Désirée is a historical novel, in the form of a fictional diary, that tells the story of Désirée Clary, the daughter of a silk merchant from Marseille, who became Napoleon's first love, and later, through a set of extraordinary circumstances, Queen of Sweden. The major events of Napoleon's reign are told through her eyes. The book was made into a film starring Jean Simmons and Marlon Brando.
The Guardian of Lies is a Cold War thriller set in the South of France. A young woman, Eloïse, goes to Paris, hoping to follow in her brother's footsteps as a CIA agent. After a car chase, where her brother is severely injured, she goes home to her family's farm in the South of France, only to find that the area has become a hotbed of violence and political intrigue after her father sells part of his land to the U.S. Air Force for an airbase. And she begins to suspect her brother...
Liberty by Lucy Moore tells the story of six remarkable women who lived during the French Revolution. They came from a variety of social backgrounds, from aristocratic to working-class women. During these difficult times, it is fascinating to read about these women who lived during another difficult time.
Rodin's Lover is a biographical novel about Camille Claudel, an amazingly talented female sculptor in late 19th century Paris. She becomes the lover of Auguste Rodin and inspires his work, but her frustration at his inability to commit to her leads her to break off the relationship. After their breakup, she creates some of her most innovative work.
Tracy Chevalier, author of Girl with A Pearl Earring, tells the story of two children in 1790s London, country boy Jem, who has recently moved to London when his father finds work with Astley's Circus, and streetwise city girl Maggie, and their friendship with poet and engraver William Blake. The children become the inspiration for Blake's most famous books of poetry. Chevalier paints a vivid portrait of life in London at the time of the French Revolution.
The Stranger Diaries is a contemporary gothic novel of suspense set at a high school in rural England. Clare Cassidy is an English teacher researching a Victorian novelist who used to live in one of the school buildings. There is a legend that he murdered his wife and that her ghost haunts the school. When two members of the English department are murdered and their bodies found with a line from a story by the Victorian novelist, and Clare finds that a stranger has written in her diary, she...
The Blue is a historical thriller of industrial espionage in the world of 18th century porcelain manufacture. The heroine is a talented artist who wishes to become a serious painter, but, as a woman, that path is blocked to her in England. In Venice it would be a different story, but she doesn't have the money to go there. An unscrupulous nobleman offers to finance her journey to Venice if she accepts a job at a porcelain factory and steals the formula for a stunning new shade of blue...
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