Part of La Comédie Humaine
First published 2008
In post-Revolutionary Paris, three elderly royalists meet in secret to perform a forbidden mass for the executed Louis XVI. The trio consists of two aristocratic women and an elderly priest who risks his life by conducting religious ceremonies outlawed by the new regime. They gather in a modest apartment, constantly fearful of discovery by revolutionary authorities who would execute them for their loyalty to the old monarchy. The priest carries forged papers and moves through the city under cover of darkness. Each character faces the daily terror of denunciation and death while clinging to their faith and political convictions. The women have lost their fortunes and live in poverty, yet they refuse to abandon their beliefs. As they conduct their clandestine ritual, the weight of their dangerous situation presses upon them. The story captures the atmosphere of fear and suspicion that gripped France during this violent period, where former nobles and clergy lived as hunted outcasts in their own country.
Genres: drama, classic-literature, literary-fiction, historical-fiction, 19th-century
Vibes: atmospheric, dark, intimate, suspenseful, tense, thought-provoking
Tropes: forbidden-ritual, found-family, hunted-outcasts, moral-conviction
Setting: Paris, France
Period: French Revolution, Reign of Terror, 19th century
20 pages · Paperback · Quill Pen Classics
Content warnings: death, violence