Rose of Versailles, Vol. 1 by Riyoko Ikeda

Udon Entertainment is releasing three deluxe, hardbound omnibus versions of The Rose of Versailles, translated into English for the first time, starting in January of 2020. They are outnumbered by the grasping nobles, scheming courtiers, and courtesans.

She does her best to advise and protect Antoinette, who is honest, sweet-natured, and chafes at the strictly enforced etiquette in the royal palace. Oscar, raised in the French court, is astute and protective of the young queen.

The young, flighty princess is thrown headfirst into the cutthroat world of royal intrigue as she runs up against the first of many historical characters who will shape her future, the king’s royal mistress, Madame du Barry. Shoujo manga, geared towards young, teenage girls and featuring large, sparkling eyes and lush character design, finds its full bloom in The Rose of Versailles. Oscar is brave, intelligent, and loyal to the new dauphine, who is fated to become the future queen of France. Lady Oscar is serving as her father’s successor in the royal guard when 14 year-old Marie Antoinette arrives to marry the king’s grandson, the dauphin. Creator Riyoko’s original plan was a biographical manga about Marie Antoinette, but this historical manga tells the story of Oscar Francois de JarJayes, the last of six daughters born to a nobleman of France, raised as his heir -educated and trained as a man in military and weapons, to serve the French king at the Court of Versailles. The Rose of Versailles helped define shoujo manga when it was originally published in 1972.

Rose of Versailles, Vol. 1 by Riyoko Ikeda