In Search of Marie-Antoinette in the 1930s

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xx

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2. In Search of Marie-Antoinette: The Inscrutable Life Worth Scrutinizing

   • T. Lawrence Larkin

   Pages 1-23

3. Stefan Zweig’s Clinical Biography, 1930–1932

   • T. Lawrence Larkin

   Pages 25-104

4. Irving Thalberg’s Film Production, 1934–1936

   • T. Lawrence Larkin

   Pages 105-185

5. Norma Shearer’s Dramatic Performance, 1937–1938

   • T. Lawrence Larkin

   Pages 187-276

6. Conclusion

   • T. Lawrence Larkin

   Pages 277-288

7. Back Matter

   Pages 289-296

   PDF

In Search of Marie-Antoinette in the 1930s follows Austrian biographer Stefan Zweig, American producer Irving Thalberg, and Canadian-American actress Norma Shearer as they attempt to uncover personal aspects of Marie-Antoinette’s life at the French court in the late eighteenth-century and to dramatize them in biography, cinema, and performance for public consumption during the 1930s. The first chapter establishes the core subject as an inquiry into the respective contributions of Zweig, Thalberg, and Shearer in formulating an “objective” or “authentic” image of “Marie-Antoinette.” The three chapters that follow examine in some detail how Zweig pursued research and drafted the psychological biography at his Salzburg home, Thalberg acquired film rights to the best-selling book and fought the censors to preserve the more sensational aspects of the screenplay at the Culver City studio, and Shearer worked closely with a new producer to give the script a strong romantic angle and to perform the character of the queen on the sound stage. The professionals’ research standards and strategic objectives are weighed in the formulation of a new myth at once sensitive to the historical record and suited to the leisure market.

• Stefan Zweig
• Irving Thalberg
• Norma Shearer
• Marie Antoinette
• Hollywood Cinema
• Historical Authenticity

“Like everything Professor Larkin has written about Marie-Antoinette and her image, (how she related to her own image, how she contributed to shaping it, or – like here – how the queen’s image and character have been explored on screen and in literature) this book is excellent reading and very thoroughly researched. I warmly recommend it to those with an interest in the fascinating dialogue historical figures keep having with movie makers and intellectuals turned biographers. French readers would greatly benefit from a translation, and they would also enjoy reading the masterly thesis Professor Larkin wrote on Marie-Antoinette and her portraits, the most informed research written on this subject in recent years (but one which is still inexplicably waiting for a publisher). Many useless and repetitive books are written about Marie-Antoinette… This original way of exploring how she has fascinated so many – and keeps doing so – will appeal to many. A great book!” (Jean FrancoisCarric, Sales Director – Europe, Metamark (UK) Ltd.)

“This book, which reads as an archaeology of film, represents a great piece of research underpinned by a strong idea. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and consider it the best reception history book of the year.” (Professor Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones, Cardiff University)

“The age of academic disciplinary boundaries is coming to an end, and Larkin’s book hammers a significant nail into its coffin.” (Walter Metz, Southern Illinois University)

“T. Lawrence Larkin’s In Search of Marie-Antoinette in the 1930s is a game changer. He builds upon his considerable expertise in art history—the representation of the dubious queen in oil painting—as a framework for exploring a particular classical Hollywood biopic, MGM’s Marie-Antoinette (1938). Not only does the book give reason to attend more carefully to the bio-pic in late 1930s Hollywood, it also provides a sterling guide for how doing production studies at its most sophisticated level. Larkin’s attention to literary studies (the author Stefan Zweig), film studies (the producer Irving Thalberg), and performance studies (the actress Norma Shearer) provides a beacon for what the humanities should look like in the 21^st century, interdisciplinary and brazenly expansive in its scope. The age of academic disciplinary boundaries is coming to an end, and Larkin’s book hammers a significant nail into its coffin.” (Walter C. Metz, Professor, Department of Cinema and Photography, Southern Illinois University, USA)

• Department of Art History, School of Art, Montana State University, Bozeman, USA

  T. Lawrence Larkin

T. Lawrence Larkin is Associate Professor of Seventeenth- to Nineteenth-Century European and American Art and Coordinator of the Art History Graduate Program at Montana State University, Bozeman, USA. His research follows two currents: Queen Marie-Antoinette’s art patronage as a sign of political identity under the old monarchy and political portraits realized in the United States and France during the Revolutionary and Imperial eras.

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