1792. As a teacher at her parents’ Academy for Young Ladies in the heart of London, Madeleine Moreau has lived her life sheltered from the outside world. But on the night of a dazzling Masquerade, tragedy strikes and she is left alone in the world. Desperate to find the family she never knew, Madeleine impulsively travels to France in search of them. But with war around the corner, and fearing for Madeleine’s safety, the enigmatic Comte Etienne d’Aubery offers her protection at his home, Chateau Mirabelle.

Chateau Mirabelle enchants Madeleine with its startling beauty, but it is a place of dark and haunting secrets. As the Revolution gathers momentum and the passions of the populace are enflamed, Madeleine must take control of her own destiny and unravel events of the past in order to secure a chance of future happiness.

I was enthralled with this novel from the first chapter. I have a love of history and this book very much appealed to that interest. It is set during the French Revolution and so I couldn’t wait to get started.

The prose is beautifully written and it sets the scene so well. I really did get the feeling that I was in Paris during the Revolution. There has obviously been a lot of research going into details – the danger and the atmosphere was palpable.

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