Lucie de la Tour du Pin was a survivor and witness to an era of terrifying and dangerous political mood swings – the French Revolution. As a member of the minor nobility, she witnessed major intellectual debates in the salon of her stern and domineering grandmother. Her mother, who died young, was a lady-in-waiting to Marie Antoinette. Her stepmother was a first cousin to the Empress Josephine. Her husband fought alongside Lafayette in the American Revolution. Her half-sister Fanny married a faithful follower of Napoleon and followed him into exile. She was a refugee émigré in Regency England and upstate New York and lost and regained a fortune.
Based on Lucie’s memoirs and numerous letters to her goddaughter, this lucid biography is a fascinating page-turner. It clearly recounts the various political factions and fast paced power changes during and as a result of the Revolution. This is a woman born in privilege but at the mercy of a cruel grandmother and treacherous political change. Throughout she kept her spirits up and valiantly made the best of circumstances presented to her.
~Gretchen Echols
