27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Strengths and Struggles On the Road to Success, June 12, 2010
This review is from: The Queen's Dollmaker (Paperback)
Christine Trent's new historical novel titled The Queen's Dollmaker is the delightful story of one 18th century young woman's struggle for survival after a devastating Paris fire brings death to her family, leaving her home & father's workshop in ashes and ruin. Claudette Laurent is the daughter of an esteemed doll maker, a craftsman who created the most sought after finely detailed fashion dolls that every moneyed Parisian family coveted to delight and fancy their little girls with.
The terrifying inferno that stripped Claudette of her parents, leaves her fleeing France in the middle of the night and boarding ship to London as she is offered a way out of a future of prostitution, or the life of a street beggar. Crowded aboard ship with other girls her age, they are swept up bound for England and to be sold off to the London aristocracy as servants to earn their keep. Life scouring pots and scrubbing laundry after her gentle past-life of doll maker's apprentice, is not what Claudette has in mind. High in the attic of Lady Asby's estate, Claudette counts her pennies, stashing them away for an eventual escape out of hell. In her spare time, Claudette lifts scraps of wood and snips of fabric from the household trash, and in her secret attic hide-away, starts creating simple play dolls to be sold at the local marketplace. Finding her endeavors successful, she continues to hoard her earnings, saving for the day she can leave a life of servitude and rebuild her father's dream of being the finest doll maker in Europe. Inch by inch we watch Claudette become a woman with a mission. Readers will cheer her on, and delight in the innovative ideas that have her winning the hearts of London's finest, as her dolls become more and more exquisite, bringing riches beyond her imagination. Hard work soon pays off as Claudette and her friends open a meager store-front and begin to sell doll after doll after doll, each one unique in it's making, putting smiles on many a London face.
Before she can catch her breath with her newfound independence and wealth, she catches the eye of a London gentleman who courts her into a world of sweet and tender love. Added to her new treasure chest of good fortune, Claudette lands the commission of all dreams, to design a grand masterpiece doll for none other than France's spoiled Queen, Marie Antoinette. The Queen's Dollmaker is a coming of age story of a young girl who grows up quickly amidst court intrigue of both England and France. It is the tale of a young woman's fierce pride, determination, and love of her craft to the point of passionate obsession. This book slowly unravels Claudette's strength along a rocky road to success, independence, entrepreneurship, and love, during the horrors of the French Revolution. In addition to the main story of Claudette's world of dolls, the reader gets a brief education of the lives of Marie Antoinette and King Louis as their lives crash and fall during the reign of terror. Christine Trent shows great talent in this fine historical novel. Her writing style is polished, with dialog and storyline outstanding. I really enjoyed learning about the craft of Parisian doll making and give the author two thumbs up for creativity. Bravo for a wonderful entertaining story that will be followed up by a sequel soon.
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18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Could have been better., February 11, 2010
This review is from: The Queen's Dollmaker (Paperback)
The Queen's Dollmaker was a good book until I got about halfway through it and it started to just compress a lot of different story lines together. The book would have been better if it had just focused on the dollmaker and less on the queen's downfall, because it seemed like two totally different books that were merged together to create one storyline.
It was a free Kindle download, so not bad.
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22 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Check Your Math, December 29, 2010
Am I the only one who noticed that at the beginning of the book, the main character was 5. Then, 16 years into the future, when the fire happens, she's only 16? I finally gave up on this book after 3 chapters, it was not worth my time. The author, and the editors, missed something as simple as continuity in the main character's age. Add to that the horrendous research the author did on that time period. I mean, seriously, someone of that class being able to read and also speak English. Yeah, yeah, her mom was English, but still unrealistic. Not to mention the walks she and her first boy took around Paris. If the author knew anything about the history of Paris, she would know that until the mid-to-late-19th Century, Parisians barely traveled more that 3 blocks from their home. Lower class people definitely weren't traveling to the Jardin Tuilleries on afternoon walks. They would never have had time. I can't stand historical books that have facts so blatantly wrong. If you're going to write it, take the time to research it. I recommend against reading this book. Sorry.
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