1792, France Rumors of revolution in Paris swirl in Marseille, a
bustling port city in southern France. Gilles Etienne, a clerk at the
local soap factory, thrives on the news. Committed to the cause of
equality, liberty, and brotherhood, he and his friends plan to march to
Paris to dethrone the monarchy. His plans are halted when he meets
Marie-Caroline Daubin, the beautiful daughter of the owner of the
factory.
A bourgeoise and royalist, Marie-Caroline has been called
home to Marseille to escape the unrest in Paris. She rebuffs Gilles's
efforts to charm her and boldly expresses her view that violently
imposed freedom is not really freedom for all. As Marie-Caroline takes
risks to follow her beliefs, Gilles catches her in a dangerous secret
that could cost her and her family their lives. As Gilles and
Marie-Caroline spend more time together, she questions her initial
assumptions about Gilles and realizes that perhaps they have more in
common than she thought.
As the spirit of revolution descends on
Marseille, people are killed and buildings are ransacked and burned to
the ground. Gilles must choose between supporting the political change
he believes in and protecting those he loves. And Marie-Caroline must
battle between standing up for what she feels is right and risking her
family's safety. With their lives and their nation in turmoil, both
Gilles and Marie-Caroline wonder if a revolutionnaire and a royaliste can really be together or if they must live in a world that forces people to choose sides.
Rorie's Review:
Confession time. I struggle with the French language. I can't ever remember all the rules on how to pronounce things. As a result, my brain stutters over French words. There are a lot of French words in this story, therefore my brain did a lot of stuttering. That being said, I still enjoyed the story. It did take a bit for me to get in to it, but after awhile, I was hooked. I couldn't figure out how Marie-Caroline and Gilles would ever make things work out. While I was rooting for them, I was equally horrified at all the things that were being done by the Jacobins and the sans-culottes. I had heard a little bit about the French Revolution, but only a very small bit. After finishing this story I had to Google it to find out more of the particulars. Sadly, I see some parallels between what happened then and what is happening today with the complete intolerance for opposing viewpoints. I can only hope that we figure out how to be decent people again before the hatred and intolerance escalates even more than it already has. Sorry, stepping off my soap box. It was another great read from this author and I look forward to reading many more in the future.
Andrea's Review:
*Spoiler Alert*
I really enjoy historical fiction, especially when it ignites a desire to learn more about a particular time or event as Beyond the Lavender Fields did.
I did struggle initially with this book with all the French terms and names. It’s a pet peeve of mine when a book is already “translated” if you will into English but words or phrases that could
be in English are still in the native language. It doesn’t read smoothly when you have to keep flipping back and forth to the back to see if the word is included in the Term or Name Guide. Eventually I just went with whatever way my brain wanted to interpret or pronounce these so it could flow more smoothly.
I liked the main characters quite a bit. Even though Gilles and Caroline had different political views they were good people to their cores. I very much appreciated that they didn’t get sucked into the politics that turned so many around them into vile criminals in the name of their party. It actually felt like quite a parallel to the political mess we find today (minus the guillotine, thank goodness).
I also liked the transformation Gilles had. He took Carolines’s words to heart, along with that of his parents. He hadn’t realized the flirting games he’d been playing weren’t just innocent fun. It was so good to see that and how he was able to look deeper with what is party was doing. And it was heartening to see the relationship with his father mend. Purchase: Amazon Deseret Book Barnes & Noble
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