Daughters of the Storm

by Elizabeth Buchan

Set during the French Revolution, this book is concerned with three women on the brink of womanhood. In the midst of turmoil and change that is to follow, each woman is given the chance to forge her own destiny.

Genres: Historical Fiction, French Revolution, France, Romance, Historical, Fiction, Paris

416 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1988

About the author

Elizabeth Buchan began her career as a blurb writer at Penguin Books after graduating from the University of Kent with a double degree in English and History. She moved on to become a fiction editor at Random House before leaving to write full time. Her novels include the prizewinning Consider the Lily – reviewed in the Independent as ‘a gorgeously well written tale: funny, sad and sophisticated’. A subsequent novel, Revenge of the Middle-Aged Woman became an international bestseller and was made into a CBS Primetime Drama. Later novels included The Second Wife, Separate Beds and Daughters. Her latest, I Can’t Begin to Tell You, a story of resistance in wartime Denmark, was published by Penguin in August 2014.

Elizabeth Buchan’s short stories are broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and published in magazines. She reviews for the Sunday Times and the Daily Mail, and has chaired the Betty Trask and Desmond Elliot literary prizes, and also been a judge for the Whitbread First Novel Award and for 2014 Costa Novel Award. She is a patron of the Guildford Book Festival and of The National Academy of Writing, and sits on the author committee for The Reading Agency.

Reviews

[Misfit · Rating 4 out of 5]

“It was too much,' she murmured. "Too much of everything. Blood. Death. Fear. Wasted hope...”

Paris, 1789. Sophie Lutrell leaves her comfortable life in the English countryside behind for an extended visit with her cousin Héloïse de Guinot. The two cousins are more like sisters, and they're soon swept up in the romance and glamour of the Parisian court - and Sophie might forget her almost-fiance from home and let herself be swept off her feet by the dashing American William Jones (a secret spy for the American government). Héloïse is unhappily married off to the Comte de Choissy, but she soon finds love in the arms of a French soldier, Louis d'Epinon. The third female in this story is that of Héloïse's maid, Marie-Victoire Bonnard, who finds love in the arms of a revolutionary - but that love comes at a great personal cost.

“They threw their hats into the air, screamed their joy and fought to dip their handkerchiefs into the blood.”

Sophie is so caught up in the glitz and glamour of her life in Paris that she hides her head in the sand ignores the warnings to leave France while she still can, and when madness takes over and The Terror begins, it just might be too late...

“You have heard what they say about the Conciergerie? The hell from which there is no route save by the little window of the guillotine.”

Let me tell you, that was some pretty intense stuff at the end. I did have a pretty rocky start with this one, the early chapters were very short and there was a lot of head hopping (third person, but still annoying), and I admit to thinking about bailing out of this, and glad I hung on. The different POVs give the reader a bird's-eye view from multiple perspectives, from the glitz of Versailles to the underbelly of Paris. I'll just add one word of caution - this is not a fluffy, feel good, romantic HEA kind of book, so if that's your cuppa tea I suggest you move along. One word of caution for cover geeks, my copy ISBN #0-553-28448-7 has the cover posted above, but when you search swap/seller sites by this number it pulls up the so-ugly-I-won't-even-post-it-here cover. I have no idea which cover you'll get, so don't blame me if you get that other one.

One odd thing is the author's Afterward. She writes as if some of the characters in the novel were real historical people, yet I've not had a hit on any of them on Google. Any one out there have an answer for me?

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Harrowing.
Elizabeth has a way of drawing you into a scene so deeply, you feel everything, good or bad.
A great read.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Tracey- Jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book by Elizabeth Buchan , has indeed been a powerful tale of drama, romance and tragedy as reviewed by an author .
It's being such an incredible historical, eventful read as you delve deep into the French Revolution in Paris in the spring of 1789 .
The three main characters, Sophie, Heliose and Marie-Victoire have all been such intriguing characters in so many different ways. I've enjoy the way they communicated via letters in the book that added so much to the story and historically too for me..
Sophie is a character that spirit is so much when she comes from England to Paris and it's a lot of terrifying that she realises life is more than she imagined.
Heloise is a much more stronger character, aristocratic . brought up to the decadence and politics of her class.
Marie-Victoire , is working class maid who understands more about the revolution bringing freedom to them but at the same time is not even enough to understand the price of what it will be in the end.
I've loved being back in Paris in this story , the feeling of the historical content has been amazing to read and so atmospheric and the ending with the guillotine not only have me sitting behind my mouth. It also had me in tears as I've been to the city into Versailles and stood in the area where they possibly could've had the characters guillotined , that for me was heartbreaking to think about and read but so important to the story.
I liked all three women. They brought so much to the story and so many different ways as they all have different characters and Impressions of the time of the French Revolution.
I will definitely read more of Elizabeth Buchanan's books as she is so wonderfully descriptive, poignant and knows how to tell a really good story.

[Laurena Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like Elizabeth Buchan's writing, so when I saw a bargain bundle of her books for kindle, I snapped them up, and this is the first one. I gulped when I saw it was about the French revolution - I'm not a lover of historic fiction, or of romance either, and this book threatened to tick both boxes. If I had picked this up in a holiday cottage I would have put it back, but having paid for it I was duty bound to read it, and I'm glad I did.
The novel looks at the rise of the French Revolution through the eyes of three women; the daughter of an aristocratic family, her cousin from England and her maid, and plots their unfolding stories. It describes the confusion, the fear, the barbarism and sheer horror of the time, and reading it left me with all kinds of questions about the period and how it related to the English civil war and the American war of independence (which is no bad thing).

[Jo Michie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The starting chapter seemed rather banal, and I nearly gave up; however the book soon got into it's stride and became utterly engrossing. The 'daughters' of the title are three very different young women. One is an English lass from a family of landed gentry, whose mother is French, the second is her cousin in France, the daughter of a proudly aristocratic family who expect her to marry to suit the family's requirements; the third young women is a local girl (in France) who is lady's maid to the young French aristocrat.
Their lives come together in the late 1700's, just as the first stirrings of the French Revolution are beginning to emerge. Living in Paris during the years of tumult and terror shape them in ways they had never expected.

[O Babs · Rating 2 out of 5]

I admire other works by this author. This, her first novel, is unusual in having a distinct historical setting: Paris during the French Revolution. I think she is better with later periods, including contemporary.

My enjoyment also diminished by the ebook formatting. Chapter breaks not coded for navigation, just three sections of 100+ pages each. The text was garbled on every page. Too garbled for it to be the result of scanning alone. Fortunately, a book meant for easy reading can take some garbled text, although it is always nicer with the minimum.

[A J HOOPER · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fast and furious tale of the French Revolution where just about every character dies. Sophie Luttrell goes to live with her cousin Heloise in Paris. Heloise is about to marry the Comte de Choissy. William, a spy, arrives from America and Sophie eventually falls in love with him. William and Sophie make it out of Paris and do eventually make it back to England, then the States. The Comte and Comtesse do not.

[Kurtis West · Rating 5 out of 5]

I put this book right up there with Tale of two Cities. They should made this one into a movie

[Kath · Rating 4 out of 5]

Has increased my knowledge of the French Revolution, with a perspective from a range of different characters. Very thought-provoking

[Kelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book many years ago and it has stayed with me. It is out of print now but I would love to find a copy of it somewhere. This book takes place in France during the Revolution. The story centers around three women from vastly different backgrounds. One is a daughter of the aristocracy forced into marriage to a much older man even though she loves another. Another is her cousin from England who comes for a visit but is caught up in the Revolution as well. The third woman is from the lower classes who kills her lover who is a revolutionary. The story follows the three women's stories as their lives intersect. Two end up on the guillotine and one gets away. It was beautifully written. The author still writes but is not currently writing anything like this.

[Kathy Cohen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an epic story of the French Revolution along the lines of Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities; it follows the lives of three women, French noblewoman Heloise, her English cousin Sophie, and a French servant Marie-Victoire. The revolution is described through their experiences and those of Heloise's despised husband,her lover, Sophie's fiance Ned, and the American spy William Jones. The evils of the revolution are personified in the peasant Jacques who rapes Marie-Victoire and escapes to Paris where he throws himself into the rebellion and plots revenge against Heloise's family. Although I have studied the French Revolution, I am no expert, but the events and the atmosphere of hate, resentment, ghastly violence, and pervasive fear seem to be accurately depicted.

[KimmycatM · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! This was not your average sappy historical novel. This was real life. Real hunger. Real Pain. Loss. If you're looking for a happy ending for everyone in the book; keep moving. You won't find it here. What you will find is an intricately woven tale of three women who come from different stations in society. The story lends a window into the soul of the characters so that we can live the experience of the French Revolution walking in their shoes. NO romanticization of this bloody time in French history, friends. This was the first novel of Buchan I've read. I can guarantee after reading it; it will NOT be my last. It was absolutely amazing!!!!!

[Caroline · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was my interest in the French Revolution that drew me to this book and I found it to be a fascinating read for that reason - it really brought to life the terrifying events, showing the different perspectives of rich and poor, revolutionary and royalist. However, this version of the book was littered with typographic errors, which was a little distracting at times. Still a fairly engaging read.

[Mitch McCrimmon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about an English woman to travels to Paris just before the start of the French revolution and gets caught up in it. Great suspense around what will happen to her and her friends amidst numerous executions of everyone associated with the upper classes. Gruesome and terrible at times but a very well written historical suspense story.

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing story showing lives of 3 women in French Revolution, the French aristocracy, the slaves of the revolution and the English. Great historical fiction plus romance.