To Dance with Kings: A Novel by Rosalind Laker (English) Paperback Book

Description: To Dance with Kings by Rosalind Laker The French village of Versailles is forever altered by the construction of Louis XIVUs dazzling palace. Here, a loving and ambitious woman grasps a reckless promise and vows her peasant daughter will grow up to dance with kings, thus beginning a lavish, exotic saga of Frances gilded age. FORMAT Paperback LANGUAGE English CONDITION Brand New Publisher Description An epic generational tale of loves lost, promises kept, dreams broken, and monarchies shattered, To Dance with Kings is a story of passion and privilege, humble beginnings and limitless ambition.On a May morning in 1664, in the small village of Versailles, as hundreds of young aristocrats are coming to pay court to King Louis XIV, a peasant fan-maker gives birth to her first and only child, Marguerite. Determined to give her daughter a better life than the one she herself has lived, the young mother vows to break the newborns bonds of poverty and ensure that she fulfills her destiny—to dance with kings. Purely by chance, a drunken nobleman witnesses the birth and makes a reckless promise to return for Marguerite in seventeen years. With those fateful words, events are set into motion that will span three monarchies, affecting the lives of four generations of women.Marguerite becomes part of the royal court of the Sun King, but her fairy-tale existence is torn out from under her by a change of political winds. Jasmin, Marguerites daughter, is born to the life of privilege her grandmother dreamed of, but tempts fate by daring to catch the eye of the king. Violette, Marguerites granddaughter, is drawn to the nefarious side of life among the nobles at Versailles. And Rose, Violettes daughter, becomes a lady-in-waiting and confidante to Marie Antoinette. Through Rose, a love lost generations before will come full circle, even as the ground beneath Versailles begins to rumble with the chaos of the coming revolution. Author Biography Rosalind Laker is the author of many novels, including The Venetian Mask and The Golden Tulip. She lives in England. Review "Brings Versailles to life . . . a great achievement."–Victoria Holt, New York Times bestselling author Long Description On a May morning in 1664, in the small village of Versailles, as hundreds of young aristocrats are coming to pay court to King Louis XIV, a peasant fan-maker gives birth to her first and only child, Marguerite. Determined to give her daughter a better life than the one she herself has lived, the young mother vows to break the newborns bonds of poverty and ensure that she fulfills her destiny-- to dance with kings. Purely by chance, a drunken nobleman witnesses the birth and makes a reckless promise to return for Marguerite in seventeen years. With those fateful words, events are set into motion that will span three monarchies, affecting the lives of four generations of women. Marguerite becomes part of the royal court of the Sun King, but her fairy-tale existence is torn out from under her by a change of political winds. Jasmin, Marguerites daughter, is born to the life of privilege her grandmother dreamed of, but tempts fate by daring to catch the eye of the king. Violette, Marguerites granddaughter, is drawn to the nefarious side of life among the nobles at Versailles. And Rose, Violettes daughter, becomes a lady-in-waiting and confidante to Marie Antoinette. Through Rose, a love lost generations before will come full circle, even as the ground beneath Versailles begins to rumble with the chaos of the coming revolution. An epic generational tale of loves lost, promises kept, dreams broken, and monarchies shattered, "To Dance with Kings" is a story of passion and privilege, humble beginnings and limitless ambition. Review Quote "Brings Versailles to life . . . a great achievement." Victoria Holt,New York Timesbestselling author Description for Reading Group Guide A tale of social ascent and descent, all-consuming love, religious persecution, exile, ambition, privilege, and revolution, To Dance with Kings is a front row seat to history, from the court of Louis XIV through the French Revolution, told by four extraordinary women who lived it. The questions in this guide are intended as a framework for your groups discussion of To Dance with Kings. Discussion Question for Reading Group Guide 1. Augustin Roussier appears in the opening scene of the novel. What was your initial impression of him? Did your expectations shift at any point? In what ways is he the man he initially appears to be, and in what ways did he surprise you? 2. How does the relentless drive to ensure a better life for Marguerite dominate the character of Jeanne, and how does it impact later generations of women in her family? In what way can you see Jeannes legacy in each of them? 3. What is your opinion of Susanne? How do you feel about her suspicion and betrayal of Margeurite? What motivates these actions? Are her intentions honorable or selfish? Is she attempting to protect the man she loves or gain the upper hand over a rival? Were you surprised to learn of her secret marriage to Augustin? 4. Discuss the persecution of the Huguenots under Louis XIV. Previous to reading To Dance with Kings , what did you know of this era of French history? What other historical periods have seen similar treatment of religious or cultural minorities? In the novel, what are the major factors driving the cycle of violence? Do you see these same politics playing out in current world events? How does it compare to the treatment of the royalists after the revolution, as portrayed in this novel? 5. Despite Marguerites best efforts, her daughter Jasmin commits some serious follies that have lasting repercussionsand the cycle continues with her granddaughter Violette. What do you think of this portrayal of parenthood? Is it realistic? Consider Jasmins comments to Violette on the subject on page 436. Do you find her words to be true in the context of the novel? In your own life? 6. Consider the means by which the women in this novel gain a measure of control over their destinies, despite the restrictions of the day. How does each take a hand in her own fate? What allows these women to survive and even thrive despite the odds that are against them? 7. Discuss the theme of predestination in To Dance with Kings . Where do you see events that seem to be controled by fateor some force outside the characters themselves? What do you think the author is attempting to illuminate with this device? How does fate play a role in each womans life? 8. At what point does the power balance between Jasmin and Sabatin shift in her favor? What do you see as the turning point? 9. 1.After running away, Violette lays out her feelings on life and love for Leonard Vanneau (page 401): Im entirely my own person. People have talked to me, ordered me about, lavished gifts on me, and thought always to mould me into a domestic creature to be wife to some man of their choice. Ive always wanted more than that. Even when my mother spoke to me of a good marriage I knew it would be a kind of imprisonment. Oh, no! I want freedom. Not bonds to tie me for the rest of my life. What do you think has created this fiercely independent young girl? Why is she so intent on never being tied down? What do you think of the choices she subsequently makes? In the end, what is your opinion of Violette? 10. What do you make of the character of Marie Antoinette as portrayed in To Dance with Kings ? How is her life both similar to and different from the bourgoisie and high-born women we see? How does Rosalind Lakers portrayal of the queen compare to the view of her that you are familiar with? 11. Throughout this novel, we see many loves, both fleeting and true. What is the nature of love at court and outside? Is there a difference? What can two people reasonably expect from each other in this world? How does this compare to modern expectations of a partner? 12. When the Englishman Richard first appears, did you recognize him as the great-grandson of Augustin Roussier? When did you first guess his lineage? 13. Perhaps the most prominent character in this novel is the Palace of Versailles itself. What role does Versailles play in the lives of the characters we see, high-born, common, kings, and servants? What is the meaning of the palace to each of them, and what does it represent for you as a reader? 14. Of all the women whose lives are portrayed in To Dance with Kings , who do you most identify with as a reader? Who were you rooting for? Whose experience left the greatest impression on you and what was it that drew you to her? Excerpt from Book One With the crimson, emerald, and purple plumes of their hats streaming out behind them, four young men rode at speed into the village of Versailles one May morning in 1664, scattering squawking geese in their path. "We should have been here hours ago," Augustin Roussier yelled to his companions, making his horse rear as they halted to view the busy scene. "All the best lodgings will have been taken by the look of it!" The rutted streets were crammed with elegant traffic more at home in Paris, from which most of them had come, than in these countrified surroundings. The sun glinted on gilded coachwork and harness, the warm air hazy with dust thrown up by wheels and hooves. Six hundred of the nobility had been invited to the first grandfete ever to be held at the nearby hunting lodge, which was a small place with only accommodation enough for a few of the kings special guests to stay. "Is it any use trying the inns to see if theres a room left?" asked one of his companions as they moved their tired horses forward at a more restful pace. "There are three hostelries, I believe." "Id say weve lost that chance, Leon. See! Even those miserable hovels have been taken." Augustin flicked his gloved hand toward some old stone houses they were passing. Well-dressed arrivals were stepping fastidiously inside, never having set foot in such humble places before, their servants carrying in their boxes and baggage after them. "Those we left behind us on the road will be lucky to get a stable at this rate." He was the natural leader of their high-spirited group. They had become friends during their initial years service with the First Company of the Kings Musketeers, a duty expected of every young courtier who wished for promotion at Court. Not yet twenty, born of Huguenot stock and of a father with powerful financial interests, Augustin was tall with a straight bearing and a good physique, his looks dashing and debonair. Like most youths of his age, he scorned the fashionable full-bottomed periwig and wore his own hair, which was thick, curly, and long enough to rest on his broad shoulders in the modish style. Its luxuriant growth, black shot with blueish lights, framed features hardening into the square jaw and prominent nose of his forebears. Beneath thick brows the narrow eyes were a curiously brilliant green and there was a lusty eagerness in the lines of the wide mouth. As always when he was with these particular friends, Leon Postel, Francois Esconde, and Jacques de Fresnay, any excuse for a prank or horseplay was seized on with relish. They had enlivened the ride from Paris with a number of diversions, such as racing each other dangerously, swerving in front of coach horses, and flirting with pretty women riding together in the lumbering equipages. "At least let us stop for a swig of wine first." Francois eased a gloved finger around the inside of his lace-trimmed neck band, his freckled face gleaming with beads of sweat. "Agreed!" Jacques, hawk-faced and fair-haired, made exaggerated gasping sounds. "Im parched from the dust of the ride. Theres a wineshop ahead." "We cant afford to stop yet." Augustin twisted in his saddle to signal his own servant forward from the retinue of valets who had now caught up in the rear, bringing with them the extra horses with saddle hampers and chests of clothes. "Get a few bottles of the best wine this place can provide," he instructed, "and follow me." The wine, coarse and rough though it was, proved welcome when the search for accommodation brought no result. While the servants did the knocking on doors, Augustin and his companions tossed it back from their silver traveling cups. Its potency took full effect as the rising heat of noon combined with their deep thirst, Leons swarthy complexion almost reaching the same hue as the wine itself. All four of them became more boisterous and everything seemed excruciatingly funny to them. There was plenty to amuse as women accidentally set satin-shod feet into cow dung, sometimes causing a loss of balance amid squeals of temper and dismay, and fellow gallants, who were no more used to inconveniences than they were themselves, sprang off their horses to kick and cuff their unfortunate servants for failing to get a room for them in the last of the tolerable property. The local priest had opened his house for some of the women out of sympathy for their plight, but he ran like a schoolboy, his black robes flapping, to lock the doors of the twelfth-century church before anyone thought to bed down there. He knew as well as anybody that there would inevitably be drunkenness and every other kind of indulgence before the royal fete was at an end. Augustin, laughing, wheeled his black horse about with a sheen of flanks to the church steps and leaned from the saddle to offer him a cup of wine. It was refused with uplifted white palms before the priest went scurrying back to his house. Gradually the search spread from the center of the village to the outskirts. Versailles, situated as it was on the main road between Normandy and Paris, was better able to house travelers than the neighboring hamlets, but already some people had set off for Clagny and Saint-Cyr and Trianon in the hope of snatching up the best accommodation there, not knowing that they could not expect even a moderation of comfort in those poverty-stricken hamlets. Augustins servant, dodging in front of one of these departing coaches as he returned from a row of mean-looking stone cottages, gave his information breathlessly. "All rooms have been claimed, except in the end one where the housewife is in labor and nobody is being accommodated." Augustin raised an eyebrow incredulously. "Do you mean that space has been found at last and admittance refused?" "The woman is almost at birthing point--" "Out of my way!" Augustin swung himself down from the saddle and turned to the other three with a sweep of his arm. "Come along, my friends! If this were a royal birth, it would be our noble right to witness the delivery! A peasant woman has no cause to keep us out!" He made for the cottage. Whooping and shouting as if going into battle, the trio dismounted and rushed after him. The door was on the latch and he flung it wide as he entered, those in his wake following close behind, the heels of their riding boots ringing on the flagstones. They found themselves in the single whitewashed room that served all purposes. Sparsely furnished with a rough-hewn table, a dresser, and benches, it was stiflingly hot, the windows tightly shut. A midwife swung around from a bed in the far corner, her sleeves rolled up above her elbow, her apron soiled and her sweaty red face a mask of outrage at this intrusion. Deftly she flicked a corner of the sheet over the bare updrawn legs of the groaning woman she was tending before taking up a belligerent stance with feet apart and arms akimbo. "Messieurs! You must leave this instant! Madame Dremont is unable to wait on anyone and there is no place for you here." A scream of torment compelled her to turn back to her charge. The woman in labor, regaining her breath, raised her head weakly from the pillow. "Who has come?" The midwife reached out to pull the ragged bed-curtain across and block the view, but her action came too late. Jeanne Dremonts pain-filled eyes became drenched with horror as she saw the four youths advancing toward her. She began to shriek hysterically, releasing the labor rope strung across the bed to clutch frantically at the midwifes hand. "Make them go away! Have I not endured enough this day?" Augustin thrust the curtain far back on its rings and looked down at her. She was about thirty-five but looked much older, her gaunt bones having taken over from the bloom of youth. Her faded hair, with some traces of red, was darkened by sweat and her lips were drawn back grotesquely in her mental and physical agony. Compassion for her moved him. "Dont be alarmed, madame," he assured her kindly, the wine making his tone jocular. "We dont want your bed. Some clean blankets and fresh lice-free straw will suffice for us." She drew breath and tried to answer him, seeing he meant her no harm, but a new wave of pain defeated her, cutting her through. It was hard not to believe she was caught up in a terrible, whirling nightmare. Young male grins and laughing eyes were at the side of her bed, cheering her on as though she were a racehorse nearing the winning post. She did not know that the queens of France had to suffer the same public witness. The midwife, no time left for argument, had elbowed her way free to be ready for the moment of birth and was coaxing her toward it amid the uproar. All decency had flown. Even a doctor delivered under a modesty blanket, but whatever had been covering her seemed to have fallen away. She heard her own ear-splitting scream as she thrust against the final ripping apart of her body, her back arching like a bow. With a rush the baby came. As its wail went up there was a burst of applause from the noblemen. The one she heard addressed as Augustin gave her the news before the midwife had a chance. "Its a girl! You have a fine daughter, madame!" In exhaustion, she let herself sink deep into the mattress of goose feathers, eyes closed and a smile on her lips. She no longer cared about anything else. The babys lusty wailing was music to her. After several stillbirths and more miscarriages, she had a living child. "Give her to me," she implored in an exultant whisper. The midwife had cut the cord and wrapped the infant in a piece of linen. When s Details ISBN0307352552 Author Rosalind Laker Short Title TO DANCE W/KINGS Language English ISBN-10 0307352552 ISBN-13 9780307352552 Media Book Format Paperback DEWEY FIC Year 2007 Subtitle A Novel DOI 10.1604/9780307352552 Place of Publication New York Country of Publication United States AU Release Date 2007-05-22 NZ Release Date 2007-05-22 US Release Date 2007-05-22 UK Release Date 2007-05-22 Pages 624 Publisher Random House USA Inc Publication Date 2007-05-22 Imprint Random House Inc Audience General We've got this At The Nile, if you're looking for it, we've got it. With fast shipping, low prices, friendly service and well over a million items - you're bound to find what you want, at a price you'll love! TheNile_Item_ID:159233378;

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