The Rose of Versailles Vol 2 by Riyoko Ikeda

The queen's character comes into doubt as she gets closer to Fersen. She decides to retreat to a small home within the palace and cuts herself off from all but a few of her closest nobles. This angers the noble class as they feel snubbed. At the same time, Jeanne concocts a scheme to make it look like the queen in buying an extremely expensive diamond necklace that Jeanne actually has stolen and sold the diamonds off of. She is eventually caught and stands trial but manages to convince the commoners that she has become the victim and that the queen is really at fault. Thus, the ill-will that started in volume 1 with her gambling and extravagant spending continues to build in this volume.  After pursuing a bandit called The Black Thief, Oscar decides to leave her position in the Royal Guard, and this may have disastrous consequences.

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It’s interesting to see the build up of unrest that we all know.  Every once in a while, the mangaka will make narrative comments about how this impacted the tragedy that eventually befalls Antoinette.  This serves to keep the reader grounded as they hope that Antionette can turn things around and build back the rapport with her subjects and nobles.  Volume two also seemed much more connected to what was happening with Oscar, who is apparently the actual main character of the story.  Volume one split a major of the time between Oscar and Antionette, so it wasn't always apparent.  Oscar's decisions in the last third of this volume will most likely play out tremendously in the third volume, and it's most likely not going to be as easy as she hopes.

The art for this series is still really detailed and beautiful.  All of the lady's dresses are unique and lavish.  Ikeda's illustrations include sparkles in her characters eyes, which adds an extra layer of beauty.  

​There is some bloodshed and violence, a few conversations on sexual topics, and a heavy load of history knowledge expected of the reader around Louis XVI and Marie Antionette, and the French Revolution.  Because of this, this story is more suitable for teens.

Sara's Rating: 10/10
Suitability Rating: 9-12

Reviews of previous volumes in this series: vol 1

Publisher: Udon Entertainment
Publication Date: February 25, 2020
ISBN: 9781927925942 (Hardcover)

Tags: Rating: 10/10, Suitability: High School, Manga, Historical Fiction, Romance, Udon Entertainment