What do you think?
Rate this book
Makepeace Hedley #3
The Sparks Fly Upward
A new novel of love and courage in a time of war, from the author of A Catch of Consequence and Taking Liberties. Few of those Philippa loves in London return her affection. Not the love of her life, who has a new bride. Not even her widowed mother, Makepeace Burke. So Philippa decides on a marriage of convenience to a prudish, if kind, man. Across the Channel in France, the Reign of Terror is causing the beheading of thousands from the French nobility. Among those in danger is Philippa's friend, the Marquis de Condorcet. Not only has Philippa the means of rescuing him from the guillotine, she's got the courage. And as fate would have it, Philippa will find love where she least expects it-while staring death in the face.
434 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2006
12 people are currently reading
349 people want to read
About the author
Diana Norman
32 books147 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
British journalist Diana Norman also writes as Ariana Franklin.
Born Mary Diana Narracott, she grew up first in London and then in Devon, where her mother took her to escape the blitz. At the age of 15, she left school, but with journalism in her background (her father had been a Times correspondent)and her hardy intelligence, the lack of formal education proved no barrier and by 17 she was n London, working on a local newspaper in the East End.
Headhunted at 20 by the Daily Herald, Norman became the youngest reporter on Fleet Street, covering royal visits, donning camouflage to go on exercise with the Royal Marines, and missing her 21st birthday party because she was covering a murder on the south coast. When she protested about this to the news editor, she was told: "Many happy returns. Now get down to Southampton." Diana Norman became, at twenty years of age, the youngest reporter on what used to be Fleet Street.
She married the film critic Barry Norman in 1957, and they settled in Hertfordshire with their two daughters. She began writing fiction shortly after her second daughter was born. Her first book of fiction, Fitzempress's Law, was chosen by Frank Delaney of BBC Radio 4's Bookshelf as the best example of a historical novel of its year. She is now a freelance journalist, as well as a writer of biographies and historical novels.
She died at the age of 77 on January 27, 2011. She was best known for her historical crime series featuring the 12th-century medical examiner Adelia Aguilar, written under the pen name of Ariana Franklin. The first book in the series, Mistress of the Art of Death, was published to critical acclaim in 2007 and won the Ellis Peters Historical Dagger award in the UK, as well as prizes in the US and Sweden.
Norman is survived by her husband, their daughters, Samantha and Emma, and three grandsons. Mr. Norman wrote a wonderful tribute to his wife.
• Diana Norman, writer, born 25 August 1933; died 27 January 2011
British journalist Diana Norman also writes as Ariana Franklin.
Born Mary Diana Narracott, she grew up first in London and then in Devon, where her mother took her to escape the blitz. At the age of 15, she left school, but with journalism in her background (her father had been a Times correspondent)and her hardy intelligence, the lack of formal education proved no barrier and by 17 she was n London, working on a local newspaper in the East End.
Headhunted at 20 by the Daily Herald, Norman became the youngest reporter on Fleet Street, covering royal visits, donning camouflage to go on exercise with the Royal Marines, and missing her 21st birthday party because she was covering a murder on the south coast. When she protested about this to the news editor, she was told: "Many happy returns. Now get down to Southampton." Diana Norman became, at twenty years of age, the youngest reporter on what used to be Fleet Street.
She married the film critic Barry Norman in 1957, and they settled in Hertfordshire with their two daughters. She began writing fiction shortly after her second daughter was born. Her first book of fiction, Fitzempress's Law, was chosen by Frank Delaney of BBC Radio 4's Bookshelf as the best example of a historical novel of its year. She is now a freelance journalist, as well as a writer of biographies and historical novels.
She died at the age of 77 on January 27, 2011. She was best known for her historical crime series featuring the 12th-century medical examiner Adelia Aguilar, written under the pen name of Ariana Franklin. The first book in the series, Mistress of the Art of Death, was published to critical acclaim in 2007 and won the Ellis Peters Historical Dagger award in the UK, as well as prizes in the US and Sweden.
Norman is survived by her husband, their daughters, Samantha and Emma, and three grandsons. Mr. Norman wrote a wonderful tribute to his wife.
• Diana Norman, writer, born 25 August 1933; died 27 January 2011
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews
June 23, 2023
"Man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upward."
All Diana Norman's 'Makepeace Hedley' books are excellent, and this last in the series is possibly the best. Philippa's retiring, humble, sensible. The last person to get involved in the Reign of Terror - yet the juxtaposition works well. The romance is somewhat downplayed, certainly in page terms, but is still affecting.
All Diana Norman's 'Makepeace Hedley' books are excellent, and this last in the series is possibly the best. Philippa's retiring, humble, sensible. The last person to get involved in the Reign of Terror - yet the juxtaposition works well. The romance is somewhat downplayed, certainly in page terms, but is still affecting.
October 10, 2008
I've read all three of the books in Diana Norman's historical trilogy. I did like the first two but I thought this was a much more satisfying read.
While this book focuses on the same themes as the other two; freedom, abolition and suffrage, the depiction of these issues was much more dramatic in this story.
We return to find Makepeace Burke and her always eventful life in England welcoming home her brother, the famous actor Aaron Burke and his theatre troupe, including Sir Michael Murrough, an Irishman.
Makepeace's eldest daughter Philippa Dapifer has just announced her betrothal to Stephan Heilbron, a man she's sure she doesn't love. The man she does love is married to someone else.
In France the Reign of Terror is beheading thousands, among those in hiding is an old friend of Philippa's, the Marquis de Condorcet. Philippa impetuously decides to save him from a certain death herself and travels to France directly into the chaos, betrayal and fear of the Reign of Terror.
There are a lot of historical reference that I didn't grasp that someone who is familiar with this period in time would better understand. But Norman vividly conveys the incredible fear and uncertainty that people endured during this period regardless of the specific names of the perpetrators and their politics.
I really enjoyed the two stories that simultaneously unfold in England and France and I thoroughly enjoyed the ending.
I think that this book would be satisfying as a stand alone book though it's certainly much richer when you understand the history of the characters. And if Diana Norman writes another, which I hope she does, I will certainly read it.
While this book focuses on the same themes as the other two; freedom, abolition and suffrage, the depiction of these issues was much more dramatic in this story.
We return to find Makepeace Burke and her always eventful life in England welcoming home her brother, the famous actor Aaron Burke and his theatre troupe, including Sir Michael Murrough, an Irishman.
Makepeace's eldest daughter Philippa Dapifer has just announced her betrothal to Stephan Heilbron, a man she's sure she doesn't love. The man she does love is married to someone else.
In France the Reign of Terror is beheading thousands, among those in hiding is an old friend of Philippa's, the Marquis de Condorcet. Philippa impetuously decides to save him from a certain death herself and travels to France directly into the chaos, betrayal and fear of the Reign of Terror.
There are a lot of historical reference that I didn't grasp that someone who is familiar with this period in time would better understand. But Norman vividly conveys the incredible fear and uncertainty that people endured during this period regardless of the specific names of the perpetrators and their politics.
I really enjoyed the two stories that simultaneously unfold in England and France and I thoroughly enjoyed the ending.
I think that this book would be satisfying as a stand alone book though it's certainly much richer when you understand the history of the characters. And if Diana Norman writes another, which I hope she does, I will certainly read it.
December 8, 2015
This historical fiction trilogy is one of my favorite reads of this year. Norman’s writing is impressive, and Makepeace Hedley is something special, more than just a “strong female character”. Her flaws give her a wonderful depth - she suffers, as well as prospers, from her stubbornness and her fierce independence and her Puritan disapproval.
This final book is set in England during the French Revolution, where the widowed Makepeace is horrified to find her daughter and foster son risking their lives to rescue friends caught up in the Terror. I enjoyed Makepeace’s dealings with the actors, and with the aristocratic French refugees who are proudly, genteelly starving to death.
Like the earlier books, this one has romance as well as action in a vivid historical setting, and it features women determined to protect their friends and family, and to preserve their own happiness and independence. This last book has the most to say about personal freedom, with the backdrop of the French Revolution and the abolition movement and the disturbing murmurs about women’s rights.
This final book is set in England during the French Revolution, where the widowed Makepeace is horrified to find her daughter and foster son risking their lives to rescue friends caught up in the Terror. I enjoyed Makepeace’s dealings with the actors, and with the aristocratic French refugees who are proudly, genteelly starving to death.
Like the earlier books, this one has romance as well as action in a vivid historical setting, and it features women determined to protect their friends and family, and to preserve their own happiness and independence. This last book has the most to say about personal freedom, with the backdrop of the French Revolution and the abolition movement and the disturbing murmurs about women’s rights.
August 1, 2007
This is the third in a trilogy (A Catch of Consequence, Taking Liberties) and Norman has not missed a beat. Her characters are unusual but very convincing. I expected this book to be primarily about Makepeace's daughter but Makepeace herself is still a major character, and is as candid and opinionated at 50 as ever. Philippa has developed into a thoughtful and mature woman, if perhaps anachronistic. I highly recommend this author but do suggest these books be read in order.
September 15, 2015
I couldn't finish this book. The premise appealed to me; a historical novel set in the era of the French Revolution, a female character who admired Wollstonecraft, some cloak-and-dagger stuff a la The Scarlet Pimpernel. Yet after the first few chapter, my disgust with the characters became too much to overcome.
There's nothing really wrong with these characters. They're likable, even interesting. But they are twenty-first century people in period garb. Norman is the victim of what I have come to think of as the Gabaldon Fallacy, after the lamentably popular Outlander series. In these books, the "good" characters demonstrate their tolerance and intelligence at the expense of all the other clods who don't know any better because these poor suckers don't think like we, the readers, do. Norman's protagonists are nonracist, feminist, sex-positive, gay-friendly people who cross class and status divisions as if they don't exist. Meanwhile, the people who don't share their broadminded views persecute them as witches, or at least socially scorn them.
It's not that people in the eighteenth century always feared and judged same-sex eroticism, or that they always saw racial difference as racial inferiority. We have ample historical evidence to the contrary. The problem with the Gabaldon Fallacy is the smugness, the assumption that people in the past were backwards and needed people who think like we, the readers (if we are not racists, and hope to be married to men who will make us "want to rip [our] stays off") to set them straight.
Norman clearly researched the events and details of this era, but she got the culture completely wrong. One of the least appealing characters is an uptight minister who despite his antislavery views, is ultimately detestable because he also believes in the "suppression of vice." Norman misses the link between antislavery and the reformation of morals in this era completely, caricaturing Daniel as a puritanical killjoy who thinks he's better than God. Okay, I'll admit I wouldn't want to be bound by the views of Clapham evangelicals circa 1790 either, but that's not the point. The point is that for people of this ilk, ending prostitution and ending slavery were part of the same humanitarian agenda, born out of a firm conviction of the nobility of all humankind. Mired in her presentist perspective, however, Norman can't see this.
Maybe I'm expecting too much from what is, after all, a pleasant escapist fiction. Yet I can't help feeling that a historical novelist should respect the integrity of the past. That is, she can invent, imagine, come up with people who never lived, put words in the mouths of people who never said these things -- that's what historical novels do -- but she also should take us into the hearts and minds of the people who lived long ago, and help us see through their eyes. Making the past come alive is something else that historical novels should do.
There's nothing really wrong with these characters. They're likable, even interesting. But they are twenty-first century people in period garb. Norman is the victim of what I have come to think of as the Gabaldon Fallacy, after the lamentably popular Outlander series. In these books, the "good" characters demonstrate their tolerance and intelligence at the expense of all the other clods who don't know any better because these poor suckers don't think like we, the readers, do. Norman's protagonists are nonracist, feminist, sex-positive, gay-friendly people who cross class and status divisions as if they don't exist. Meanwhile, the people who don't share their broadminded views persecute them as witches, or at least socially scorn them.
It's not that people in the eighteenth century always feared and judged same-sex eroticism, or that they always saw racial difference as racial inferiority. We have ample historical evidence to the contrary. The problem with the Gabaldon Fallacy is the smugness, the assumption that people in the past were backwards and needed people who think like we, the readers (if we are not racists, and hope to be married to men who will make us "want to rip [our] stays off") to set them straight.
Norman clearly researched the events and details of this era, but she got the culture completely wrong. One of the least appealing characters is an uptight minister who despite his antislavery views, is ultimately detestable because he also believes in the "suppression of vice." Norman misses the link between antislavery and the reformation of morals in this era completely, caricaturing Daniel as a puritanical killjoy who thinks he's better than God. Okay, I'll admit I wouldn't want to be bound by the views of Clapham evangelicals circa 1790 either, but that's not the point. The point is that for people of this ilk, ending prostitution and ending slavery were part of the same humanitarian agenda, born out of a firm conviction of the nobility of all humankind. Mired in her presentist perspective, however, Norman can't see this.
Maybe I'm expecting too much from what is, after all, a pleasant escapist fiction. Yet I can't help feeling that a historical novelist should respect the integrity of the past. That is, she can invent, imagine, come up with people who never lived, put words in the mouths of people who never said these things -- that's what historical novels do -- but she also should take us into the hearts and minds of the people who lived long ago, and help us see through their eyes. Making the past come alive is something else that historical novels should do.
August 17, 2009
This is the 3rd in the Makepeace Burke series and what a fun series it is. It's amazing to me that Diana Norman and Ariana Franklin are the same person because this series is so very different from the other (Adelia Aquilar historical mysteries). But I guess we all have alter egos.
I have a hard time believing that this is the end of the series because this one definitely ended in the middle of something. I read all three of the books in this series in a little less than 2 weeks so I'm glad the next one isn't out yet. I need the sleep!
As mentioned in my reviews of the others in the series (A Catch of Consequence and Taking Liberties), this is such a fun historical series, with great plots and fictional characters skillfully interwoven with actual historic figures.
*** Spoiler Alert ***
This book has two plot lines. One focusing on Makepeace and the other on her daughter, Philippa. I found Philippa's story much more interesting with her involvement during the Reign of Terror, although it paralleled her mother's first story (A Catch of Consequence) just a little too closely for my liking (including the kind Lord duped by his scheming acquisitive friend who absconds with his self-absorbed wife). It just seemed too repetitive. I also was not crazy about how the author kept killing off great characters. There were several characters from the 2nd book that could have easily and nicely fit into this one without taking anything away from the entire book -- but they were all killed off and there didn't seem much of a reason for their deaths other than being easier than having to explain their absence from the 3rd book.
*** End of Spoiler ***
So, I like how this series has progressed. It's smart and fun which is a great combination in an historical family saga and I look forward to the next installment.
I have a hard time believing that this is the end of the series because this one definitely ended in the middle of something. I read all three of the books in this series in a little less than 2 weeks so I'm glad the next one isn't out yet. I need the sleep!
As mentioned in my reviews of the others in the series (A Catch of Consequence and Taking Liberties), this is such a fun historical series, with great plots and fictional characters skillfully interwoven with actual historic figures.
*** Spoiler Alert ***
This book has two plot lines. One focusing on Makepeace and the other on her daughter, Philippa. I found Philippa's story much more interesting with her involvement during the Reign of Terror, although it paralleled her mother's first story (A Catch of Consequence) just a little too closely for my liking (including the kind Lord duped by his scheming acquisitive friend who absconds with his self-absorbed wife). It just seemed too repetitive. I also was not crazy about how the author kept killing off great characters. There were several characters from the 2nd book that could have easily and nicely fit into this one without taking anything away from the entire book -- but they were all killed off and there didn't seem much of a reason for their deaths other than being easier than having to explain their absence from the 3rd book.
*** End of Spoiler ***
So, I like how this series has progressed. It's smart and fun which is a great combination in an historical family saga and I look forward to the next installment.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 9, 2016
If you've read the two previous Diana Norman books in this series (A Catch of Consequence and Taking Liberties) then this is a must. While not a trilogy, the three books do follow in sequence and have some of the same characters, but unlike many series the author hasn't got stuck into a rut, and doesn't simply churn out the same story with different names.
We're now in the late C18th during the French revolution: Makepeace Hedley, the 'heroine' of the two other books is widowed and in London and ends up running a theatre company for her brother while pursuing her hatred of slavery. But the centre of the book is built on Philippa, her daughter, now in her mid-twenties and suffering from unrequited love for Andrew Ffoulkes (a child in the first book) and so settling for marriage with a well-meaning but chilly reformer. She ends up in Paris to help smuggle out a one-time revolutionary who has now become the victim of the Terror and finds her life transformed in all kinds of ways.
Norman writes excellent historical fiction built around characters rather than polemic. While she sets her stories against a background of politics (The American revolution, slavery, the growth of industrialism, womens' rights, the French revolution) they are background and never eclipse the heart of the tale which always revolve around the people. Her characters are alive, flawed, frequently struggling and yet wonderfully endearing; her dialogue is flowing and realistic and often very funny in a dry witty way; and their relationships real. No-one is ever a hero or heroine because no-one is that perfect and the books are all the better for it. Norman I think is an underestimated writer and far, far better than the ubiquitous Philippa Gregory and others.
We're now in the late C18th during the French revolution: Makepeace Hedley, the 'heroine' of the two other books is widowed and in London and ends up running a theatre company for her brother while pursuing her hatred of slavery. But the centre of the book is built on Philippa, her daughter, now in her mid-twenties and suffering from unrequited love for Andrew Ffoulkes (a child in the first book) and so settling for marriage with a well-meaning but chilly reformer. She ends up in Paris to help smuggle out a one-time revolutionary who has now become the victim of the Terror and finds her life transformed in all kinds of ways.
Norman writes excellent historical fiction built around characters rather than polemic. While she sets her stories against a background of politics (The American revolution, slavery, the growth of industrialism, womens' rights, the French revolution) they are background and never eclipse the heart of the tale which always revolve around the people. Her characters are alive, flawed, frequently struggling and yet wonderfully endearing; her dialogue is flowing and realistic and often very funny in a dry witty way; and their relationships real. No-one is ever a hero or heroine because no-one is that perfect and the books are all the better for it. Norman I think is an underestimated writer and far, far better than the ubiquitous Philippa Gregory and others.
December 22, 2019
Norman has given us another high adventure, this time showcasing "The Terror" during the French Revolution. Makepeace Hedley has much to fear, and even as a woman of unparalleled courage and bombastic opinion she finds reason to be circumspect- her always underestimated daughter Philippa has turned out to be a quieter version of herself. Phillipa has gone to Paris with false papers in an attempt to rescue her champion and friend, the Marquis de Condorcet. Laced into this drama are fiery romances, abolitionism and the slave trade, loyal smugglers, saintly-prudish suitors dedicated to the Society for the Suppression of Vice, the introduction of the waltz to London society, Mary Wollstonecraft and the rights of women. I love the fantasy of Norman's central tenant- that a strong woman with a distaste for 'causes'/patriotism at the expense of universal human rights- with the ingenuity to become wealthy- with the confidence to state her case- can effectively take on both the men in her life and the society that men use to disenfranchise others. This is a lickity-split tale written well and with humor and sadly the last in this series.
September 8, 2010
I immensely enjoyed this third and last book in the Makepeace Burke series. If you've read the two previous Diana Norman books in this series (A Catch of Consequence and Taking Liberties) then this is a must. I’d recommend reading the books in sequence since they have many characters returning (and really growing on you). And the fact of having these characters return, offers the author the chance to give them more color and depth and make their life-story so much richer. And what endearing characters! Diana Norman is so talented in bringing realistic, flawed and multi-layered characters to live. Take John Beasley for instance. Well he's not truly a likeable man (“Does he ever say “thank you”? The answer: “Never”). But John Beasley is a loyal and a true friend to Makepeace. And yes I think there are too many amazing characters dying (oh Andra, I missed you in this book!) But those people dying, well that's just a Sign of the Time (because in the 18th century people did die in childbirth, in mines, or on the guillotine...). Maybe that's what makes this book so compelling. My favorite part of this book is the part that describes Phillippa, first by herself and later with Andrew in Paris. I've read about the French Revolution and its aftermath, so I knew about the facts and knew the names of the political players, but putting Phillippa and Andrew right smack in the middle of this turmoil, well it felt like I was experiencing “the Terror” there with them.
I've read this by another reviewer somewhere - and I couldn’t agree more: "Norman writes excellent historical fiction built around characters rather than polemic. While she sets her stories against a background of politics (The American revolution, slavery, the growth of industrialism, women’s' rights, the French revolution) they are background and never eclipse the heart of the tale which always revolve around the people. Her characters are alive, flawed, frequently struggling and yet wonderfully endearing; her dialogue is flowing and realistic and often very funny in a dry witty way; and their relationships real. No-one is ever a hero or heroine because no-one is that perfect and the books are all the better for it."
I've read this by another reviewer somewhere - and I couldn’t agree more: "Norman writes excellent historical fiction built around characters rather than polemic. While she sets her stories against a background of politics (The American revolution, slavery, the growth of industrialism, women’s' rights, the French revolution) they are background and never eclipse the heart of the tale which always revolve around the people. Her characters are alive, flawed, frequently struggling and yet wonderfully endearing; her dialogue is flowing and realistic and often very funny in a dry witty way; and their relationships real. No-one is ever a hero or heroine because no-one is that perfect and the books are all the better for it."
August 7, 2020
This book is all about freedom- freedom for women, freedom for the French during the Reign of Terror and freedom for slaves. The author pushes the point that real change can only occur when the general public backs an issue and this starts in the home. Societal change occurs slowly, usually within the family. Of course this is all presented in an exciting plot involving spies, a British play, a French prison and a couple affairs. Ms. Norman’s writing is a cut above most authors I’ve read. I’ve now read all her published novels and feel like I’m saying goodbye to a friend. Perhaps I’ll find some of her earlier out-of -print books in used book stores.
February 20, 2024
I am so sorry to say goodbye to Makepeace Hedley!
In this last book of the series, the Reign of Terror in France is the main theme, with Makepeace’s daughter, Philippa, secretly going to Paris to bring a friend to England and save him from the guillotine.
Religious fanatics, proud French émigrés, mischievous actors, emancipated women… The cast of characters is so rich and Diana Norman weaves their fates with intelligence and humour. Another fantastic book!
In this last book of the series, the Reign of Terror in France is the main theme, with Makepeace’s daughter, Philippa, secretly going to Paris to bring a friend to England and save him from the guillotine.
Religious fanatics, proud French émigrés, mischievous actors, emancipated women… The cast of characters is so rich and Diana Norman weaves their fates with intelligence and humour. Another fantastic book!
January 1, 2026
All three books in this series are well worth reading. "The Sparks Fly Upward" takes place in London and France during the Reign of Terror after the French Revolution. Norman does a terrific job of bringing that terrible time to life. Makepeace's daughter, Philippa, agrees to marry a man she esteems, largely because of his opposition to slavery, but does not love. However, she leaves America to go to England to try and rescue the Marquis de Condorcet, the husband of a close friend of Philippa, and bring him from France to England. Although sometimes Norman uses esoteric and obsolete terms with no explanation, she writes a thrilling story that balances humor and tragedy.
March 14, 2019
I really enjoyed this, like the other two books in this trilogy. This one focuses more on Makepeace's eldest daughter Philippa. She becomes rather dissatisfied with life for a number of reasons and decides to throw herself into helping friends escape from Robespierre's Paris. As always, the sense of time and place and character is fantastic in Diana Norman's novels.
June 14, 2017
A satisfying, amazing end to this trio of novels. Makepeace is a role model for the modern age, as is Philippa. I so enjoyed getting to know the Dapifer girl and one of my few gripes with this conclusion to the series is that Jenny is not like her mother.
February 18, 2020
This started off slow but by the end I would have kept reading for another 300 pages. Much more than a historical romance, I'd like to know how Makepeace, Philippa, Ffoulkes, Jacques, et al spend the rest of their days.
September 6, 2020
Strong 4.5. This series is so very good, and Norman does a wonderful job writing heroines who are strong and flawed. I particularly enjoy that even at age 50, we're shown Makepeace in lust, in love, and continuing to learn about herself.
January 6, 2023
Okay, this was my first try at this author, and she was a very good writer and excellent researcher, but this wasn't my mood at the moment. I think it was the characters that were hitting me wrong. Too many unconventional women saving the world.
November 27, 2017
I loved the first two books, but just couldn't get into this one. I set it aside and may try again later.
December 21, 2017
I loved this series! I am pleased with how it ended and enjoyed spending so much of Makepeace’s life with her. But I so wanted more at the end-to belong to these people for a while longer.
October 20, 2016
It was a sad day when I finished this novel because I thought it was the last novel of Diana Norman's that I hadn't read, and since she passed away in 2011, there was little hope of any more gems to come, however, I have since discovered a more complete list of titles and now I have at least three more to look forward to! I spent two days in a funk over this, and over the humanitarian disaster that was the French Revolution--the time period in which this novel is set.
This novel is the third in Norman's Makepeace trilogy, and follows the adventures of Phillipa Dapifer, Makepeace's eldest daughter and the only child of her first husband, Phillip Dapifer. The characterization of Phillipa has taken a bit of a turn from the earlier novels in the series. She is portrayed much as being very similar to the young Makepeace from "A Catch of Consequence," but I didn't mind because I loved that character!
The novel also includes insight into the theatre community of the 18th Century, similar to "The Vizard Mask," but at the centre of the novel is the struggle for women's rights, especially as advocated by the writings of the Marquis de Condorcet. The writings of Condorcet are now on my list of want to read. Enlightening! This man was more of a feminist than many people I know, and he seemed to understand that in denying equality and freedom to women, the Revolution destroyed the possibility of freedom for all others.
This novel is the third in Norman's Makepeace trilogy, and follows the adventures of Phillipa Dapifer, Makepeace's eldest daughter and the only child of her first husband, Phillip Dapifer. The characterization of Phillipa has taken a bit of a turn from the earlier novels in the series. She is portrayed much as being very similar to the young Makepeace from "A Catch of Consequence," but I didn't mind because I loved that character!
The novel also includes insight into the theatre community of the 18th Century, similar to "The Vizard Mask," but at the centre of the novel is the struggle for women's rights, especially as advocated by the writings of the Marquis de Condorcet. The writings of Condorcet are now on my list of want to read. Enlightening! This man was more of a feminist than many people I know, and he seemed to understand that in denying equality and freedom to women, the Revolution destroyed the possibility of freedom for all others.
August 26, 2015
If Ms. Norman were still alive, I'd be writing her and sending many thanks and accolades for her wonderful books and writing!
This is the third in the Makepeace Burke trilogy and it's one FABULOUS book! I won't go into descriptions as you can check out other reviews for that - BUT, If you love history, if you love strong and feisty female characters, if you love a great yarn that keeps you begging for more - then I have three words for you - READ THIS BOOK!
As stated earlier this is the third book in a series by Diana Norman and by far my favorite of the three (but I said that of each as I completed them). The leading character Makepeace Burke takes us along for a ride through the American and French revolutions. She makes the French revolution very real, gritty, and so very believable - I felt as though I was there. It's not often that a book makes me run the sweep of emotions, but this one made me cry, laugh, and feel the depth of anger, hope, and the delight of sheer human determination...
I can't recommend this book (all her books really) enough!
This is the third in the Makepeace Burke trilogy and it's one FABULOUS book! I won't go into descriptions as you can check out other reviews for that - BUT, If you love history, if you love strong and feisty female characters, if you love a great yarn that keeps you begging for more - then I have three words for you - READ THIS BOOK!
As stated earlier this is the third book in a series by Diana Norman and by far my favorite of the three (but I said that of each as I completed them). The leading character Makepeace Burke takes us along for a ride through the American and French revolutions. She makes the French revolution very real, gritty, and so very believable - I felt as though I was there. It's not often that a book makes me run the sweep of emotions, but this one made me cry, laugh, and feel the depth of anger, hope, and the delight of sheer human determination...
I can't recommend this book (all her books really) enough!
September 9, 2009
I liked it, but not nearly as much as the other two in this series. I think Diana Norman is a really great writer. She's also a really great historian so I learned a lot about the French revolution I never knew before. I actually don't know much about it at all. The characters are still likable, especially Phillipa. Makepeace was a little more likable this time around. I really love the secondary characters in all the books. It just wasn't as captivating this time around. I mean, the main plot around Makepeace is a play. Really? Okay. Phillipa's adventures were more interesting, but too drawn out and it took way too long for everyone to figure out she was gone. That really would suck if no one realized I left for another country.
**okay maybe I'm slow, but I just found out that Diana Norman and Ariana Franklin are the same person! I just read and loved books by both and am just amazed they are the same person. I'm obviously a fan...I wonder which is her real name?****
**okay maybe I'm slow, but I just found out that Diana Norman and Ariana Franklin are the same person! I just read and loved books by both and am just amazed they are the same person. I'm obviously a fan...I wonder which is her real name?****
March 10, 2010
I read this with some trepidation, fearing that Philippa would be another hard-luck hero (like her mother in the A Catch of Consequence), but thankfully not. Philippa does go through a lot, but there is a HEA.
Most of Philippa's story takes place in Revolutionary France, and the author shines at depicting the daily grinding oppression of The Terror. (It reminds me of how well she evokes 1920-30 Berlin in City of Shadows: A Novel of Suspense )
There's also a lot of Makepeace in this one, having been widowed again between this book and Taking Liberties.
Most of Philippa's story takes place in Revolutionary France, and the author shines at depicting the daily grinding oppression of The Terror. (It reminds me of how well she evokes 1920-30 Berlin in City of Shadows: A Novel of Suspense )
There's also a lot of Makepeace in this one, having been widowed again between this book and Taking Liberties.
August 5, 2010
I want to be just like Makepeace when I grow up! I love this character - another strong, determined woman, much like Sarah Agnes Prine in "These Is My Words." However, this third book was not as good as the previous two. Mostly about the Terror following the French Revolution. As with the other books, her main theme is freedom. She just writes about freedom in several different setting: in America, in England, and now in France. The author left the door open for another book if she chooses to write it, but she would probably have to kill off Makepeace, and concentrate on her daughter, Phillipa, who is a lot like her mother. I would probably read a fourth one.
January 26, 2015
I always enjoy the Diana. Norman books, and this one didn't disappoint either.
Makepeace Burke and her daughter and their story set during the French Revolution this time still grip the imagination until the end.
For me, it's one of the ones you continue to think about days after finishing - wondering how all the characters are and what they're doing.
Would read more, if there were more to read!
Makepeace Burke and her daughter and their story set during the French Revolution this time still grip the imagination until the end.
For me, it's one of the ones you continue to think about days after finishing - wondering how all the characters are and what they're doing.
Would read more, if there were more to read!
April 5, 2016
I seem to be getting drawn to historical fiction these days. This one concerns two women, both a feisty daughter and her tenacious mother. But it's the guy who physically shows up at the last few pages who intrigues me. That short, infamous tyrant who went by the kingly name of Maximilien Robespierre. I intend to learn more of this fellow, and of the Terror he unleashed throughout France. Fact IS more interesting than fiction.
June 20, 2016
I am sad that this is the last in this series. Diana Norman (aka Ariana Franklin) has been one of my favorite authors. Makepeace Burke Dapifer Hedley is one of my all time favorite characters - strong, funny, passionate, flawed, but totally human. And her children and family are equally enjoyable and real. I liked the overlap of history here - the French Revolution during the Terror and the English reaction to it, all were well done.
October 9, 2015
I read and enjoyed the first two of the trilogy; could not finish the third. Makepeace is more crotchety and cynical than brazen and strong. The third of the trilogy does not have the same sparkle and rhythm. I wanted to like it, but only finished half before I finally could not force myself to read more.
January 30, 2016
You have to applaud Diana Norman's fertile imagination. Who else could take a heroine from the Boston Tea Party to the upper strata of British society, then plunge her into the business of coal in the industrial north, whisk her off to a den of smugglers in Devon, and then pop her into a London theater group bent on abolition and adulation? A most amusing series.
January 19, 2009
I liked this book, but did not read it with as much enthusiasm as the first 2 books in this series. It seemed a bit of a slog, but I still cared enough to finish it. THis is certainly a well researched historical picture of the times.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews