“If you marry into glass,” Pierre Labbe warned my mother, his daughter Magdaleine, in 1747, “you will say good-bye to everything familiar, and enter a closed world.” THE GLASS-BLOWERS by Daphne du Maurier “The world of the glass-blowers has its own traditions, it’s own language – and its own rules. ‘If you marry into glass’ Pierre Labbe warns his daughter,… Read more »
Author Sally Christie has answered a few questions on her last novel, The Enemies of Versailles. You can read my reviews of all three books in the trilogy at the following links: The Sisters of Versailles The Rivals of Versailles The Enemies of Versailles When you began writing this series, did you realize you’d be writing about so many women… Read more »
The Enemies of Versailles by Sally Christie The Sisters of Versailles (my review) The Rivals of Versailles (my review) The third in Sally Christie’s Versailles trilogy, The Enemies of Versailles is told by two women close to King Louis XV: his daughter, Adélaïde, and his last mistress, Madame du Barry. While The Sisters of Versailles focused on Louis’ early life… Read more »
“The mansion on the hill shone like a lighthouse.” ALEX & Eliza by Melissa de la Cruz “1777. Albany, New York. As battle cries of the American Revolution echo in the distance, servants flutter about preparing for one of New York society’s biggest events: the Schuylers’ grand ball. Descended from two of the oldest and most distinguished bloodlines in New… Read more »
The Enemies of Versailles by Sally Christie March 21, 2017 BOOK DESCRIPTION (My review will be posted in March.) In the final installment of Sally Christie’s “tantalizing” (New York Daily News) Mistresses of Versailles trilogy, Jeanne Becu, a woman of astounding beauty but humble birth, works her way from the grimy back streets of Paris to the palace of Versailles,… Read more »
The Rivals of Versailles by Sally Christie Amazon / Goodreads / Author Website Following on the heels of The Sisters of Versailles, Rivals continues the story of Louis XV’s mistresses with perhaps the most well-known–Madame de Pompadour–and those who wish to supplant her. Jeanne Poisson was a common-born beauty whose glittering future was foretold when she was 9-years-old by a… Read more »
The Sisters of Versailles by Sally Christie Amazon / GoodReads / Author Website Early in the reign of France’s Louis XV–before the infamous Madame de Pompadour and the hated Madame du Barry–a series of sisters captured the young King’s heart. Of the five Nesle sisters, all but one became mistress to Louis the Well-Beloved. This sister is the only one… Read more »
Wicked Company by Ciji Ware In mid-Eighteenth century London, during the early reign of King George III, our protagonist, Sophie McGann is the daughter of a Scottish printer and bookseller. Forced to make her way, she employs her talents as a printer and playwright in the cut-throat arena of the Drury Lane theater and its competitor, Covent Garden. Sophie’s guarded,… Read more »
Powder and Patch by Georgette Heyer Georgette Heyer is in a class all her own with her quirky and witty ‘romance’ novels. Nothing like today’s books of the genre, which are over-sexed and rarely authentic, the antiquated cadences and dialect simply cannot be matched by contemporary writers. It’s really very interesting to see the turns of phrase used, even if… Read more »
Emma Hamilton, celebrated mistress of British Naval hero, Horatio Nelson, is only a minor character in A Royal Likeness by Christine Trent, but made a positive impression on this reader. I could tell there were interesting reasons behind the differing opinions of the lady by characters in the book, and an intriguing untold story of her life. After speaking with… Read more »
Jane Austen’s First Love by Syrie James At the age of fifteen, Jane Austen spends a summer holiday with her elder brother at his fiancé’s home in Kent. Five families come together to celebrate the upcoming nuptials and along the way many, including Jane, discover much about love and relationships. There she meets a young man who both exasperates and… Read more »
Annette Vallon: A Novel of the French Revolution by James Tipton Set during the tumultuous French Revolution, this story revolves around a young upper-class, though untitled, lady named Annette Vallon. An unfortunate incident during her youth causes her to shy away from typical female society and helps build her character as an independent, brave woman. She meets the English poet… Read more »