Perhaps you are aware of the fact that there is an oddly popular trivia game floating around that a group of clever (and likely bored) college...
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It is especially satisfying to break from my usual non-fiction reading habits and pick up such a rich, intelligent novel such as this. Gabrielle, the central character, is very much a woman of her times; she is traded off by her brother for marriage to a Baron. She is left a widow with a child and no prospects at 17, and must trade herself into Paris Society to survive. Such accommodation and acquiescence in contemporary women infuriates me, but I was moved by the authenticity of this character, who finds her way amid brutal, unforgiving times without compromising her own truth. Add to this the author's impressive grasp of historical detail of the real French Revolution, [not the commercialized one] for time well spent with a completely satisfying novel.
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Mistress of the Revolution
P, March 21, 2008
It is especially satisfying to break from my usual non-fiction reading habits and pick up such a rich, intelligent novel such as this. Gabrielle, the central character, is very much a woman of her times; she is traded off by her brother for marriage to a Baron. She is left a widow with a child and no prospects at 17, and must trade herself into Paris Society to survive. Such accommodation and acquiescence in contemporary women infuriates me, but I was moved by the authenticity of this character, who finds her way amid brutal, unforgiving times without compromising her own truth. Add to this the author's impressive grasp of historical detail of the real French Revolution, [not the commercialized one] for time well spent with a completely satisfying novel.(5 of 7 readers found this comment helpful)