JayneB Reviews / Book Reviews18th-century / family relationships / First-Person / France / Historical / Historical fiction / novella / POC / POC author / Servants / working classNo Comments
In 18th century France, the choices for a young black woman of modest means are slim.
Véronique Clair loves her parents and their small home in the countryside of Burgundy but dreams of using her talent for sewing and embroidery to make her own way, without having to rely on a man.
When Véronique’s well-meaning parents find her a suitor of elevated station their happiness turns into her despair. Véronique must make the difficult choice between agreeing to an arranged marriage–with its promise of elevated status in society–or embark upon an unpredictable journey across France and into a world she’s never known.
…for a young woman of honor, only the heart can guide the way.
CW/TW – suicide
Dear Ms. Flinn,
It was the cover that did it. I am a sucker for a pretty cover but reading that this is a story about a Black woman in 18th century France intrigued me and made me one click buy it. Veronique is quite a woman. She’s smart, educated, hard working, and determined to forge her own destiny. Her parents have raised her to be brave and she will show that in the choices she makes.
Veronique Clair knows that her parents are worried about her future. As an educated but still working class Black woman in 1788 France, she uneasily straddles two social classes. Most of the young men her age in her village are now married so even if her father – born a slave but now free since reaching France – were willing to agree to marry her to a White man, that isn’t an option. After a run-in with a handsy aristocrat, Veronique is saved by a friend though both pay a price for this. Veronique seeks and finds work in a local noble’s house, desperate to earn money and repair her reputation.
Then suddenly she is faced with two choices. Her parents have finally found a wonderful marital prospect, a Black (almost) lawyer who will lift Veronique into a higher social class and ensure she doesn’t need to work for a living. Meanwhile, her employer has secured her a place at the Chateau owned by Madame du Barry, the former mistress of King Louis XV, where Veronique will be trained as a superior servant who can command her own future. What will she choose?
“Veronique’s Journey” is actually historical fiction instead of a romance. Also note it is a novella and the first of at least two if not three books. Veronique is tough but also pragmatic. When her friend might suffer for saving her, she proposes a work arrangement to keep Guy from prison. When she gets a job in a nobleman’s household, she works hard to be better than the best. When she has the chance to marry well, she doesn’t immediately jump into an engagement but tries to discover if the man will treat her better than some of the women she’s seen in her village who are constantly pregnant and often beaten by their husbands.
Torn as to what to do, Veronique seeks the advice of her mother and her employer. One wants to see her settled for life while one tells her to decide for herself what is more important. I’m looking forward to reading the next installment to see how her choice goes. B
~Jayne
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Jayne
Another long time reader who read romance novels in her teens, then took a long break before started back again about 25 years ago. She enjoys historical romance/fiction best, likes contemporaries, action- adventure and mysteries, will read suspense if there’s no TSTL characters and is currently reading more fantasy and SciFi.