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46th out of 178 books
—
1,185 voters
Bride of New France
In 1669, Laure Beausejour, an orphan imprisoned with prostitutes, the insane and other forgotten women in Paris’ infamous Salpetriere, is sent across the Atlantic to New France as a Fille du roi. Laure once dreamed with her best friend Madeleine of using her needlework stills to become a seamstress on the Rue Saint-Honoré and to one day marry a gentleman. The King, however...more
Paperback, 294 pages
Published
January 18th 2011
by Penguin Canada
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This was a neat read as it pertains to one of my favourite parts of Canada - Quebec. It even describes the original part of Quebec City that we love to visit. The premise of the book was good but the ending was just awful with no tie back to the rest of the book. It needed to be wrapped up much better.
Desrochers tale of Laure Beausejour took me to a time and place beyond my knowledge. The time: around 1660. The place: Paris and New France. She brings this period powerfully to life.
On the order of the king, all female beggars, indigents, prostitutes and the insance are gathered from the streets of Paris and deposited in one of the dormitories of the mammoth Salpetriere Hospital. There they live out their miserable lives subsisting on thin gruel and, if they can, working their fingers to insens...more
On the order of the king, all female beggars, indigents, prostitutes and the insance are gathered from the streets of Paris and deposited in one of the dormitories of the mammoth Salpetriere Hospital. There they live out their miserable lives subsisting on thin gruel and, if they can, working their fingers to insens...more
A bit of a slow burner, I had to stick with this at the beginning. I listened to the audio version and though I liked the narrator's voice, her speech was very slow. Once I got into the cadence of it, the story flowed better. Laure, the main character, is a brave and prideful girl. She's a searcher for her place in life. The story centers around much of her internal life and at times, I felt there was a bit too much of this. This isn't really an action-packed story, despite the fact that Laure i...more
Here's a novel of a French woman who lives a life of misery! An easy fast read, it is interesting for the facts about how France dealth with the insane, orphans, the sick, the destitute, but it never tells exactly what year this took place. So one must guess. According to the "Chronicles of America" in their chapter on "New France":
"Richelieu in 1627 prevailed upon the King to abolish the office of viceroy, to cancel all trading privileges, and to permit the organization of a great colonizing...more
"Richelieu in 1627 prevailed upon the King to abolish the office of viceroy, to cancel all trading privileges, and to permit the organization of a great colonizing...more
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Oh, I really loved this book! First of all, who wouldn't love the cover? It spoke to me from the book shelf... The woman's profile so mysterious and dark and then edged all around like a cut out, gilt paper snowflake. I had to pick it up.
And listen to the first quote inside:
"But what shall I tell you of migrations when in this empty sky
the precise ghosts of departed summer birds
still trace old signs."
Leonard Cohen
"The Sparrows," In Let Us Compare Mythologies
Poetic and beautiful? Yes, and s...more
And listen to the first quote inside:
"But what shall I tell you of migrations when in this empty sky
the precise ghosts of departed summer birds
still trace old signs."
Leonard Cohen
"The Sparrows," In Let Us Compare Mythologies
Poetic and beautiful? Yes, and s...more
In 1656 King Louis XIV declared, “We expressly prohibit and forbid all persons of either sex … able-bodied or invalid, sick or convalescent, curable or incurable, to beg in the city and suburbs of Paris.” To that end, Laure Beausejour is torn from her parents’ arms as a young child and raised in an orphanage.
A decade later, Laure still lives in a Parisian institution. She has become one of the country’s most skilled lace-makers, and hopes to be noticed by a nobleman in need of a wife. However, w...more
A decade later, Laure still lives in a Parisian institution. She has become one of the country’s most skilled lace-makers, and hopes to be noticed by a nobleman in need of a wife. However, w...more
Suzanne Desrochers, Bride of New France tells the story of Laure Beausejour, one of the filles du roi sent to the New World by the King of France. The story is situated in both Old and New France.
The story begins with Laure, the daughter of street entertainers, being taken from her parents and incarcerated in the Hospice de Salpetriere. An institution in Paris in the 1600's that housed thousands of women, whose crime was only to be poor, mentally ill or prostitutes. Apparently, due to actions of...more
The story begins with Laure, the daughter of street entertainers, being taken from her parents and incarcerated in the Hospice de Salpetriere. An institution in Paris in the 1600's that housed thousands of women, whose crime was only to be poor, mentally ill or prostitutes. Apparently, due to actions of...more
This novel came with a "National Bestseller" label and a glowing recommendation by Joseph Boyden, one of my favourite authors, but I was disappointed.
The book tells the story of Laure Beausejour, one of the filles du roi sent by royal decree to New France between 1663 and 1673 to become marriage partners to would-be colonists and so expand the European population. The daughter of street entertainers, she is incarcerated in the Hospice de la Salpetriere which houses thousands of women: prostitute...more
The book tells the story of Laure Beausejour, one of the filles du roi sent by royal decree to New France between 1663 and 1673 to become marriage partners to would-be colonists and so expand the European population. The daughter of street entertainers, she is incarcerated in the Hospice de la Salpetriere which houses thousands of women: prostitute...more
The book is a historical fiction about French women in the 1600s who were sent by the French King to New France (Quebec) to promote the increase in population there. The protagonist, Laure, is one of those women; she goes through various ordeals and suffering and also ends up carrying a baby of a Savage (aboriginal person/Indian of Quebec).
I really didn’t like the book. I was frequently asking to myself, what’s the point of this book? And the narrative was predictable in many cases. And it was r...more
I really didn’t like the book. I was frequently asking to myself, what’s the point of this book? And the narrative was predictable in many cases. And it was r...more
This novel follows a young girl, Laure, from the Saltpêtrière Hospital in Paris, a orphanage, school and poorhouse, to the early town of Ville-Marie in New France. Laure was taken to the Saltpêtrière when she was very young, grabbed from the arms of her begging parents by the city's archers. She was lucky to be taken in by a sponsor, but now that lady has died and Laure is back in the Saltpêtrière being trained as a seamstress. She is luckier than most, as she can read and write and has skill wi...more
I will not go into detail about what the book is about since that has already been discussed in many of the previous reviews. The author has taken a subject that could be at times very depressing to write about and turned it into something that is an enjoyable read. I am sure that in period that Laure grew up life was not easy and moving to a new world that was less developed even more difficult.
The book makes you realize that the women had to endure a lot of misfortune, hard work and probably...more
The book makes you realize that the women had to endure a lot of misfortune, hard work and probably...more
I received this novel as a First Reader's giveaway from Goodreads.
A work of historical fiction, it follows the story of Laure Beausejour who is taken from her parents as a child to be raised in an orphanage in Paris. It is here that she is taught the fine arts of lacemaking and sewing. It is her dream to one day become a seamstress in her own dress shop. Unfortunately her strong will and penchant for breaking the stringent rules of the Catholic nuns end her dreams when as punishment she is put o...more
A work of historical fiction, it follows the story of Laure Beausejour who is taken from her parents as a child to be raised in an orphanage in Paris. It is here that she is taught the fine arts of lacemaking and sewing. It is her dream to one day become a seamstress in her own dress shop. Unfortunately her strong will and penchant for breaking the stringent rules of the Catholic nuns end her dreams when as punishment she is put o...more
Bride of New France is a debut novel by Canadian author and historian Suzanne Desrochers.
The main character is Laure Beausejour, a poor Parisian girl who has grown up in the Salpetriere institution in Paris. Her hope is to become a seamstress with a prospect of marrying one of her clients. Fate has another path in mind for Laure. She becomes one of the filles du roi (King's daughters) who are sent to Canada for the purpose of marrying the French traders living in New France and increasing the Fr...more
The main character is Laure Beausejour, a poor Parisian girl who has grown up in the Salpetriere institution in Paris. Her hope is to become a seamstress with a prospect of marrying one of her clients. Fate has another path in mind for Laure. She becomes one of the filles du roi (King's daughters) who are sent to Canada for the purpose of marrying the French traders living in New France and increasing the Fr...more
Bride of New France is a debut novel by Canadian Suzanne Desrochers. It arrived with a 'must read' recommendation that it definitely lived up to.
Bride of New France tells the story of the filles du roi - the King's Daughters. In 1659 France is acting on the King's decree to "clean the streets". Clean the streets of the poor, the destitute, the beggars - "...troublesome sights for the young King and his regents". Seven year old Laure Beausejour is taken from her family and placed in the Salpêtri...more
Bride of New France tells the story of the filles du roi - the King's Daughters. In 1659 France is acting on the King's decree to "clean the streets". Clean the streets of the poor, the destitute, the beggars - "...troublesome sights for the young King and his regents". Seven year old Laure Beausejour is taken from her family and placed in the Salpêtri...more
I bought this book because I have always been interested in the history of the King's Daughters and Québec history because it's part of my personal history and that of Canada. I remembered VERY romanticized versions of the filles story in elementary school( as if Louis XIV had personally brought them over here and they all married handsome, wealthy seigneurs ) Reading this book proved that was far from the truth...these ladies didn't have any idea what life in la belle province was all about ......more
It has been a few years since I last read about Canadian history (make that Grade 9 history!). The last line of the blurb above is what caught my eye..it's amazing how the world has changed for women over the years. Suzanne's debut is stunning from page one, with an ending that blew me away.
A captivating read, The Bride of New France is the tale of one remarkably strong woman. The main character, Laure, has never had an easy life. She has lived on the streets with her parents, is torn from them...more
A captivating read, The Bride of New France is the tale of one remarkably strong woman. The main character, Laure, has never had an easy life. She has lived on the streets with her parents, is torn from them...more
Bride of New France contains one of the most memorable heroines I've encountered in a long time. Laure is the daughter of a street singer, raised in one of Paris's hospitals for the poor and infirm. She dreams big, is strong-willed, and compassion doesn't come easily for her. When she is sent across the sea to Quebec as a filles du roi, Laure meets the challenge with her usual fierce stubbornness. Though she is being sent to marry, keep a household and raise as many children as possible, it's of...more
Laure Beauséjour was taken from her beggar parents by the Paris authorities when she was just seven years old and placed in the Salpêtrière, a catch all institute for poor, sick, mentally ill, or criminal women (and by criminal read prostitutes). She was lucky enough to spend a few years as the serving girl of an elderly matron, who treated her as if she was her own daughter. The matron taught her to read, dressed her up in fancy clothes, doted on her. When the matron died, Laure found herself b...more
I really wanted to love this because I'm definitely on a historical fiction kick, and the filles de roi were something I didn't know anything about.
The story follows Laure, an "orphan" from France who is sent to New France (Canada) in the late 1600s as a part of the King's plan to populate the new colony. It's a fascinating piece of history, and perhaps the story would have been better in the hands of a better writer.
This book wasn't bad, but it was clearly by someone who was new at the craft...more
The story follows Laure, an "orphan" from France who is sent to New France (Canada) in the late 1600s as a part of the King's plan to populate the new colony. It's a fascinating piece of history, and perhaps the story would have been better in the hands of a better writer.
This book wasn't bad, but it was clearly by someone who was new at the craft...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Once upon a time, before Canadians became as polite as we are today, Canada was a pretty wild and crazy place. In French Canada, the Europeans inhabitants were mostly fur traders and soldiers, and were not settling down to make families and towns and all those lovely building blocks of civilization. So king Louis-I-forget-which-Roman-numeral decided to send them some wives. The filles du roi, as these women are called, were rounded up from the villages, poorhouses and asylums of France and shipp...more
Bride of France tells the story of Laure Beausejour. From the point where she is taken from her homeless parents by the archers and put in the care of the Salpetiere. Her struggle with the rigid routine there and her eduction to embroider/ make lace and read and write.
Finally she is elected to become a " filles de roi" and her and her friend Madeleine have to brace themselves for the difficult journey across the atlantic to the unknown Canada. There the struggle increases, Madeleine dies as soon...more
Finally she is elected to become a " filles de roi" and her and her friend Madeleine have to brace themselves for the difficult journey across the atlantic to the unknown Canada. There the struggle increases, Madeleine dies as soon...more
May 20, 2012
Charlotte
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
historical,
first-reads
Pros: Quick read, interesting narrative
Cons: Lack of character development, narrative imbalance,
Laure lives in a hospital in Paris, where she has resided for the past few years after having been taken from her parents as a child. Through a series of unfortunate events, she finds herself on a ship to Canada where she will be given to a settler as a bride.
In fiction writing, we sometimes talk about "getting to the bear." The bear, referencing the famous short story by Faulkner, is the meat of th...more
Cons: Lack of character development, narrative imbalance,
Laure lives in a hospital in Paris, where she has resided for the past few years after having been taken from her parents as a child. Through a series of unfortunate events, she finds herself on a ship to Canada where she will be given to a settler as a bride.
In fiction writing, we sometimes talk about "getting to the bear." The bear, referencing the famous short story by Faulkner, is the meat of th...more
May 24, 2012
Vivian
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
first-reads,
historical-fiction
A goodreads winner.
Laure is snatched away from her beggar parents as a child in order to live and to work at a French dormitory. She is taught catechism, among the other basics of education, and the trade of a lace maker. The girls in the dormitory are given enough food to keep them alive and functional. It is certainly laborious to go through some of the scenes of peasants riddled with bug bites and disease.
The cover of this book is certainly beautiful. I couldn't wait until I received my copy....more
Laure is snatched away from her beggar parents as a child in order to live and to work at a French dormitory. She is taught catechism, among the other basics of education, and the trade of a lace maker. The girls in the dormitory are given enough food to keep them alive and functional. It is certainly laborious to go through some of the scenes of peasants riddled with bug bites and disease.
The cover of this book is certainly beautiful. I couldn't wait until I received my copy....more
This is a fascinating book, meticulously researched, grown out of Desrochers’ MA thesis on the filles du roi, combining history and creative writing. Counting at least thirty-eight filles du roi among my 64 'French' 6th great-grandmothers, I marvelled anew at the extraordinary perils they faced in surviving to build their lives in the Canadian wilderness.
Laure Beauséjour has spent most of her young life in the Salpétrière in Paris with orphans and other children, like Laure, seized from their in...more
Laure Beauséjour has spent most of her young life in the Salpétrière in Paris with orphans and other children, like Laure, seized from their in...more
The strengths of this story lie in its history and settings. I’ve never read about French Canada at this period of time, and how women in this new nation worked into the scheme of things. Laure is a vibrant, impulsive, selfish 17-year-old girl. Her rash actions in what she deems a miserable, hopeless existence lead to grave consequences that pull at the reader's heartstrings. Her decisions and choices lead to a gripping novel near the end. The biggest weakness was the point of view and character...more
Laure story begins with the brutal murder of her parents by the king’s guard, claiming them to be beggars. She is sent to the infamous Sainte-Claire dormitory a “Divison of the Hoptial General de Paris”, pretty much a prison to teach young girls to be wives and servants for the upper class. Laure must conform to keep her place in what is considered the semi-decent dormitory. Although it is one of the better wards Laure decides to send a letter to the King about the poor treatment and condition i...more
This is a book of historical fiction set in the 1600s when women were sent from Salpetriere institution in France to populate the French colony in Canada.
The history of this time period is very fascinating. French women (mainly institutionalized women and prostitutes) were shipped over to the new colony in Canada to marry French fur traders. Living conditions were harsh and they were unprepared for the climate. The main character is selfish and totally absorbed in in her actions and attitude. I...more
The history of this time period is very fascinating. French women (mainly institutionalized women and prostitutes) were shipped over to the new colony in Canada to marry French fur traders. Living conditions were harsh and they were unprepared for the climate. The main character is selfish and totally absorbed in in her actions and attitude. I...more
Like many readers I'm sure, I find books about people travelling long distances interesting, especially when they are set in a time period hundreds of years ago, where means of travel and living were so completely different from today. In order to cross the ocean now, we simply hop on a plane, turning what was an eight week trip into an eight hour one; it is also certainly much safer than the dangers of guiding a wooden ship across the vast Atlantic Ocean.
So I picked up Bride Of New France with...more
So I picked up Bride Of New France with...more
This could have been a terrific book. It is a book of historical fiction set in the 1600s when women were sent from France to help establish a permanent French colony in Canada.
The history of it is fascinating. There were so many things I didn't know about how the French established their presence in the new world and how poor people/criminals in that time were treated in Paris. Where it falls short is the characters, and some improbable plot lines. The main character is selfish and completely...more
The history of it is fascinating. There were so many things I didn't know about how the French established their presence in the new world and how poor people/criminals in that time were treated in Paris. Where it falls short is the characters, and some improbable plot lines. The main character is selfish and completely...more
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SUZANNE DESROCHERS grew up in the French-Canadian village of Lafontaine on the shores of Georgian Bay, Ontario. Now based in Toronto, she is currently writing a Ph.D. thesis at King's College, London, comparing the migration of French and British women to North America in the early modern period. She has lived in Paris and Tokyo and travelled extensively throughout Asia. Her travel writing has app...more
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