Welcome to the Historical Fiction Online forums: a friendly place to discuss, review and discover historical fiction.
If this is your first visit, please be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above.
You will have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed.
To start viewing posts, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

19th Century France

(see under "By Era" for French Revolution fiction)
Post Reply
User avatar
Margaret
Bibliomaniac
Posts: 2440
Joined: August 2008
Interest in HF: I can't answer this in 100 characters. Sorry.
Favourite HF book: Checkmate, the final novel in the Lymond series
Preferred HF: Literary novels. Late medieval and Renaissance.
Location: Catskill, New York, USA
Contact:

19th Century France

Post by Margaret » Sat May 8th, 2010, 4:46 am

Rachel Field's All This and Heaven Too (I've just posted a review at HistoricalNovels.info) is based on the true story of a French governess at the center of a sensational 1847 murder trial that helped bring down the French monarchy (once again - it had been re-established after the era of Napoleon). Originally published in 1938, this does not have a snappy 21st century plot, but is interesting for all that. It focuses heavily on the governess's child-rearing philosophy and on the difficulties of serving as a governess in a household where husband and wife are at odds. While I can't say I would heartily recommend it, I did find it thought-provoking.

Has anyone else read this novel? If so, I'd be interested in discussing it in a separate thread so as not to introduce spoilers here.
Browse over 5000 historical novel listings (probably well over 5000 by now, but I haven't re-counted lately) and over 700 reviews at www.HistoricalNovels.info

User avatar
Miss Moppet
Bibliophile
Posts: 1726
Joined: April 2009
Location: North London
Contact:

Post by Miss Moppet » Sat May 8th, 2010, 8:23 am

[quote=""Margaret""]Rachel Field's All This and Heaven Too (I've just posted a review at HistoricalNovels.info) is based on the true story of a French governess at the center of a sensational 1847 murder trial that helped bring down the French monarchy (once again - it had been re-established after the era of Napoleon). Originally published in 1938, this does not have a snappy 21st century plot, but is interesting for all that. It focuses heavily on the governess's child-rearing philosophy and on the difficulties of serving as a governess in a household where husband and wife are at odds. While I can't say I would heartily recommend it, I did find it thought-provoking.

Has anyone else read this novel? If so, I'd be interested in discussing it in a separate thread so as not to introduce spoilers here.[/quote]

I haven't but it sounds intriguing, Margaret, and the library has it, so I'll put it on the TBR list. Did it get made into a film? The title sounds familiar.

User avatar
donroc
Compulsive Reader
Posts: 858
Joined: August 2008
Location: Winter Haven, Florida
Contact:

Post by donroc » Sat May 8th, 2010, 12:31 pm

See the film, same title, starring Bette Davis and Charles Boyer. Both at their prime.
Image

Bodo the Apostate, a novel set during the reign of Louis the Pious and end of the Carolingian Empire.

http://www.donaldmichaelplatt.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXZthhY6 ... annel_page

User avatar
Margaret
Bibliomaniac
Posts: 2440
Joined: August 2008
Interest in HF: I can't answer this in 100 characters. Sorry.
Favourite HF book: Checkmate, the final novel in the Lymond series
Preferred HF: Literary novels. Late medieval and Renaissance.
Location: Catskill, New York, USA
Contact:

Post by Margaret » Sat May 8th, 2010, 4:01 pm

Let us know when you've read it, Miss Moppet - it would be interesting to discuss, I think. I might watch the movie at that point, to refresh my memory. Hard to go wrong with Bette Davis!
Browse over 5000 historical novel listings (probably well over 5000 by now, but I haven't re-counted lately) and over 700 reviews at www.HistoricalNovels.info

Chris Little
Reader
Posts: 64
Joined: February 2010
Location: Going back in Time

Napoleon III

Post by Chris Little » Sun May 9th, 2010, 4:17 am

Norman Zollinger's "Chapultepec" tells of the French invasion of Mexico in the 1860s. The early chapters introduce two Americans. Sarah, Boston aristocracy, lives in France with upper class intellectuals after the death of her parents. Her best school friend, Carlota, is related to royalty from several countries and engaged to Maxl Hapsburg. Napoleon III is arranging for Carlota to become Empress of Mexico, where Sarah's family owns a silver mine.

Sarah's brother and only remaining relative has been killed in Mexico. She postpones responsing to the expected marriage proposal received from a French nobleman just before sailing to Veracruz.

Zollinger uses Sarah to depict the elite French. Her fiance's brother is a cavalry officer. The other American, Jason, fought in Mexico as a teenager in the 1840s, then joined the French Foreign Legion, by 1862 he has become an infantry captain, fluent in French, friends with competent regular French army men. French military leadership can't be described as brilliant.

Zollinger is best known for his outstanding New Mexico family saga, "Riders to Cibola," but if you have interest in French inspired wars, "Chapultepec" might appeal ...

Post Reply

Return to “France”