The French Lesson

Product Description

'Compelling and operatic...Reads like a modern thriller' SIMON SEBAG MONTEFIORE, author of The Romanovs 'A dark and irresistible historical novel' LUCY WORSLEY It was a head, but one so bloodied, so rolled in filth, that it was scarcely recognisable but for its long red curls. It had been stuck on a pike like a lump of bread upon a toasting fork ... 1792: Henrietta Lightfoot, a young Englishwoman, trips on her silk gown as she runs for her life along the bloodstained streets of revolutionary Paris. She finds refuge in the opulent home of Grace Dalyrmple Elliott, the city's most celebrated courtesan. But heads are rolling, neighbours fear neighbours, and masters whisper before servants. As the sound of the guillotine echoes outside, within the gilded salons of high society Henrietta becomes a pawn in a vicious game of female power. How will she survive in a world where no one can be trusted? A riveting novel that brings alive the fierce rivalry of the powerful women behind the scenes at the French Revolution, celebrating the raw and relentless power of history itself.'Compelling and operatic...Reads like a modern thriller' SIMON SEBAG MONTEFIORE, author of The Romanovs 'A dark and irresistible historical novel' LUCY WORSLEY It was a head, but one so bloodied, so rolled in filth, that it was scarcely recognisable but for its long red curls. It had been stuck on a pike like a lump of bread upon a toasting fork ... 1792: Henrietta Lightfoot, a young Englishwoman, trips on her silk gown as she runs for her life along the bloodstained streets of revolutionary Paris. She finds refuge in the opulent home of Grace Dalyrmple Elliott, the city's most celebrated courtesan. But heads are rolling, neighbours fear neighbours, and masters whisper before servants. As the sound of the guillotine echoes outside, within the gilded salons of high society Henrietta becomes a pawn in a vicious game of female power. How will she survive in a world where no one can be trusted? A riveting novel that brings alive the fierce rivalry of the powerful women behind the scenes at the French Revolution, celebrating the raw and relentless power of history itself.
Hallie Rubenhold is a historian and broadcaster and an authority on womens' lives in the 18th century. She has worked as a curator for the National Portrait Gallery and as a university lecturer. Her first novel, Mistress of My Fate was received with great acclaim and her biography, Lady Worsley's Whim, was made into the hit BBC drama The Scandalous Lady W. She lives in London with her husband. Chat with her on Twitter @HallieRubenhold