Claude & Camille: A Novel of Monet ~ Stephanie Cowell

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france

This grand romance could use a lot more passion…

The story begins in 1857 and is interspersed with “interludes” wherein the aging Claude Monet reflects back on his early life, when he is first drawn to the lure of painting. Despite the efforts of his family and a brief stint in the military, Claude is determined to return to Paris and paint, and when he does he meets Camille Doncieux whom he asks to model for him. That relationship between the two as they attempt to build a life together as well as the struggle to become a successful painter is the basis for the book, and since not much is known about Camille, author Stephanie Cowell has ample wiggle room to put her own spin on it.

Unfortunately, despite a lot of hype and great expectations this one just didn’t quite cut it for me. I was expecting a great passionate love story and instead I got something a bit too light. I didn’t find any depth or emotions with any of the characters, just stuff like this,

‘He sought her in bed that night, parting her legs and moving into her. She clung to him. “You’re not empty at all,” he said. I shall fill you with all that I am.”

“I shall give you all that I am.”

Only love me, I am the sea.”‘

*rolls eyes*

I didn’t pick up on much chemistry between the two, and instead of feeling great love and passion between them the author had to tell me it was there. But then I found a lot more telling then showing in this – especially with all those letters. This was a light, easy read but if you’re expecting an in-depth, all-encompassing look at Monet and his relationship with Camille I suspect you’ll be disappointed. I had a lot of fun reading about some of Monet’s works and how they came about (do go and look them up on the net), and a big thumbs up on the quotes from Monet and his fellow impressionists at the beginning of each chapter. This is a good book, it is just not a great one.

***

My copy courtesy of Amazon Vine.

The Place of Stones Constance Heaven

Tags

france, historical fiction, historical romance, napoleon

A game of cat and mouse

Emma Tremayne’s ne’er do well father suddenly decides to up take her on a pleasure trip Paris – but is it just for pleasure? Napoleon rules as First Consul and plans to invade England. Emma and her father are eventually detained by the French authorities along with several other English visitors, but her father manages to escape and he disappears entirely. Emma is rescued by Lucien de Fontenay, and he brings her to his family’s estate in Provence masquerading as governess to his younger brother, but even this quiet country estate soon begins to be a hot bed of spies and counter spies and Emma finds herself in the midst of a plot to kidnap Napoleon. Who can she trust? Lucien who she’s fallen in love with? Her father who still has quite a few secrets up his sleeve?

This was an easy, enjoyable read that had me guessing at most of the mysteries until the end and I never knew for sure who were the good guys and who was on the dark side. Emma was a clever enough heroine with just the right amount of spunk without going over board, and thankfully no sign of TSTL syndrome. This novel is very similar in style to Victoria Holt’s romantic suspense novels, from the heroine in peril not knowing whom to trust, the first person narrative and even a brief stint in Cornwall. Just right for a rainy afternoon.

The Knight of Maison-Rouge: A Novel of Marie Antoinette by Alexandre Dumas

Tags

alexandre dumas, france, french revolution, historical fiction

 Why no cover? Because most of the newer editions of this series are questionable translations and a bad translation = a mediocre Dumas novel. There are libraries that have the 100 year old editions and if you want to read this series I recommend going that route.

The story begins in March 1793 as Louis XVI has been beheaded, Marie Antoinette and her children are imprisoned and the Committee for Public Safety has unleashed The Reign of Terror. Unaware of a curfew, a young woman is stopped by members of the National Guard but saved from arrest by Civic Guard officer Maurice Lindey. The woman disappears into the night but the enchanted Maurice finally locates her, and becomes friends with Genevieve and her older husband (who finds Maurice to be useful in his royalist plots). In the meantime, all Paris is abuzz over the mysterious Chevalier de Maison Rouge and his heroic attempts to secrete Marie Antoinette away from her fate with the guillotine.

The story then goes back and forth between that of Maurice and his beloved Genevieve and a recounting of the final days of Marie (now called Madame Capet) and the various schemes of several royalist parties to save her. Although I did enjoy this book very much (it _is_ Dumas), this one just didn’t come off with the excitement and flare the previous six have done. Perhaps after six books I was approaching burn out, perhaps it’s because there was no sign of my favorite characters from the first five books, but this one just didn’t knock my socks off — although I very much enjoyed the love story between Genevieve and Maurice. They were very touching and I doubt I’ll ever look at a carnation the same way again. Have the tissue handy for the ending.

I do want to caution potential readers of this series to research carefully which edition you purchase — there are some bad translations out there that can seriously impact your reading experience. The best luck I’ve had is with the early 1900’s translations published by a P F Collier and Sons. The entire series, in order:

Joseph Balsamo
Memoirs of a Physician
The Queen’s Necklace
Taking the Bastile
The Countess de Charny
The Chevalier de Maison Rouge (or The Knight of the Maison-Rouge)

I have been told that The Chevalier de Maison Rouge was written first and then Dumas was contracted to backtrack and write a series. The characters from the first five books are not in this last one so it is likely true.

The Countess De Charny by Alexandre Dumas

Tags

alexandre dumas, france, french revolution, historical fiction

 Why no cover? Because most of the newer editions of this series are questionable translations and a bad translation = a mediocre Dumas novel. There are libraries that have the 100 year old editions and if you want to read this series I recommend going that route.

The Countess de Charny begins where Taking the Bastile leaves off after the attack on Versailles and the Royal family is “escorted” back to Paris by that same mob and are installed in residence at the Tuileries Palace, while the various factions of the National Assembly sort out the politics and fate of the Royal Family going forward. Gilbert returns as a royalist trying to keep Louis on the throne, albeit without absolute power, and the ever mysterious Count Cagliostro (formerly known as Balsamo) plots with the Freemasons to manipulate the revolution to a higher level. Also returning is the beauteous Andrée who shares a secret with Gilbert that promises to destroy the happiness she and de Charny are finally on the verge of finding (I did not see that one coming!!) and Marie Antoinette (who loves de Charny) is happy to use Andrée’s secret to keep the two lovers apart.

Much of the book details known history as Louis attempts to take his family out of the country to safety, their ultimate capture and return to Paris, as Dumas weaves his fictional characters and their lives amongst those of Louis, his court and the battling factions of the National Assembly. From a secret meeting with the Freemasons as the Duc d’Orleans is sworn into membership and plots against the crown, to Dr. Guillotin’s tests on his “humane” invention on life size models (very creepy), to the angry mobs of Paris, to the battling parties of the National Assembly Dumas takes the reader on a fascinating journey leading up to the final horror of the revolution as The Terror begins in the sixth and last book in the series, The Chevalier De Maison Rouge a Tale of the Reign of Terror. Some readers might find parts of this a bit slower paced as it’s more a retelling of history and not too much action, but I loved every minute of it.

Note — there are several newer publications out there that may or may not be good translations. With one exception, The Queen’s Necklace (a disappointing read due to bad translation), I’ve stuck to the early 1900’s version published by a PF Collier and Sons. If you are interested in reading this series I recommend you stick with those. I had no problems getting copies of my via the library and they are available used online at a reasonable price.

Taking the Bastile by Alexandre Dumas

Tags

alexandre dumas, france, french revolution, historical fiction

Why no cover? Because most of the newer editions of this series are questionable translations and a bad translation = a mediocre Dumas novel. There are libraries that have the 100 year old editions and if you want to read this series I recommend going that route.

 

“I have no longer a horror of others – I fear I may resemble them”

“There are moments when the destiny of a whole nation is being weighed in the scales of Fate. One of them weighs down the other. Everyone already thinks he has attained the proposed end. Suddenly some invisible hand lets fall into the other scale the blade of a poniard or a pistol-ball. Then all changes, and one only cry is heard, Woe to the vanquished!”

Wow. It was paragraphs like that that just knocked my socks off. I always knew Dumas was brilliant, but he really outdoes himself in this book. Taking the Bastile is the fourth in Dumas’ six book series retelling the French Revolution and begins several years after the close of The Queen’s Necklace. The first third of the book retells the events leading up to and including the storming of the Bastile through the POV of Ange Pitou a young orphan from the countryside and his comrade in arms the farmer Billot. Agents of the French government remove papers from Billot’s farm that he is storing for Dr. Gilbert, which sends he and Pitou to Paris to advise the doctor of the theft. They find Gilbert (yes, our young Gilbert from the first two books) imprisoned in the Bastile and are swept up with the rest of the city on that fateful day when all Paris attacks and destroys that symbol of tyranny.

Gilbert is rescued and discovers that the person who ordered his imprisonment is the Countess de Charny, a name he does not recognize and goes to Versailles in search of answers. Presented to Louis XVI as a doctor of renown (being a pupil of Balsamo in the mystic arts), Gilbert discovers that the countess is the beauteous Andrée whom he loved as a young boy. Andrée denies any knowledge of Gilbert or his imprisonment until Gilbert uses his magnetic powers and hypnotizes her (very creepy) to gain the truth — there was an incident in the second book where Andrée had been compromised by Balsamo and Gilbert and she feared exposure and scandal.

As Andrée recovers from Gilbert’s ministrations we see that she is in love with her husband the Count de Charny, who loves the Queen (who returns his love), to Andrée’s great sorrow. The story then switches back and forth between the actions at the court of Louis XVI and the growing violence and restlessness of the Paris mobs as Dumas recounts the events leading up to the Women’s March on Versailles demanding bread and the subsequent mob storming the palace sending the royal family on a mad dash for safety (unputdownable!). The final 100 or so pages of the book detail Ange Pitou’s return to his country village and the logistics of how the villagers were converted from the mindset of being simple farmers working for a living to the rationale of the revolutionary and setting up a local national guard.

That’s about as much of the plot as I’m going to try and detail, the bulk of the book is known history as Dumas recounts the terror of the revolution from all walks of life in late 18C France, the countryman, the farmer, the Church, the Paris citizens and the royal court of Louis XIV and Marie Antoinette. Some readers may find a slow spot here and there at the beginning and end of the book, but other than that I found it quite unputdownable. Next up in the series, The Countess de Charny.

Side note, there are several newly published versions of these books and some are poorly translated — one of those being The Queen’s Necklace (published by Wildside) which I had purchased prior to realizing this was a series, and I found the quality of the story sorely lacked from that bad translation. Dumas with a mediocre story and boring dialogue? Not on your life. The other three I obtained very old copies published by PF Collier and Sons in the early 1900’s and I strongly urge you to seek those out either via library or used (around $7), and I’ll be sticking with that for the last two books in the series.

The Queen’s Necklace ~ Alexandre Dumas

Tags

alexandre dumas, france, french revolution, historical fiction

A mediocre translation or was Dumas having a bad-book day? *Review for Wildside Press Edition*

Inquiring minds want to know, although I’m going to lean towards the former. The Queen’s Necklace begins ten years after the close of Memoirs of a Physician, as France recovers from the grips of a deadly winter and Marie Antoinette takes pity on Jeanne de Valois who claims to be descended from the Valois side of the monarchy, albeit from the wrong side of the blanket. Jeanne soon takes up with Cardinal de Rohan who in an effort to ingratiate himself at court offers the stunning necklace originally intended as a gift for the infamous Madame du Barry to the Queen. Thus begins Dumas’ take on the well known “Affair of the Diamond Necklace” which scandalized France and further degraded public opinion of the monarchy.

Dumas brings characters from the first two books into this story, as the mysterious Balsamo reappears under the new name of Count Cagliostro, Andrée resides at court in service to Marie and falls in love with the Count de Charny (who loves the Queen) and Philip (called Philippe in this book) returns from America and also finds himself madly in love with the Queen. Andrée’s former servant Nicole (who bears a striking resemblance to the Queen) now goes by the name of Oliva and is drawn into Jeane’s schemes as she masquerades as the Queen setting off further scandals, and eventually Marie and de Charny are caught in a compromising position which leads to a drastic ploy by Marie to save both herself and de Charny. Will this ploy fulfill the secret desire of our heroine Andrée, or does a twist of fate forever change her happiness to great sorrow? I’ll never tell, but that was one heck of a plot twist!

Unfortunately, what should have been a ripping good read was ruined by a dreadful translation. I’ve read many works of Dumas and his storylines always move quickly with plentiful action and sparkling dialogue and displays the foibles and machinations of the French Monarchy to perfection. This book was stilted, slow paced with some of the most un-Dumas like dialogue I’ve ever come across. Worse yet, since most chapters were 3-4 pages long (this from an author who was paid by the word!!??) and from comparing the page count of this version (329) to that of another (432) I’m guessing quite a bit of the story was left out, and frankly I would have bailed on the book except for the fact that I intend to read the rest of the series and didn’t want to lose the story. The first two in the series of six I’ve read were much older publications, published in the early 1900’s by P.F. Collier and Son. If you are interested in reading the entire series I recommend you check your library and/or shop the online used sellers for one of those copies. Next up in the series, Taking the Bastile.

I do want to note that this review is for the Wildside Press edition and my comments about translation problems should not be reflected against other publishers of this book. I’m stating this as I notice that any reviews posted for one version of this book are showing up on others, and I suspect my review will show up on those editions as well.

Joseph Balsamo by Alexandre Dumas

Tags

alexandre dumas, france, french revolution, historical fiction

Why no cover? Because most of the newer editions of this series are questionable translations and a bad translation = a mediocre Dumas novel. There are libraries that have the 100 year old editions and if you want to read this series I recommend going that route.

Book one in Dumas’ tale of The French Revolution

Joseph Balsamo begins with a meeting in the dead of night high in the mountains as a group of robed and hooded freemasons from around the world meet to plot the fall of the French Monarchy (it’s actually more complicated than that, but I’m not going to try to put it into words). The leader of this group, Joseph Balsamo, then takes shelter in a storm at the impoverished household of the Baron de Taverney and his daughter Andrée and things then become very mysterious indeed. How is it the younger Balsamo can recall incidents from Taverney’s younger days as if he had been there himself? What mysterious hold does Balsamo have over the beauteous Andrée that he can command her actions with a wave of his hand? How is it that when the party of Marie Antoinette stops at Taverney Balsamo provides a sumptuous repast replete with gold plate out of thin air?

After this, the story switches to Paris and Versailles with the intrigues and shenanigans of Louis XV’s mistress Madame DuBarry as she connives to have an elderly Baroness agree to present her at court, Balsamo’s wife begging sanctuary at a nunnery (very creepy), the wedding procession of Marie Antoinette, Balsamo’s mentor’s efforts to find the secret to eternal life (the final ingredient needed being the most costly of all) and ending in one heck of a cliff hanger as a fireworks display goes awry and puts Andrée in harm’s way with only one person to save her.

Suffice it to say that Dumas’ tale of the lives and loves of the Court of Louis XV and the growing tension amongst the lower classes of Paris and beyond was quite entertaining, especially with the mysterious appearances and disappearances of Balsamo in and out of the story. I also very much enjoyed the way Dumas used the character of Gilbert and his rationales about his lack of bread and the methods he would use to obtain the bread an excellent way to support the early beginnings of socialism and resentment against the monarchy. Be advised, you won’t find the swashbuckling page turning excitement of the Musketeer series. This is the first of a five volume series and Dumas is setting up much of the background for the later books in this one, so some readers might find this slow paced at times and I only recommend this for Dumas fans (I’m one) or for those looking for well written fictional tales of the times leading up to the French Revolution. Next book in the series, Memoirs of a Physician.

The Courtier’s Secret by Donna Russo Morin

Tags

france, Louis XIV, musketeers

Seventeen year old Jeanne du Bois returns from the convent where she’s been schooled the last seven years and joins her family at Versailles. Much to her father’s disapproval Jeanne is too independent and unladylike, and unbeknownst to him she resumes fencing lessons with her uncle Jules. After one of these lessons, Jules and Jeanne (who is dressed in men’s clothes), come across two of the King’s Musketeers under attack and save the day when they join in the battle. Not willing to reveal her identity as a women Jeanne is introduced as Jean Luc and as she wishes to join the Musketeers later she convinces her uncle to help her dress as a man. As Jeanne’s abusive father plots to marry her off to an odious Baron, she finds herself drawn to Henri, one of the Musketeers – who during a fete at Versailles meets Jeanne and he is instantly smitten. A plot to kill the Queen is revealed and Jeanne/Jean finds both identities in the thick of things while she tries to balance the two and avoid being exposed.

So why am I giving this one only two stars? For starters, Jeanne is just way over the top in her independence – let alone the ditzy way she came across in the first two chapters (argh, those curls always coming lose from her coiffure!!) and I was beginning to think I was in for Gidget does Versailles. I threw the book across the room at Chapter two, but picked it up again and things did improve. Jeanne’s ditzyness was toned down a bit, but as hard as the author tried to keep things realistic they just didn’t always ring true. Hiding her dress and under things underneath the stinking privy cover and they didn’t pick up any odor from it? She’s able to get her men’s boots off by herself, let alone dress herself and do her hair just in time to run to chapel? Then there was the garden party where she/he had to run and change clothes at least once and run back to present her/him back again at the party – again she can get those big old boots off and on all by herself.

Last complaint and again I appreciate the author taking the time and effort to pack plenty of history in her romance (and with a nod to M. Dumas, père), but it was all just a tad bit too heavy handed and I was beginning to feel like I was being clubbed over the head with it. In the end, it was a reasonably entertaining piece of fluff, nice to have a romance set somewhere else besides the Regency period but I do want to warn potential readers, according to the author’s notes at the end she wrote this as a historical novel and not a romance. So, despite appearances and the impression the cover gives, this is not a bouncy bodice ripping novel packed with sex and I suspect serious romance readers will be sorely disappointed, as will serious historical fiction readers – for those I’d recommend just sticking with Dumas and read his Musketeer series.

Vainglory by Geraldine McCaughrean

Tags

france, historical fiction, medieval

 

“He knew in that moment how God felt on Good Friday when He saw on what He had wasted Creation.”

Vainglory begins in 1429 as Victoire De Gloriole regains possession of the family castle Gloriole-sur-Sablois from the English. Victoire marries Englishwoman Ellen Talbot and begins building a family dynasty and bringing Gloriole to new heights, although like all noblemen their ups and downs are ruled by the whims of the current ruler – kings come, kings go. The twists of fate take several bizarre turns in the subsequent generations when Victoire finds himself without a legitimate heir and his daughter Verite is caught up in the machinations of their distant de Puy cousins – can the family survive or will they succumb to madness and greed while building Gloriole to ever greater heights?

And that’s all I’m going to tell you, this is one of those books that you can’t put into a brief review and I don’t write book reports. While history plays a second stage to the main story, I enjoyed the peeks at the historical events swirling in the background – from Joan of Arc and the wars with the English through to Catherine de Medici ruling through her children after the death of Henri II. Although the most gripping moments for me was the terrifying aftermath of the Conspiracy of Amboise as the Huguenots are slaughtered en masse.

With the exception of Victoire and Ellen and their son Fils, most of the rest of the Gloriole family are downright unlikable – this is not your warm and fuzzy family. What you will get is a story of a power hungry, greedy, grasping family that will do anything and everything to attain their vainglory and lord help anyone who gets in their way. This book might be too slow paced to appeal to all readers, but the writing is lovely and very subtle – one to sit back and savor slowly with a glass of red wine and chocolates. And where did I come across this little gem of a book you ask? Elizabeth Chadwick recently talked about some old classics from her medieval collection and Vainglory was one of them. Details here.

The Devil’s Queen by Jeanne Kalogridis

Tags

france, historical fiction, medici

  

Author Jeanne Kalogridis puts her own spin on the life of the infamous Catherine de Medici in The Devil’s Queen. Left orphaned and extremely wealthy, Catherine’s early life was marred by revolts among the Florentines against the de Medicis. Once the revolts are over her hopes to rule Florence are forever dashed when her uncle the Pope marries her off to Henri, the second son of the French King.  Disenchanted with Catherine, Henri soon turns to the older Diane de Poitiers for comfort and the childless Catherine becomes increasingly desperate to conceive a child before she is cast aside – and that includes resorting to charting the stars and casting spells. Henri’s older brother dies leaving him heir to the crown and Catherine destined to be Queen, although de Poitiers is the one who will remain the power behind the throne. Despite success at finally conceiving (thanks to the black-arts), the predictions of Nostradamus and Ruggieri of the fate that awaits Henri and her children continue to haunt her dreams and she will take any steps to protect them no matter what cost, and the story finally culminates with her daughter Margot’s marriage to Henry of Navarre and the St. Bartholomew’s Day massacre.

One morning at the gates of the Louvre, 19th century painting by Édouard Debat-Ponsan. Catherine de' Medici is in black. The scene from Dubois (above) re-imagined.

Alrighty, that storyline should have enough meat on it’s bones to keep a reader riveted don’t you think? Not, but then it’s probably just me again –  it usually is. My problems start with the use of the first person narrative, effectively hemming the author into a very limited point of view. To witness certain private events the author had to invent situations wherein Catherine could observe them and worse yet – when Catherine is not involved in the action she is recounting history to the reader – so that we’re being told and not shown and I found myself nodding off on a few occasions. A genealogy chart and/or cast of characters is sadly missing, how many average readers are truly familiar with the period and it’s players? Something to refer back to would have been very helpful and I thought it a bit presumptuous not to include it. As for the sex, it’s not over the top, but at times I felt it a bit too gratuitous – and there were way too many instances of it being done from the back side. Did we really need to hear that? 

Also and anyone correct me if I’m wrong but according to other books I’ve read and Wik, there were four sons who ruled – where in the hell was Henri the third son? Did I read a different book again? For the most part Kalogridis appears to stick to known history, although there are two plot twists (which I will not divulge) that are rather far fetched IMHO, and unfortunately the author does not address them in her meager 1 1/2 page author notes as to what historical basis she has for including those in her story.  Get it from the library if you must, I’m glad I did. A very very generous three stars.  Honestly I think you’re better off with Dumas – try The Two Dianas and La Reine Margot.