First published 1929
Young Jeanne Roland stands by the Seine River in Paris, declaring herself a daughter of these waters that will forever flow through her soul. The engraver's daughter grows up surrounded by music, painting, and books, her mind awakening to the radical ideas of Jean Jacques Rousseau. She dreams of equality and justice for France. When she marries in 1780, she finds a partner who shares her political passions. The Revolution erupts, and Jeanne seizes her moment. She opens her salon to gather like-minded patriots who will become the Girondists. Her husband rises to minister of the interior under the constitutional monarchy and keeps the position after the king falls. But Jeanne wields the real power, directing her husband's career while shaping the politicians who will determine France's fate. She must navigate the treacherous currents of revolutionary politics, where today's ally becomes tomorrow's enemy and one wrong move means the guillotine.
Genres: historical-fiction, 20th-century, 19th-century
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, power-dynamics
Setting: Paris, Seine River
Period: 1780s
324 pages · Hardcover · Harper & Brothers