Customer Reviews

The King's Daughter

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This is one of my favorite books. I was completely obsessed with it for about a month, which is a record for me. It's terrific.

Best for young adults ages 12-16, The King's Daughter by Suzanne Martel tells the story of Jeanne, an eighteen-year-old French orphan. She travels to Canada as a King's Daughter, passage paid by the king so that she might marry one of the settlers. By chance she is married to Simon, a young man with two children. His previous wife Aimee was killed by the Iroquios and he needed someone to look after his son and daughter.

It takes time and patience, but Jeanne comes to love Simon and Simon comes to love Jeanne. They both struggle with doubts about each other throughout the book until everything is resolved at the end. There are plenty of various adventures (Jeanne travelling to the nearest settlement as a man, for example, or the risk of Iroquois attacks) which make the book very exciting. The story is touching and fun, and historical fiction buffs will love it, as will anyone.

The King's Daughter was translated from French to English, I believe. Since I cannot speak or read French, I was delighted to find an English version at my bookstore. I liked this book very, VERY MUCH and I would encourage ANYONE to buy it.

This well written book is a story about Jeanne Chatel who is orphaned at 10 and is taken into a convent, as was the custom in the late 1660's and early 70's. But a convent is no place for the boundless energy that Jeanne has. So when she is invited to go to New France (Qubec) to be a wife to a man there, she hastly agrees, her sense of adventure rousing inside of her, and after 8 years living in a dull convent she was ready for some excitment. So she leaves France. When she arrives she expects to find a gallant military man but instead a hunter/architect comes to pick her up. The story of Jeanne's courage and bravery in New France and with the new family she comes to love and care for is truely worth reading.

I've owned this book since I was about 8, and just recently reread it for the millionth time (I am 24 now). Jeanne, the heroine, is compelling and attractive, as is her husband, Simon. Their romance is a little shallow, but this *is* a child's book.

The vivid descriptions of life as a settler in Canada are wonderful, and the portrayal of interactions between the French and the native tribes is not horribly biased. The whole range of behaviour in the French, the Hurons, the Algonquins and the Iroquois is explored, with the message being that people, regardless of their skin, are individuals. All races have good and bad people.

The language is somewhat stilted, as is predictable in a translation -- I should probably read it in French some day to see what I'm missing! I thoroughly recommend this book to girls ages 10 to 14.

This was a good book. I have read it in both french and english and have had many english/french class discussions on it.

Summary: Jeanne, orphan girl of france. She is chosen like many girls to go to New France to help populate it. These chosen girls are on a mission for france, they are suitably named "The Kings' Daughters". Jeanne marries an intense man and becomes an instant 19-year old mother taking care of her new hubby's children who she adores. Jeanne has her encounters and adventures.

I found the book cliched. Jeanne is so overly cliched and her romance is a bit too. Their was little character developpment. It is obvious Martel is bias between the relations of the French and the Iroquis but she exaggerates their anger and fury a bit too much. The language is simple due to translation but if you do read the french version, the vocabulary is better.

The one true thing I like about the book is that, it's interesting. The plot is just her and her adventures. She has many adventures which keeps you reading. It's modestly historically accurate. I still recommend it if you wish to be interested but it would be better for the preteens.

"The King's Daughter" was a great book, and very interesting! It told about Jeanne, a French orphan in the 1600s, who goes to New France (Canada) as a "king's daughter". That is what the French girls who went to marry the men in New France were called, and they were very important in history.

Jeanne hopes to marry a kind military man, but instead marries a poor, rough hunter, and she fears that he loves his dead wife more than she. Times are hard in New France, but she continues to try to find happiness in her new home and life.

This book was very exciting and interesting, and I'd recommend it for ages 10 - 14. The text is somewhat simple sometimes, however, because it was translated from French, but other than that I loved it! I would also recommend "Calico Bush", about a French girl in young America, and "A Coal Miner's Bride", a "Dear America" novel about an immigrant in an arranged marriage.

After learning so much in school about Quebec history is was really cool to read this book. It's exciting and interesting and it gives you a sense of life at that time. I want to read it in french also.

Provides a different perpective on colonial America from the viewpoint of a French settler. I found the story charming and the characters refreshing.

The King's Daughter is a very good book. It is not the best book I have ever read, perhaps because it was written at a very low level of English. If you are over 10, you are not very likely to like this book. Also, if you read science fiction, you might find it rather boring and simple (no high-tech guns, space battles, etc...). Otherwise, The King's Daughter is a great book if you are younger.

I thought this book was absolutely wonderful!! I love all the romance and adventure that Jeanne goes through! I could read it over and over again!

It was a great book.It's okay,but only once,but that is enough.I suggest you borrow this at the library.It's okay once,but then it's boring.