Mistress of the Revolution: A Novel (Paperback)

~ (Author) "I read this morning in the papers that the corpses of the late King and Queen of France, by order of their brother, the restored..." (more)
Key Phrases: citizen secretary, national agent, unsworn priests, Monsieur de Villers, Madame de Bastide, Civic Certificate (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Against the backdrop of the leadup to the French Revolution, Delors's mostly successful debut follows the life of Gabrielle de Montserrat, a feisty young woman forced by her meddling brother to forsake her commoner true love and marry the Baron de Peyre, a wealthy, older man. The baron is abusive and cruel, but the short-lived marriage produces a daughter before the baron dies. A widowed Gabrielle travels to Paris and enters the heady world of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette, where, with a sparse inheritance and the responsibility of a young daughter, Gabrielle becomes the mistress of Count de Villers. Delors shines in her portrayal of the late 18th-century French women's world (she has a rougher time with the men), though the amount of political-historical detail covered overshadows the tragic love story that develops once Gabrielle reunites with her first love, Pierre-André Coffinhal, who is now a lawyer. The appearance of historical figures sometimes comes off awkwardly (as when Gabrielle meets Thomas Jefferson or has a private audience with Robespierre), and the ending is marred by a too-convenient and seemingly tossed-off twist. Nevertheless, the author ably captures the vagaries of French politics during turbulent times and creates a world inhabited by nicely developed and sympathetic characters. (Mar.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Cruelly deprived of her first love, poor but aristocratic noblewoman Gabrielle de Montserrat is married off to an abusive elderly baron. After her husband’s death, the young widow and her daughter are transported to Paris, where Gabrielle becomes entangled in the scandalous court of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. The plot thickens when Gabrielle, now the mistress of Count de Villers, rekindles the passion with her former flame, a politically connected lawyer on the Revolutionary Tribunal. Positioning her would-be lovers against the tumultuous backdrop of the French Revolution, Delors does an admirable job of depicting the tension, confusion, and volatility of an era when one false move could mean the guillotine. --Margaret Flanagan --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 528 pages
• Publisher: NAL Trade; Reprint edition (March 3, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451225953
• ISBN-13: 978-0451225955
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #375,077 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Complex and charming plot line but the vast historical information sometimes makes me lose sight of the characters, March 16, 2008

By	Lilly Flora "by Lilo Drandoff" (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Mistress of the Revolution (Hardcover)

The French revolution is one of those eras in history that it seemed like I would never understand. There were too many political twists, too many people involved, and too many perspectives on the whole thing. This novel, "Mistress of the revolution" went a long way in helping me to understand this complicated and horrible time in history.

Gabrielle is only eleven years old when her brother the Marquis de Castel takes her from the convent which is educating her and brings her to her family home and to her mother for the first time since she was born. Raised by country peasants and nuns, Gabrielle is kind and takes her mothers consent criticisms in stride along with her brother's increasingly strange attentions. But when she falls in love with a local man she sees a chance to escape.

But this is not in her cards. Gabrielle is married off to an older cousin who abuses her in his quest for an heir. Upon his death he leaves her and her daughter destitute and with no where to go until a kind friend reminds her of a distant relation in Paris. In the city of lights she flourishes but still needs a means to provide for herself and her daughter. Work is out because of her social status and marriage is out because of her lack of funds leaving her only one option-become a wealthy man's mistress.

But the time of the French revolution, the great terror is fast approaching and Paris is becoming a turbulent sea of politics. Can Gabrielle, a noble woman, a kept woman and a young mother survive the coming storm on her own? Or will she need to depend on the help of an old friend?

"Mistress of the Revolution" is a first person memoir type account of one woman's experience during the French Revolution. For a first novel it is charming and informative but at times seems a bit like a textbook on the rev. with a side story included. Very adult themes such as incest, spousal abuse, rape and of course all of the horrors of "the terror" make this a book not for people who can't take violence.

All in all I really enjoyed reading this book and sped right through it. But at times it seems the complex plot is secondary to the immense amount of info included on the causes and progress of the revolution. This could of course be attributed to Gabrielle herself-she is writing an informative memoir to give to someone-but at times it made me lose sight of the characters. In general though, the charming writing style and easy to understand historical information made up for the faults.

Four stars and I recommend keeping an eye on the author's future works.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A very satisfying and interesting novel of a life in the middle of a revolution, April 14, 2008

By	Rebecca Huston "telynor" (On the Banks of the Hudson) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Mistress of the Revolution (Hardcover)

More than a year ago, I joined an online group of readers who focused on historical novels. Through them, I have found a renewed interest in fiction and nonfiction set in the past, and have happily discovered some new authors to try on.

One of these was newcomer Catherine Delors. Her novel, Mistress of the Revolution may at first appear to be not much more than yet another novel set during the fall of the French monarchy, and the rise of the French Revolution and all of the adventure that would create. It's proved to be very fertile ground for novelists, and in recent years, there has been a real upsurge of interest in the period. Sadly, most of what gets published is not much more than trite modern romance dressed up in fancy clothes, and where authors betray their own lack of research with every word that their characters utter. And these sorts of novels were what have caused me to loose interest in the genre, swamped as it is with heaving bosoms and too perfect characters.

So it was with some trepidation that I ordered this from Amazon. But once I started reading, I was in for a very pleasant surprise. The story starts in a rather classic way, with a young girl of eleven being suddenly called home to the family chateau from a convent. Gabrielle de Montserrat is fresh and lovely, and just a bit on the determined side. While she knows that she has a duty to her family and class, there's a part of herself that aches to move beyond the constrants of her existance. If she just knew what they were.

Four years pass, with Gabrielle running wild, enjoying the company of her elder brother, the Marquis de Casel, and chafing under the restrictions of her rather cold-blooded mother. But a warm summer's day brings her to the notice of a young man, Andre-Pierre Coffinhal, an aspiring doctor from a nearby town. They're smitten by each other, and vow to be together in that mad rush of a first love, but when her brother finds out, Gabrielle is forced to marry someone else.

Her husband, while of appropriate rank and wealth, treats Gabrielle with seeming goodwill in public, but in private treats her with distain and brutality. The only good thing to come of the marriage is her beloved daughter Aimee, and Gabrielle vows to make her daughter's life very different than her own. But when the husband dies sudden, Gabrielle finds herself in genteel poverty, and being discarded by her own family.

What's a French girl to do but go to Paris? With a benefactress, the Duchess, and a ready wit of her own, Gabrielle finds the court at Versailles a new world indeed. Through Gabrielle's eyes we see her meet the influential and famous, and the Count de Villars, a handsome nobleman who tempts Gabrielle besides her fears to take a daring step.

But everything comes to an end when revolutionary fervour sweeps France, and Gabrielle has to make some choices of her own...

I must say, that while the plot of this one is rather standard -- girl meets boy, girl looses boy, girl struggles through many obstacles and so on -- I was thrilled by the fact that Catherine Delors uses reality to not just form the background of her novel, but also to motivate and build her characters. They speak in the style of the period, look at the world with the minds and attitudes of the time, and behave accordingly. While Gabrielle is very naive at the start -- how many mature teenagers do we really know? -- she does learn from her experiences, growing into a woman that we can both like and sympathize with. It's this handling of her characters that really makes this novel shine for me, these are all flesh and blood people, who have reasons for what they do.

One special moment for me was a discussion of the novel Les Liaisons Dangereuses, which really was a scandal at the time, and being that I have been a fan both the written and film versions, this was like having a little extra to the story. The author continues the same touches in clothing, music, and art of the time, with Gabrielle interacting with many of the known artists and writers of the time. It's something that really does help to flesh out the story.

All in all, I really liked this one. It's packed with plenty of drama, lots of description, and the author never loses sight of the time and place, and especially of her characters. I won't be a bit surprised if this is one of my top ten novels for the year. In any case, I hope that Ms. Delors continues to write, this is a very promising start!

And do keep the tissues handy for the last part of the novel.

Five stars overall.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars From J. Kaye's Book Blog, March 25, 2008

By	J. Kaye Oldner (http://j-kaye-book-blog.blogspot.com/) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Mistress of the Revolution (Hardcover)

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-Andrč 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, Gčraud de Monsterrat, Marquis de Castel, brought her to live with him. Later on in the story, after meeting and falling in love with Pierre-Andrč 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-Andrč. 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.