To Dance with Kings: A Novel

On a May morning in 1664, in the small village of Versailles, as hundreds of young aristocrats are coming to pay court to King Louis XIV, a peasant fan-maker gives birth to her first and only child, Marguerite. Determined to give her daughter a better life than the one she herself has lived, the young mother vows to break the newborns bonds of poverty and ensure that she fulfills her destiny—to dance with kings. Purely by chance, a drunken nobleman witnesses the birth and makes a reckless promise to return for Marguerite in seventeen years. With those fateful words, events are set into motion that will span three monarchies, affecting the lives of four generations of women.

Marguerite becomes part of the royal court of the Sun King, but her fairy-tale existence is torn out from under her by a change of political winds. Jasmin, Marguerites daughter, is born to the life of privilege her grandmother dreamed of, but tempts fate by daring to catch the eye of the king. Violette, Marguerites granddaughter, is drawn to the nefarious side of life among the nobles at Versailles. And Rose, Violettes daughter, becomes a lady-in-waiting and confidante to Marie Antoinette. Through Rose, a love lost generations before will come full circle, even as the ground beneath Versailles begins to rumble with the chaos of the coming revolution.

An epic generational tale of loves lost, promises kept, dreams broken, and monarchies shattered, To Dance with Kings is a story of passion and privilege, humble beginnings and limitless ambition.

The lives and destinies of four generations of determined women are set against the splendor of Versailles through the reigns of France's most spectacular Bourbon kings, from Marguerite, the peasant girl who becomes part of the royal court of the Sun King, to Rose, who becomes lady-in-waiting and confidante to Marie Antoinette. Reprint. 40,000 first printing.

Rosalind Laker is the author of many novels, including The Venetian Mask and The Golden Tulip. She lives in England.