Mistress of the Revolution by Catherine Delors
Review by Mirah Welday (mwelday)
I was hooked by Mistress of the Revolution from the first page. Told in memoir style, Delors delivers a novel that feels like a real life experience. I was swept back in time to France in the years leading up the French Revolution and thought it was engrossing and told from a unique point of view.
Starting in 1815 with a moment of reminiscing, the reader is quickly plunged back to childhood years of Gabrielle de Montserrat. From a noble family who no longer possesses the wealth and status they desire, Gabrielle is used as a bargaining chip to hopefully increase their family wealth and position. Thus the reader joins Gabrielle in her heartbreaking life journey. Love is gained and lost, along with Gabrielle’s innocence. Thrust into circumstances that are far, far from ideal, Gabrielle has seemingly impossible decisions to make about her survival and connections. While she has few willing to come to her rescue, Gabrielle finds a way to forge new friendships and connections to make ends meet in the years leading up to the French Revolution. But what will happen when politics and her personal life converge? Will her connections save her or will she be another person caught up in corruption and greed? Delors created a story that kept me interested and unsure of what would happen next to Gabrielle.
While it seems the author did extensive research and there was a lot of information later in the book about the politics behind the revolution, Mistress of the Revolution didn’t read like a history lesson. Delors found a deft way to balance history and intrigue with love and hope with one character’s resilient spirit.
