The Seamstress
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5.0 • 2 Ratings
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
A beautifully crafted story breathes life into the cameo character from the classic novel A Tale of Two Cities.
France, 1788
It is the best of times . . .
On a tranquil farm nestled in the French countryside, two orphaned cousins—Renée and Laurette—have been raised under the caring guardianship of young Émile Gagnon, the last of a once-prosperous family. No longer starving girls, Laurette and Renée now spend days tending Gagnon's sheep, and nights in their cozy loft, whispering secrets and dreams in this time of waning innocence and peace.
It is the worst of times . . .
Paris groans with a restlessness that can no longer be contained within its city streets. Hunger and hatred fuel her people. Violence seeps into the ornate halls of Versailles. Even Gagnon's table in the quiet village of Mouton Blanc bears witness to the rumbles of rebellion, where Marcel Moreau embodies its voice and heart.
It is the story that has never been told.
In one night, the best and worst of fate collide. A chance encounter with a fashionable woman will bring Renée's sewing skills to light and secure a place in the court of Queen Marie Antoinette. An act of reckless passion will throw Laurette into the arms of the increasingly militant Marcel. And Gagnon, steadfast in his faith in God and country, can only watch as those he loves march straight into the heart of the revolution.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this lyrical, propulsive story set on the eve of the French Revolutionary War, Pittman (Loving Luther) charts the life of young widower and farmer mile Gagnon after he takes in two orphaned cousins. Ren e and Laurette have grown up safe and content in the quiet village of Mouton Blanc, but after the death of their father, a friend of Gagnon's, the extreme poverty that roils the country due to the profligate king finally reaches them. As troubles increase and peasants began banding together to rebel, Gagnon is unable to dissuade the girls' friend Marcel from joining the rebellion, and he fears Laurette will fall under his influence. But then an unexpected, very fashionable visitor shows up in Mouton Blanc and, coming across Ren e's stitching skills, offers her entry into the palace of Marie Antoinette as one of the queen's seamstresses. Seeking her own purpose, Laurette also heads to Paris, but in the company of Marcel. The faithful Gagnon can only wait prayerfully and patiently as the two young women he loves confront evil, face heartbreak, and chart their own course through the reign of terror. Featuring two fully formed, headstrong, and resilient heroines, the novel stitches together a gripping tale of grace and truth amid incomprehensible suffering.
