This is a historical fiction that takes places shortly before the French revolution. It starts out with the main characters Victiore in her small village. They are poor and times are hard until tragedy strikes. Then strikes again and again. To help Victiore she is sent to Paris to do domestic work where it is hoped that she will have a better life. Instead she is raped and gives birth to a child which she must abandon to a church. She is brought back to her small village where she marries and lives a good life until her husband dies then again another tragedy strikes and her twins are drowned. She falls into a deep depression then is sent to the most notorious of mental hospitals and here she spends a few months then is transferred into the prison. It is here her life begins to change. Since she can read and write she is the maid to another famous well off prisoner who helps her to escape. This is where Victiore begins to read in earnest and takes part in the French revolution that throws off the chains of the ancient regime.
When I was reading this book one of my first thoughts was how many times can tragedy strike for the same person? I felt sorry for Victoire. I became invested in her and read on if for no other reason to see if her fortune changed by the end of the book. Even when she was in the mental institution and prison and we don’t yet know if she actually drowned her twins or if it was an accident I still wanted her to have a better life than she was having.
The book stays true to the way things actually were during that time period. The story itself is fiction but what happened in the story is what happened during the French revolution. I learned some things about how poor people actually were. For example people couldn’t afford shoes so they used rope to cover their feet. I admit I was unaware of the amount of poverty that was being experienced during this time so this book was a real eye opener.
I enjoyed this book and now am eager to try more historical fiction. I would recommend this book to people who want to learn more about the French Revolution and to people who enjoy historical fiction.
This book was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.