Published 17th February 2022 by Harper Voyager.
From the cover of the book:
‘Power is not something you are given. Power is something you take. When you are a woman, it is a little more difficult, that’s all’1768. Charlotte, daughter of the Habsburg Empress, arrives in Naples to marry a man she has never met. Her sister Antoine is sent to France, and in the mirrored corridors of Versailles they rename her Marie Antoinette.
The sisters are alone, but they are not powerless. When they were only children, they discovered a book of spells – spells that work, with dark and unpredictable consequences.
In a time of vicious court politics, of discovery and dizzying change, they use the book to take control of their lives. But every spell requires a sacrifice. And as love between the sisters turns to rivalry, they will send Europe spiralling into revolution.
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If ever there was a sweeping story, then this is certainly it! Kate Heartfield takes us right into the very centre of court politics in Europe in the mid-eighteenth century, through the experiences of two daughters of the Habsburg empire - Charlotte and Antoine, daughters of Empress Marie Theresa. Charlotte is headed to Naples to become the wife of Ferdinand, a man she has never met, and Antoine to France to become wife of the Dauphin and be renamed Marie Antoinette.
The sisters embark on their marriages with uncertainty, but they do not go unarmed, because each has the power to wield dangerous magic - a magic learned from the pages of a secret book of spells with an embroidered cover, given to them by their governess before she was brutally murdered. A gulf opens up between them as they become wives and mothers with kingdoms to protect and nurture, and their former closeness becomes rivalry as they try to take control of their own destinies by using all the skills at their disposal. However, the magic takes its toll each time it is used, and the sacrifices that have to be made are sometimes overwhelming...
Heartfield has taken on an ambitious task by delving into the lives of the Habsburgs, one which she clearly relishes and does with considerable skill. There is everything you could possibly want in terms of expansive history, tricky politics, and a delicious exploration into how women wield power, through the experiences of two daughters born to be used as pawns in the complex game of thrones playing out in central Europe in this period.
However, this is no ordinary historical fiction tale - here there be magic. For me, this makes this novel something of a game-changer, asking some interesting questions about the lives of these women and the fates that consumed them. At every turn, what you think you know about the events that history records takes on an intriguing twist once the seductive whisper of magic enters the arena, bringing in some real menace, with a thread of a secret underworld of magisters with their own dark, mysterious purpose. This makes it a gripping, speculative novel, as every motivation, action and outcome suddenly becomes one you look at in a different light.
There is so much history here, laid out in an engaging way that draws you into the lives of some very famous names, and Heartfield writes them as vivid characters with hopes and dreams, and qualities to be both admired and loathed, making them so human. Right from the start there is a prickling at the back of your neck as you cannot fail to know what will happen to Antoine when she becomes Marie Antoinette, making her story so poignant. I did not know all that much about the life of Charlotte (also known to history as Maria Carolina) though, and found her side of the tale completely fascinating, and almost as tragic in many ways.
This is certainly a chunky book at over 650 pages, and there are a lot of characters with important parts to play that you need to keep track of (I am very thankful to the detailed list of characters at the start of the book for helping with this), but at no time does this feel over-long. You become so totally invested in the lives, loves, triumphs and tragedies of the characters that this is one of those novels that sweeps you along on a tide of intrigue and adventure, and takes you through practically the whole gamut of the emotional range. One to satisfy your cravings for glorious period detail, and magical happenings in one very pretty package!
The Embroidered Book is available to buy now in ebook, hardcover and audio formats from your favourite book retailer.
Thank you to Harper Voyager for sending me a hardcover copy of this book in return fr an honest review, and to Random Things Tours for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.
About the author:
Thanks for the blog tour support x
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