reviewsbyerin

The Reign of Terror has changed everything about Paris. Vivienne Rivard was once the lacemaker for Marie Antoinette, but now lace has been declared illegal by the common people, and making lace a crime worthy of the guillotine. Hiding for months as those closest to her meet death by various hands, Vivienne decides to escape when an anonymous note offers her passage to America. She's shocked to discover the person waiting for her claims to be her father - a person she never thought she, the illegitimate daughter of a courtesan, would ever meet. Unsure if Armand de Champlain could be who he says he is, Vivienne realizes that leaving her native country is still the only hope for a future, and they find themselves bound on a ship for Philadelphia.

At that time the capital of the United States, Philadelphia is bustling and teeming with transients and immigrants. There is a large French population, though the range of loyalties among them is wide. Some are Jacobins, fully supporting the bloody revolution, a frightful prospect for those who have fled from it. Vivienne has never been an aristocrat and wants to work with her hands to make a new life, not necessarily as a lacemaker. Her quiet determination and inner strength soon open doors for her.

Irish-American Liam Delaney is content to leave all revolutions behind and finally develop his own land near French Asylum in northeastern Pennsylvania. Liam's hopes and dreams are simple and honest, but the world is still a complicated place. He meets Vivienne while in Philadelphia on a mail run, and the lovely hardworking Frenchwoman catches his notice and earns his respect.

Also staying at Vivienne's little boardinghouse is Martine, a former lady-in-waiting to Marie Antoinette, who hides a sick child in her room. Vivienne begins to suspect that the child may not actually be Martine's son Henri, but instead the dauphin of France somehow spirited away from prison. It soon becomes clear that Vivienne is not the only one who wonders, and the child's life would be in danger if this rumor reached Jacobin ears. Being a friend to Martine and Henri may be the most dangerous thing Vivienne has ever done.

This book is quite epic in scope, rich in details, and will be well-received by all fans of historical fiction. It even includes several scenes featuring America's favorite rapping Founding Father, although if the musical has you convinced that Alexander Hamilton is a glory-seeking hothead this is not going to persuade you otherwise. Politics has always been a supremely controversial subject. Both Liam and Vivienne want lives far less complicated than what they've known before, but the volatile situation will force them to make difficult decisions every step of the way.

I received my copy of the book from the publisher. All thoughts expressed in this review are my own.