The Courtier’s Secret

by Donna  Russo Morin

Jeanne du Bois is the daughter of a minor noble in the court of Louis XIV.  Fresh from convent school, she feels very out of place among the sycophants of Versailles.  Her father, always scheming to find a way to further his position, plans to use Jeanne as a marriage pawn no matter her own inclinations.  Jeanne is determined to have a life of her making, even if she must do so in disguise, and begins a secret life.  Dressed as a man she joins the king’s elite group of musketeers, and her adventures lead her on the trail of a plot to murder the queen.

The best thing about this book is the detailed descriptions of the Versailles, the king and his court.  The intricate (and slightly insane) etiquette forced on the courtiers is quite bizarre and eye opening to read.  That a king held himself almost as a god the way Louis did is just astonishing.  The author has a very good knowledge of the time period, as well as a gift for prose.  I like her writing style and her vocabulary.

On the other hand,  Jeanne is a basic formulaic character for a novel such as this: strong-willed, independent, free-minded, etc.  I have come to like characters who are much more complex, having faults as well as differentiating characteristics.  She seemingly learns to be a fencing master in a matter of days, unless her Uncle Jules began teaching her before the convent school, when she was a child.  That part of her education was not elaborated upon.  She also contradicts herself a bit in being so anti-courtier, yet socializing with them all the same.  The ‘women’s rights’ theme is very evident, and as I read in an essay a while ago, women for the most part accepted their role in society.  They had no notion that things would drastically change in the future.  Jeanne goes as far as to foreshadow the very distant future, saying,”This is all a woman of our time can ask for, is it not?”

If you can get past the character flaws, this is a very good story and I really enjoyed it.  Near the end I couldn’t put it down.  There are several twists I wasn’t expecting and that is rare in books I read, as most of them are based on well known people and I already know the ending.  I’m giving this one 4 stars because it really captured my interest and held it to the end.

My favorite line:

page 84

Jeanne: “If you love me, you will find me a mustache.”

An interesting historical note:

In order to make light of a faux pas made by Jeanne, the queen, Marie-Therese says the famous line, “Well then if they have no bread let them eat cake.”  This comment has been wrongly attributed to Marie Antoinette and I read was actually said by a mistress of either Louis XIV or Louis XV, though I am not sure if that is correct.