by Zoe Sivak
Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published Aug 2022
432 pages
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publication Information
A powerful, engrossing story of a biracial heiress who escapes to Paris when the Haitian Revolution burns across her island home. But as she works her way into the inner circle of Robespierre and his mistress, she learns that not even oceans can stop the flames of revolution.
Sylvie de Rosiers, as the daughter of a rich planter and an enslaved woman, enjoys the comforts of a lady in 1791 Saint-Domingue society. But while she was born to privilege, she was never fully accepted by island elites. After a violent rebellion begins the Haitian Revolution, Sylvie and her brother leave their family and old lives behind to flee unwittingly into another uprising—in austere and radical Paris. Sylvie quickly becomes enamored with the aims of the Revolution, as well as with the revolutionaries themselves—most notably Maximilien Robespierre and his mistress, Cornélie Duplay.
As a rising leader and abolitionist, Robespierre sees an opportunity to exploit Sylvie's race and abandonment of her aristocratic roots as an example of his ideals, while the strong-willed Cornélie offers Sylvie safe harbor and guidance in free thought. Sylvie battles with her past complicity in a slave society and her future within this new world order as she finds herself increasingly torn between Robespierre's ideology and Cornélie's love.
When the Reign of Terror descends, Sylvie must decide whether to become an accomplice while a new empire rises on the bones of innocents…or risk losing her head.
"Sivak's resonant debut features a woman trapped between two worlds during the Haitian and French revolutions...Sivak expertly depicts Sylvie's growing consciousness of the oppressed and of the revolution's contradictions. Readers will be hooked." - Publishers Weekly
"[V]ividly drawn...An incandescent tale of the French Revolution from the perspective of those history often renders invisible." - Kirkus Reviews
"Sivak's debut novel is replete with rich details of eighteenth-century life, her characters freely mingling with historical figures and events. Readers will appreciate the tour through French history." - Booklist
"This book is a powerful, engrossing retelling of the Haitian and French Revolutions from the point of view of a biracial woman being pulled towards the flames of both." - Essence
"A moving retelling of the true events of the Haitian and French Revolutions wound together with an imaginative fictional heroine. Zoe Sivak pens a timely and essential tale that will linger long in the memory!" - Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of The Diamond Eye
"[B]rings the Haitian and French Revolutions to life for the reader with rich, vivid, and unflinching detail through the eyes of an unforgettable heroine. Zoe Sivak's extraordinary debut is a moving, powerful story that is a must-read for historical fiction readers!" - Chanel Cleeton, New York Times bestselling author of Our Last Days in Barcelona
"This beautifully written book encompasses so much—family ties, sibling resentment, racism, questions about belonging, and the meaning of love. With her meticulous research and keen insights, Zoe Sivak had me happily diving back into French history and turning the pages into the night." - Janet Skeslien Charles, New York Times bestselling author of The Paris Library
This information about Mademoiselle Revolution was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Zoe Sivak advocates for diverse stories and characters in historical fiction. In her writing, she strives to explore famous male figures through the lenses of the women beside them—women who could have existed, even if history left them behind. When not engrossed in historical research, Zoe is pursuing both her Juris Doctor and a master of public health in Philadelphia.
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