 |
Begin this vibrant historical fiction and you are immediately transported to Paris in 1661. While poverty, famine, and smallpox stalk the common citizenry, the nobility’s gravest concern is admittance to the most fashionable soiree being conducted by the rich, beautiful, and talented Marquise de Valinquette. The seemingly incongruent juxtaposition of wretched rabble and bejeweled aristocracy is in fact the axis on which this scholarly and entertaining novel turns.
Author Goldstein’s plot is as intricate and finely woven as a period tapestry should be. A nobleman aspires to be granted acceptance to the court of The Sun King, Louis XIV. He uses his lovely and beguiling wife to pave the way for their ascendency to the highest ranks of French society. Their path however, quickly becomes strewn with the poisonous thorns of obsession, jealousy, adultery, abandonment, and revenge. A tale of frivolous social climbing soon morphs into a grand adventure encompassing past secrets, present rivalries, and futures so potentially calamitous as to threaten not only their lives, but also the lives of countless others.
Goldstein brings 17th century France vividly to life by creating a layered and detailed rendering of the period with prose that engages while it elucidates. Her command of the atmosphere, alliances, and intrigues of the times adds gravitas to the historic nature of the story. Her use of rich language with finely etched characterizations paint verbal pictures that enable us to see clearly the counts and courtesans, dukes and duchesses, the beggars, thieves, and more who populate her pages. If your literary taste often wanders to swashbuckling stories rooted in love, honor, and indomitable spirit, you’ll likely find a welcome stopover in the Court of Miracles.
RECOMMENDED by the US Review