA Solved the Mystery of the Murdered Son of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette

Best narrated book I've listened to in a very long time. I wasn't familiar with the story before I bought the book. It is extremely interesting. I wish all history was written in such an engaging way. And the narrator is phenomenal. Listeners know that a bad narrator can ruin a good book; Jennifer Dixon enhances an already good story.

Through these pages, we reach back in history to the tragic little prince who died so alone through no fault of his own, only for being the son of the despised Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI during the French Revolution. He was a sweet, kind child. Through DNA science, we finally know what happened to him. Compelling.

Based on the title "How DNA Solved the Mystery of the Murdered Son of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette" I thought the book would be more on finding the DNA and comparing it. However reading the introduction I realized that someone wouldn't need a whole book to just write on that subject. An article would do fine. And so at the very end of the book in the last chapter, the DNA information gets into detail. The rest of the book is historical information on Louis XVII and his sister and parents especially while they were imprisoned. I had no idea about the situation of Louis XVII's death and I was really horrified and shocked. Being a sensitive person I kinda wish I hadn't read it in that detail. However the writing style was excellent and the book was well researched.

Deborah Cadbury has tackled a two hundred year old historical mystery. She has done anamazing job in laying out the facts, suppositions, and the agony of the players in this story.As I read the story, I realized that history does a really good job in glossing over the atrocities of the past. Generally we do not want to know how great historical moments affect the individuals involved.In the years ensuing the French Revolution, so many men came forward claiming to be Louis-Charles XVII. Each one forced his sister, Marie-Therese, his only surviving family member to relive the horrors of her youth. She refused to acknowledge any of them, at great emotional cost to herself.At long last, the emergent science of DNA was able to solve the mystery of the fate of the Dauphin, Charles XVII.It is an amazing journey Ms. Cadbury takes the reader on. I wept openly several times as I read the book, and strongly endorse it as a "must read."

I have recommended this book so many times since I read it. It beautifully captures France's history and the mystery of the lost king is a bonus. Highly recommend. I couldn't put it down.

The two hundred year mystery of the ultimate fate of the orphaned son of the beheaded monarchs, Marie Antoinette and Louis xvi, is told in this well researched, factual account. The fascinating and heartbreaking story is skillfully layered with sentiment as well as eye witness accounts that illuminate the horrors of the royal family's life, imprisonment, and death at the hands of the ruthless leaders of the French revolution, or Great Terror as it is referred to. Before the death of the young boy in captivity, the supposed 10 year old, orphan king, rumors and fables began to take hold in the minds of not only the French populace, but the known world as a whole that the real prince had been rescued and a substitute child had taken his place in the tower. This firmly held belief gave rise to a barrage of imposters claiming to be the boy king. This book explores all aspects of the story, and follows this mystery for two centuries until its conclusion. Anyone who loves biographical history, or loves a good mystery will enjoy this book and I highly recommend it!

I'm a history buff and I love reading about the French Revolution, so this book was a must. Besides, I had already read about the DNA investigation that finally solved the mystery of Louis XVII's fate, but I didn't know the details, or the full story of his captivity after being separated from his family.The DNA part is very interesting, but what I found really harrowing was the description of the shameful treatment meted out to this little boy whose only fault was to be the son of the despised king and queen (who, by the way, displayed a lot more dignity in their final hours than those who sent them to the scaffold). I agree wholeheartedly with the words of the bishop who, in a small ceremony, blessed the heart on which the DNA tests were conducted. He said that the heart of the small victim was a symbol of all those children who have suffered through the ages - and continue to suffer - because of wars, revolutions, and the cruelty of adults. This kid, seven years old when his father was executed, was locked up in a filthy cell away from his family and friends, regularly abused morally and physically, and referred to in contemporary documents as "the wolf cub" or "the ape's son" (the wolf being Louis XVI and the ape Marie Antoinette, or maybe it was the other way round).I found myself seriously hating people such as Hebert, the despicable pamphleteer who through his libellous paper contributed enormously to the royal family's unpopularity and the little boy's ordeal, or the shoemaker Simon, who brutalized the helpless child entrusted to his "care".However great and good the motives and ideals behind the Revolution - which no one intends to deny -, it led to acts of unspeakable brutality against innocent, defenseless people. How fitting that many of those who committed or instigated them ended their days with the same violence they so easily used against others. And how fitting, also, that this little hapless victim of cruelty and hatred should finally have found, in the true telling of his story, the vindication that his senseless suffering deserved.

This book explains what happened to the monarchy during the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror. It explains what happened to the King, Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, their son Louis Charles and Daughter Marie Therese. A very clear and concise account.

Estupendamente bien escrito. Una historia cautivante, con mucha investigación detrás, que se lee como novela.

Livre historique qui conjugue precision des faits et enquete passionnante sur plus de deux siecles. Aucune fausse piste n'est oubliee, ce qui permet par ailleurs de decouvrir avec surprise le talent de certains faussaires du 19e siecle, ayant reussis jusque dans l'entourage du defunt Louis XVII a se faire passer pour lui.

ルイ１７世の心臓のニュースを見て、思いついて読み出したんですが、本当に面白かった。事実だけが淡々と書かれており、作者の変な思い入れがないのが良かったです。　一気に読んでしまいました。歴史と医学に興味のある方には、楽しめる本です。　ただ、もうちょっとカラーの絵が入っているともっと楽しかったんですけど。

Not entirely sure of the science involved, but really good description of what happened to the royal family, and especially the poor son. Interesting read.