The volume follows the queen through the crisis surrounding the Estates-General, juxtaposing widespread public enthusiasm for reform with concentrated hostility and circulating slanders that blamed her for fiscal ills. It describes the ceremonial opening at Versailles, deputies' distrust, and the contrast between royal pageantry and provincial suspicion. The account traces her transformation from a courtly, youthful figure to a firmer, politically engaged woman confronting ill-conceived initiatives, mounting misfortune including the death of her eldest son, and growing isolation as revolutionary pressures increase.