Spirit of Lost Angels
The Bone Angel Trilogy Book #1 (standalone)
by Liza Perrat
Publication Date: May 1st, 2012
Publisher: Perrat Publishing
Pages: 388
Genre: Women's Historical Fiction
Audiobook: narrated by Jennifer Jill Araya
A Paris lunatic asylum. A woman imprisoned. Plunge into France on the brink of Revolution.
They drowned Victoire’s mother, claiming she was a witch. Then her father died beneath the wheels of a nobleman’s carriage.
Forced to leave her village, Victoire finds work in Paris. But domestic employment comes at a high price and the orphaned girl suffers gruesome abuse at the hands of a diabolical aristocracy.
Accused of a heinous crime, they imprison her in the depraved lunatic asylum, La Salpêtrière.
With the help of ruthless seductress, Jeanne de Valois –– conwoman of the Necklace Affair that brought down Marie Antoinette –– Victoire must find the strength to join the revolutionary force storming the Bastille.
Can she survive a chilling betrayal and rise above her impoverished peasant roots to take her place in this new, post-revolutionary France?
Based on historical fact, Spirit of Lost Angels is a riveting testament to the courage of women facing tragedy, betrayal and insanity in a world where their gift can be their curse.
Winner, EFestival of Words 2013, Historical Fiction category.
Shortlisted, Writing Magazine Self-Publishing Awards, 2013.
Featured in “Off the Beaten Path” recommendations, Historical Novel Society Conference, 2013.
Happy Bastille Day!
Today, 14th July, France celebrates the storming of the Bastille on 14th July, 1789, with parties, costume parades and processions, and firework displays all over the country.
France’s biggest and most important national holiday actually began yesterday, on the evening of the 13th, with much eating, drinking and dancing at various fundraising fireman’s balls (Bals des pompiers).
Hosted at different fire stations, anyone is welcome to come along and join in this tradition that began in 1937, after a fête nationale parade.
But what’s Bastille Day really about?
Well, for a start, here in France nobody calls it “Bastille Day”. If say “Happy Bastille Day” to a French person, there’s a good chance they won’t know what you are talking about! They call is the “quatorze juillet” (fourteenth of July), or la fête nationale.
Anyway, to cut a very long story short, whatever you want to call this day, the storming of the Bastille changed the course of French history. It occurred at a time when the French purses were empty, taxes high, and life for the commoner even more difficult with a shortage of food, namely bread. However, the royals -- King Louis XV1 and Queen Marie-Antoinette -- continued to live the good life, ignoring the plight of the commoner.
I think we’re all aware of that popular, but totally unproven, myth that when Marie Antoinette was informed of the bread shortage in Paris, she said, “then let them eat cake”.
All of this led to an unhappy and disgruntled population, resulting in the gathering of a mob, who marched to the Bastille (fortress that served as a prison and warehouse for gun powder, arms and bread grain). Negotiations with the Bastille governor failed and the situation quickly degenerated into the Bastille guards opening fire and killing hundreds of people. Eventually, however, the guards stepped down, the Bastille was surrendered, and then destroyed.
This one day led to the guillotine execution of most of the French aristocracy, including the king and queen, and heralded years of terror and turmoil from which, eventually, would emerge a new rule.
We thus say that Bastille Day is a celebration of the French Revolution.
To celebrate this epic event, I'm running a limited time 99c/p offer of my novel, Spirit of Lost Angels, which takes place before, during, and after the French Revolution.
Get your copy HERE!
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Extract from Spirit of Lost Angels, Chapter 40:
More and more people massed around the burning fortress, smoke flapping into the grim sky like a hero’s flag. Whole families streamed onto the streets. They brought their children, their dogs, to see the fiery spectacle.
I watched Aurore, caught up in the dancing, chanting revellers, and still I could not entice her away from that bloody, triumphant scene. I was about to leave on my own when I heard, amidst the din, a voice calling.
‘Come, Rubie.’
I spun around, wondering whoever was addressing me. My eyes scanned the knot of unfamiliar faces, but besides Aurore, I knew nobody. I heard the voice again. ‘Rubie.’
Whoever would be calling me? Still I recognised no one, then I glimpsed the face of a young girl wearing a scarlet dress, and my hand flew across my mouth.
She was some distance away, but I could make out the cinnamon-coloured curls. My own ten-year-old face. I could have sworn too, she was wearing a necklace––a small angel carving perhaps, threaded onto a strip of leather. I felt giddy, and held Aurore’s arm to stop myself fainting.
The girl had turned from me and was vanishing into the crowd. I started pushing people aside, stepping on feet, shoving my way through the throng.
‘Rubie, Rubie, wait. Wait! Don’t leave me again!’ I thought I would burst with desire, with hope, and with the fear I wouldn’t reach her.
Like the river in a summer drought, the girl receded from me, further and further. Then she was gone.
Liza Perrat
Liza grew up in Australia, where she worked as a general nurse and midwife. After meeting her French husband on a bus in Bangkok in 1988 and, three children and many pets later, she has now been living in a rural village in France for thirty years. She works part-time as a medical translator, and as a novelist.
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Thanks so much, Cathie, for featuring Spirit of Lost Angels!
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure, Liza. Delighted to celebrate the fête nationale with you here.
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