Gita Trelease

Review:
An enchanting story set in a period when magic was desired but questioned.

Quotes, notes and snippets:
ch 19: Pappa had printed provocative pamphlets before but nothing like that. The rule was to 'explain not inflame'
ch 20: "His lover is a he!?" "And what of it, the boys are more in love than the girl was with her husband."
ch 29: He likes red heads, and balloons.
ch 34: How dare he imply something was wrong with him because the color of his skin.....the dark places are in our own hearts....isn't it our duty to help others?… (mere)

More F-Rev fiction, but once again of the YA fantasy variety. I don't object to novels written for teenagers if the emphasis is on the 'adult' rather than the 'young', however I did find Gita Trelease's narrative rather patronising in places. The dialogue is peppered with basic French phrases that are then 'translated' into English - and there's even a glossary, should the meaning of 'absolument parfait' not be entirely obvious - and the historical politics are simplistic to say the least (poor is good, rich is bad!) Referring to grown men and women as boys and girls, like they are in modern day high school and not eighteenth century Paris, really annoyed me, though. 'Girls' don't buy commercial property or consider marriage while gambling at Versailles.

The generation gap aside, I did actually quite enjoy the 'magical' theme of the story, even though I wish authors would find another trend for perking up historical fiction. Camille, the eighteen year old 'girl' heroine, and her younger sister Sophie are orphans (of course they are) in Paris at the turn of the Revolution. After the tragic death of Papa the proletariat printer and Maman the daughter of an aristocrat, the girls and their weak-willed brother are left to fend for themselves. Sophie can craft a fancy hat but Camille has inherited her mother's 'magie' - 'magie ordinaire' for changing things, 'glamoire' for changing yourself, and 'magie bibelot' for making objects magic. When brother Alaine gambles away the family's meagre savings, leaving them close to homelessness, Camille breaks open her mother's forbidden black casket and discovers an enchanted dress which will change her appearance - but at a cost. Glamoire requires sorrow and pain to work, either blood or tears, and trying to fit in with the nobles at Versailles requires a still greater sacrifice of moral standards. Camille soon finds herself torn between a budding romance in Paris with a handsome balloonist and the excitement and glamour of her alter ego at Versailles.

The magic reminded me of Charmed and I loved the darker element of the blood sacrifice required to power the 'glamoire'. And yes, magic is a metaphor for how the aristocrats control the people, drawing on suffering and taking lives to maintain the hierarchy. Not exactly an original or nuanced take on French history - I'm surprised the author didn't have Marie Antoinette say, 'Let them eat cake!' Camille is an enterprising heroine, who knows how to play every card game going and fits seamlessly into life at Versailles, but her insta-love with Lazare, the boy balloonist, is less convincing. Why do female characters have to be defined by romance? The Versailles characters were all slightly homogenous - I was never sure who was good or bad, until the pantomime villain stepped out of the shadows.

Not a lot happens - Camille gambles at Versailles in a magic dress while mooning over Lazare - but this didn't feel like a slog. The ending was slightly ridiculous, and perhaps written with a Netflix adaptation in mind, but overall a pleasant F-Rev interlude.… (mere)

In pre-revolutionary France, Marie Antoinette's dazzling, seductive court sits on a house of cards. I've always been fascinated by Marie Antoinette and the French court, and this novel tells the story of the nobility who stayed at court for the parties and fun.

An impoverished teenage magician, Camille, uses her magical powers to blend into the court. Posing as a baroness, she's there to win enough money gambling at cards to build herself a better life, one magically changed card at a time. But she's not the only magician at court, and she soon attracts more attention than she'd like. As la magie burns her strength, costing her more and more each time she uses it, she finds her choices narrowing.

Camille and her sister, Sophie, meet a group of inventors building a balloon. When Camille helps save their balloon from crashing, she falls for Lazare, the leader of the group. But he runs hot and cold, not always showing up when expected. Then, wearing a magically changed face, she meets him at court, where he flirts with her again. Camille wonders: which version of her does he like better, her true identity or the wealthy, perfectly gorgeous baroness?

Camille's an interesting character. She arrives at court determined to hate its excesses and everyone who indulges in them. But as she mingles more, she falls in with a group of friends who she learns to adore. Despite herself, she finds herself enjoying the life of a noble. She has to decide: is she addicted to the courtier's life or can she give it up in the end?

Set at the start of the revolution, this novel shows Camille sympathizing with the revolutionaries, but also hoping no harm comes to her friends at court. Marie Antoinette appears on the page, but not enough to count as a secondary character. She's more part of the setting, without many on-page lines.

A mesmerizing portrait of a way of life on the brink of destruction, through the wide eyes of a girl hungry for it all - glamour, love and adventure.… (mere)