Ms. Delors pens this tale as a mixture of historical fact and fiction told as if Gabrielle is writing a memoir. We get to see bits and pieces of history as lived through the eyes of a woman whose resilience in the face of disaster is admirable. It's hard to believe that one woman could stare death and poverty in the face so many times and still live to tell about it.

The men in her life often seem to be a mixed blessing and curse. Her brother the Marquis has already had an incestuous relationship with one sister. He seems to be leaning toward another with Gabrielle when she is rescued or cursed by a forced marriage. The Count de Villers in Paris woos her and wins her as his mistress but all too soon turns into a possessive, controlling man. The men in her life all seem to bring pieces of joy only to be followed soon after with another tragedy.

There's such a sense of impending doom throughout this saga. Even knowing Gabrielle lives to tell the tale isn't enough to take away an overall feeling that each page will bring us down into the pits of the time she lived through. Ms. Delors writes well, bringing characters to life we have heard of before in a historical sense. I would have preferred fewer times when blood, gore and death filled the pages. Each time Gabrielle finds some joy we know that pain and heartbreak will soon overwhelm her and the reader again.

Overall rating:
Sensuality rating: Mildly sensual

Reviewer: Dee Dailey
May 26, 2009