The King’s Command
by Rosemary Hayes
‘An absorbing tale told with sensitivity. The forgotten struggles of Huguenot refugees come to moving, heartrending life.’
~ Steven Veerapen, author of A Dangerous Trade
16 year old Lidie Brunier has everything; looks, wealth, health and a charming suitor, but there are dark clouds on the horizon.
Lidie and her family are committed Huguenots and Louis XIV has sworn to stamp out this ‘false religion’ and make France a wholly Catholic country.
Gradually Lidie’s comfortable life starts to disintegrate as Huguenots are stripped of all rights and the King sends his brutal soldiers into their homes to force them to become Catholics.
Others around her break under pressure but Lidie and her family refuse to convert.
With spies everywhere and the ever present threat of violence, they struggle on.
Then a shocking betrayal forces Lidie’s hand and her only option is to try and flee the country.
A decision that brings unimaginable hardship, terror and tragedy and changes her life for ever.
Rosemary Hayes has written over forty books across different genres, from historical fiction to chapter books for early readers and texts for picture books.
Praise for Rosemary Hayes:
‘One of the very best historical novels I have ever read’
~ Sandra Robinson, Huguenot Ancestry Expert
‘The King’s Command is Rosemary Hayes’s first novel for adults, but the story-telling skills she has honed over a prolific career as a prize-winning children’s author are evident on every page of this tense, immersive and dramatic account of religious persecution in late seventeenth-century France.’
~ Kat Armstrong, author
‘The detail within this book is fascinating and I learned so much about what like was like in the late 17th century. It’s excellent!’
~ Amazon Reviewer
Welcome to The Coffee Pot Book Club, Rosemary!
Please introduce yourself and tell us how you became a writer.
I’m Rosemary Hayes. As any writer will tell you, getting your work published isn’t easy and sometimes you need a bit of luck to help you on your way. I had always written for the jobs I did (in publishing and advertising) but I didn’t start writing fiction until I was at home with young children. It was then that I wrote my first novel, a time slip fantasy for young readers called ‘Race Against Time’ – and I had that bit of luck. The story won a major competition and was published by Penguin and that got me going. Since then there have been many ups and downs but over the years I have written around fifty books for young people including texts for picture books, chapter books, middle grade fantasy, historical fiction and edgy teen fiction for young adults.
What is your new release about?
‘The King’s Command’ is my first story for an adult readership and I have hugely enjoyed writing it. It is set in the late 17th century, largely in South West France but also in England, and is about the persecution of the Huguenots. Huguenots were French Protestants, largely artisans and professionals, who were hardworking and successful. However, Louis XIV was determined, by whatever means, to make France a wholly Catholic country. His mantra was ‘One Realm, One King, One Faith.’ Huguenots’ lives became impossible if they continued to be loyal to their faith. Unless they converted to Catholicism, they would forfeit their property, be unable to practise their professions or trades and their children would be forcibly removed from them to be brought up as Catholics. They were banned from holding gatherings, even in private, and their temples were destroyed. In many places, on the King’s orders, brutal soldiers were sent in to force households to convert and thousands did, to save their skins. The King banished Huguenot pastors from the country yet their congregations (even if they were ‘new converts’) were forbidden from leaving because Louis didn’t want to lose their skills.
‘The King’s Command’ follows the fate of a family who refuse to convert. With spies everywhere and the ever- present threat of violence, they struggle on. Then a shocking betrayal forces them to try and flee the country. A decision that brings unimaginable hardship, terror and tragedy and changes their lives for ever.
How did you come up with your setting and your characters?
I read somewhere that one in six people in England have Huguenot ancestry. I have always known that I have and a chance remark by a cousin who has been researching the family history, made me want to know more. These talented people integrated so seamlessly into the society of their adopted countries that, generations on, the reason why they left their native France is often forgotten. There is a lot written about my forbears in the Annals of the Huguenot Society, so initial research was easy. I knew what they did (they were all lawyers or doctors) and where they lived (in a small Gascon town called Castillon la Bataille) and when they arrived in London (1692). Although my book is very loosely based on their experience and I have used the name Lidie (Lydia) – that of my direct ancestor - for the main protagonist in the story and set it largely in Castillon la Bataille, most of the characters are fictional. However, what they experience in the story is firmly based on real events which took place in those violent and turbulent times.
When researching this era, did you come upon any unexpected surprises?
I think the most surprising thing, to me, was the level of hatred that existed between Catholics and Protestants in France, from the Wars of Religion in the second half of the 16th century, where atrocities were committed on both sides, to the destruction of Huguenot strongholds and the disbanding of their armies in the reign of Louis XIII, through to Louis XIV’s single minded determination to rid France of this ‘false religion’. I also didn’t realise the breadth of the talent of the Huguenots. Protestant countries to which they fled were all enriched by their presence while France was the poorer for their departure.
What do you find to be the most challenging aspect of writing Historical Fiction?
I’m sure that many people writing historical have these challenges. The temptation to ‘preach’ to your reader and air all the knowledge you have accumulated during your research can be strong. Learning to feed this knowledge into a story with a light touch is a real skill. Essentially you are bringing to life events from the past and your job is to set the scene and make it believable and to create characters to whom your readers can relate. Your research should never show! The other challenge is to make your story as historically accurate as possible while creating a really good yarn. I was lucky enough to have the help and encouragement of two Huguenot scholars who read my first drafts and corrected my many mistakes and misconceptions.
You have written in a variety of genres. Do you have a favourite genre, and why?
I used to say fantasy as it is such a wonderfully freeing genre but historical fiction is also very close to my heart. It is finding that little nugget of information that brings you up short and makes you say ‘That’s amazing! I knew nothing about that. I must find out more.’ Every historical novel I have ever written has been inspired by moments like this. Moments that bring up a load of questions and create an itch, if you will, that needs to be scratched.
What are you working on next?
My publisher has commissioned a set of three novellas set in the Napoleonic era; fast moving spy stories with a flawed protagonist. I can’t wait to get started.
Thank you for your time, Rosemary. We wish you much success with The King’s Command and your new writing projects.
Rosemary Hayes
Rosemary Hayes has written over fifty books for children and young adults. She writes in different genres, from edgy teenage fiction (The Mark), historical fiction (The Blue Eyed Aborigine and Forgotten Footprints), middle grade fantasy (Loose Connections, The Stonekeeper’s Child and Break Out) to chapter books for early readers and texts for picture books. Many of her books have won or been shortlisted for awards and several have been translated into different languages.
Rosemary has travelled widely but now lives in South Cambridgeshire. She has a background in publishing, having worked for Cambridge University Press before setting up her own company Anglia Young Books which she ran for some years. She has been a reader for a well known authors’ advisory service and runs creative writing workshops for both children and adults.
Rosemary has recently turned her hand to adult fiction and her historical novel ‘The King’s Command’ is about the terror and tragedy suffered by the French Huguenots during the reign of Louis XIV.
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