Disappointing
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Despite the cheesy cover, this is not a standard historical romance. However, it's not up to snuff to classify as historical fiction either. Honneure's mother dies and leaves her orphaned with no other family, and the Monsarts take her in as a foster sister to their son Phillipe, where they all work as servants for Madame Dupin at the Château Chenonceau. Honneure and Phillipe are raised as sister and brother, and their bond only grows stronger as they reach maturity. Phillipe takes a position as groomsman for Marie Antoinette's horses and Honneure also is eventually sent to serve in Marie's household as well. Honneure and Marie become close friends and confidants (!!!) as the intrigues and scandals of the French court threaten their happiness and security. When Honneure and Phillipe finally realize they are more to each other than brother and sister, a rival's jealous plot divides them and Honneure is sent away in marriage to an older man when Louis XV eyes Honneure. Years later, Honneure and Phillipe's happiness is threatened again by the French Revolution, especially the deep dark secret of who fathered Honneure.
OK, I guess that all sounds promising enough. The problem though is that our two main protagonists are separated so much and for so many years, along with very tame love scenes that most romance readers will probably be bored to tears. And those, like me, who want a believable tale of the French Revolution and The Terror, are just not going to find it here. Honneure and Phillipe are mere servants, yet Marie Antoinette takes them into her every confidence and they're treated like members of the family. When Honneure is sent away to marry the old man, she (a servant!!) corresponds with her family and Marie. Honneure can not only read, she can write at a time when only the upper classes had that skill. Better yet, she's always got paper on hand at a period in time where paper was not readily available and quite expensive. Even after three years into The Terror and she's living in a hovel of an apartment she's got quill and paper at hand to send a letter home!! And to top it all off, while I'm not up to snuff on the rule of Louis XVI and Marie, they are just too downright pure, perfect, loving, cost conscious (I think you're getting the picture?) to be real.
All in all, it's really far from the best in either genre. It just doesn't have enough romance and interaction between the two main characters to succeed as a romance and due to the historical inaccuracies it fails quite miserably (IMO) as historical fiction. Two stars.
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A Wonderful, Sweeping Historical!!!
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This was a wonderful historic romance you won't want to miss. Epic in detail this story transports you back to France right before the revolution. We are introduced to Honneure a servant that has seen hard times but always sses the good that can be found in any situation. She is orphaned at the age of eight and is sent to the Mansart's a family of servants that adopt Honneure and love her and raise her as their own. They already have a son Phillipe and he loves his "sister" at first sight.
This story follows the lives of the Mansart's as well as the growing relationship between Honneur and Phillipe, and eventually leads our hero and heroine to Versailles and service to the young Marie Antoinette. Here within the backdrop of the French court Phillipe and Honneure realize that their love is a true and deep love that transcends time, place, and circumstances. Of course the path to happiness is shadowed by those at court that are jealous and petty and do their utmost to keep the young lovers apart. The two live through many hardships but in the end their love survives when so much of their past has been lost to the revolution.This is a timeless tale and Ms. Rosburg has done her homework on the French Court and paints a very vivid picture of the Palace of Versailles. As well as the history surrounding the French Revolution. This is truely an amazing story that puts you directly in those troubled times and gives you a brief look at what it may have been like right before the end of the Terror. Be prepared to have the kleenex handy as you will need it throuhout the book and be prepared to be swept into the story. This book has definitely made it onto my "keeper shelf".
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