Mistress of the Revolution

This is one woman's story set against the coming of the French Revolution, Gabrielle meets her one true love at the age of 15, but is forced to marry another, a mean spiteful man that beats her. When she is older, she becomes a Mistress of a wealthy man and, meets up again, with her one true love, but it is not yet their time to be together. The French Revolution is upon her and she reaches out to her one true love, and the happiness they find together for whatever time may be left to them amid all the chaos of the French Revolution. A wonderful book of historical fiction.

"Mistress of the Revolution" by Catherine Delors possesses all the elements of the finest modern historical fiction. Beautifully written, the reader is carried immediately into the France of the past. The main characters are very human, with foibles, sins, strengths, and potential for redemption. It is obvious that the author immersed herself in the art, music, drama and literature of the time; the atmosphere of the story exudes authenticity without being pedantic. With some aspects of a contemporary bodice-ripper, it is ultimately a tale of enduring love, love which devastates and transforms amid societal chaos and personal passions. In many ways, "Mistress of the Revolution" is highly reminiscent of eighteenth century tragic romances such as "Manon Lescaut" and "Les Liaisons dangereuses," involving psychological struggles in which innocence and beauty are exploited. The lapse of faith and morals which came to characterize so much of the ancien-régime is exposed as one of the factors which fed discontent and bred the Revolution. When the Catholic religion was attacked during the Revolution it was not out of the blue; the carelessness and hypocrisy of many generations opened the floodgates, in spite of the sincere fervor of many believers, who then became martyrs. The heroine of "Mistress of the Revolution" is a sweet but utterly hapless girl from an ancient but bizarrely dysfunctional family in the mountains of Auvergne. Raised in a convent, Gabrielle is spirited but modest with a strong sense of right and wrong. At fifteen she accepts the marriage proposal of an idealistic young physician, Pierre-André Coffinhal. Her family, however, rejects the idea of her marrying a commoner and instead force Gabrielle into wedlock with her cousin, the middle-aged Baron de Peyre. If the Baron had been a literate man, one would suspect him to be a fervent admirer of the Marquis de Sade, due to the treatment which he inflicted on Gabrielle, beginning on the wedding night. Such is the extent of his physical and psychological abuse that Gabrielle feels that her soul has died. She prays for deliverance, lighting a candle before the Virgin in church. Mercifully, the Baron drops dead. Gabrielle then finds herself a penniless widow with a baby daughter. She contemplates becoming a nun like her sister, but fears losing custody of her child. Circumstances bring her to Paris, where she becomes the mistress of a wealthy nobleman. Deprived of true love, Gabrielle turns to pleasure, but guilt and emptiness leave her no peace. Meanwhile, France plummets into Revolution, a Revolution which will bring her once again into the path of her former fiancé, Pierre-André, who has become a committed Jacobin. Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette appear at brief intervals in the book. The reader is allowed to view them not so much as they actually were but as the French people had come to see them. Gabrielle looks to the new regime to liberate her from her miseries only to find that the

The book is based upon true events of the French Revolution. Many of the characters are inspired by historical figures. The story centers on Gabrielle de Montserrat, born of noble blood. Her mistake was to fall in love with a commoner, Pierre-Andrè Coffinhal. Throughout the story, I tingled with excitement as I thought I knew what was going to happen next. This was all a vain attempt on my part, as the author surprised me with each new twist. Gabrielle's story is a fictional memoir, told in her own voice as she recounts her life beginning when her brother and guardian, Gèraud de Monsterrat, Marquis de Castel, brought her to live with him. Later on in the story, after meeting and falling in love with Pierre-Andrè Coffinhal, her brother finds out and she is forced into a marriage with a sadistic husband. Her life has many phases, one of which will lead her to Paris where she will again meet Pierre-Andrè. During this time, France is unstable, on the brink of political and social upheaval. The decisions she made seemed the best at the time, but even towards the end, she wondered what would have happened if she had decided differently. It's something I am still pondering over. The author should be commended her display of realism. This book took me so far into the story that I completely forgot about my own life. Luckily, we are on spring break and I have some free time. Oh, let me warn you now, although it might be tempting to read the last few chapter to see what will happen in the end, DON'T! I am one to talk since that is what I usually do. For some reason, I didn't in this book. I guess I was so busy reading that I forgot. Anyway, I'm glad I didn't as it will ruin the book.

This is first and foremost an exquisite exercise in the intertwining of details, all true to the period, most arising from in the historic record, for which the author's website reveals that she relied heavily on original sources such as 18th century memoirs and actual trial transcripts, and the rest coming to life in the intersticies. The character development is so subtle, a line here or there, but soon each is alive and at once haunting. The author quoates Alain Jouffroy at the beginning: "It is beautiful to meet someone. It can happen anywhere in the world. Anytime, But the strangest thing is that one does not only meet the living, and that meeting a dead person can change your life." And as has been noted above, this is not a novel for the feint of heart. With that caution, go forth and experience life.