2014 Release: The Shadow Queen by Sandra Gulland

Author Sandra Gulland has unveiled the cover and synopsis to her upcoming release, a "sister" novel to Mistress of the Sun, The Shadow Queen, and this reader could not be more excited!

Mistress of the Sun was a wonderful read and I am eager for this release. Sadly we will have to wait until April for it to hit stores, but I am sure it will be worth the wait!

Publication Date: April 8, 2014
Doubleday
Hardcover: 336p
ISBN-10: 0385537522

From the author of the beloved Josephine B. Trilogy, comes a spellbinding historical novel about a young woman who rises from poverty to become confidante to the most powerful, provocative and dangerous woman in the 17th century French court: the mistress of the charismatic Sun King.

1660, Paris

Claudette's life is like an ever-revolving stage set. From an impoverished childhood wandering the French countryside with her family's acting troupe, Claudette finally witnesses her mother's astonishing rise to stardom in Parisian theaters. Claudette finds working with playwrights Corneille, Molière and Racine to be deeply rewarding, but like all in the theatrical world, she's socially scorned.

A series of chance encounters pull Claudette into the alluring orbit of Athénaïs de Montespan, mistress to Louis XIV and reigning "Shadow Queen." Needing someone to safeguard her secrets, Athénaïs offers to hire Claudette as her personal attendant.

Enticed by the promise of riches and respectability, Claudette leaves the world of the theater only to find that court is very much like a stage--with outward shows of loyalty masking more devious intentions. This parallel is not lost on Athénaïs, who fears political enemies are plotting her ruin as young courtesans angle to take the coveted spot in the king's bed.

Indeed, Claudette's "reputable" new position is marked by spying, illicit trysts and titanic power struggles. As Athénaïs begins to lose her grip on the Sun King, her use of the magical arts take a dark turn, and Claudette is forced to consider a move that will put her own life at risk.

Set against the gilded opulence of a newly-constructed Versailles and the blood-stained fields of the Franco-Dutch war, THE SHADOW QUEEN is a seductive, gripping novel about the lure of wealth, the illusion of power, and the increasingly uneasy relationship between two strong-willed women whose actions could shape the future of France.

About the Author

I was born in Miami, Florida, in 1944, and lived in Rio de Janeiro, Berkeley and Chicago before immigrating to Canada in 1970 to teach in an Inuit village in northern Labrador for one year.

Settling in Toronto, I worked as a book editor for a decade before moving with my husband and two children to a log house in northern Ontario. Juggling children, a dog, three cats, pigs, chickens and a succession of horses, I worked as a freelance editor for five years before committing to writing full-time in 1985.

Ten years later, the first of the novels in the JOSEPHINE B. TRILOGY was published. (The trilogy is now published in 15 countries and in 13 languages.) MISTRESS OF THE SUN, my 4th novel, was published in 2008 (and is now in 8 languages). THE SHADOW QUEEN will be published in the spring of 2013.

I am now writing a young adult novel about Hortense, Josephine Bonaparte's daughter (and Napoleon's step-daughter).

Our children grown, my husband and I now live half the year in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, and half in Ontario.

Follow Sandra Gulland online:

Website: http://www.sandragulland.com/
Blog on writing: http://sandragulland.blogspot.com/
Facebook: http://bit.ly/sgullandFacebook
Twitter: http://twitter.com/Sandra_Gulland
Tumblr: http://sandragulland.tumblr.com/

4 comments:

  1. AWESOME review. The book sounds quite good too.

    THANKS.

    Elizabeth
    Silver's Reviews
    My Blog

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sounds fascinating. The cover is fantastic!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Great review! Thanks for taking the time.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I have been eagerly anticipating The Shadow Queen after reading Mistress of the Sun in 2009. I love the Joesphine series and will continue to buy anything Sandra Gulland writes. Five years is definitely worth the wait. I don't pick up many books the day they release but I'll be making an exception for The Shadow Queen.

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts with Thumbnails
 

Passages to the Past
All rights reserved © 2013

Custom Blog Design by Blogger Boutique

Blogger Boutique