Paris

Yes, this book is a rehash of Diamonds and Diplomats but with one huge difference. In D&D Ms. Baldridge was not entirely frank. Since many of the people she wrote about in that book were still alive she had to sugar coat the truth considerably. Now, with Lady First she is free to set the record straight.

She explains fully for the first time why she really left the White House and although she clearly adored Clare Booth Luce she's now free to show that working for her was no picnic.

Also, we get a superior picture of the author herself. Bold or pushy, if you prefer she charted her own course and made her own dreams come true whether it was to get herself to Paris or into the CIA or to be the first American female tourist in Yugoslavia after WWII.

If you think of Leticia Baldrige as just being the etiquette lady or you only remember her from her White House stint then this book will will show you an entirely different side.

Tish Baldridge has led an interesting and amazing life. She wasn't blessed with great wealth or beauty yet she managed to live and work on the upper echelons of American political and social society in the 50's, 60's, 70's, 80's, and onward.
Baldridge takes you through her beginnings in the midwest, her education at Miss Porter's and Vassar as one of the less financially advantaged students, her life in Paris and Rome working for such trend setters as Clare Booth Luce, her days at Tiffany, her years in the White House with Jackie Kennedy, and her life after.

Here's what is great about this book and her story: her life didn't begin and it didn't end with her association with Jackie Kennedy. Camelot fans will get great glimpses into those years from her vantage point. But there is a lot more to this book...

I would highly recommend this book to women who love biographies on the Jackie Kennedy, Grace Kelly, Audrey Hepburn set. I also would recommend this book to women who enjoy the story of a self-made woman and a survivor and anyone interested in the social history of this era. I would not recommend this book to most men and I would caution all readers to note that this is a book filled with details of food, flowers, gowns, and jewels and not policy making or congressional bills. You learn about the parties that Jackie Kennedy went to in the year of the Cuban Missile Crisis not about the policy nuances behind the crisis.

I gave this book as a present to several female friends and they loved it.

Oh! how I wish I had a life like Tish Baldridge's! She is a gutsy and classy lady and I admire her for that. I loved to read that book because it goes to show that dreams come true when we put the energy and efforts for them to materialize.

I was looking for a detailed map in the form of a book, with a complete street index. This book has maps on the fold-out covers, a scant 28 pages of text-only sightseeing guidebook material, and a street index. It's more guide than map.

Check out "The Paris Mapguide" by Middleditch for the best maps I've found. Get the Michelin Green Guide for Paris if you want guidebook material (where to stay, what to see) with detailed area maps. For France, look at Michelin or Lonely Planet guides.

Bon Voyage!

Lets Go Map Guides are very good. They are concise, lightweight, and an easy size to store in a coat pocket. You will probably need an additional more detailed map though. But their maps are useful and the Metro Map (subway system) is indispensable. The recommendations on places to stay or restaurants is hit or miss. I would use some other guide book for that.

As soon as I got this book, I took out the inner pages, and just used the cover. The Metro and city maps printed on it proved indispensible. The plastic coated cover made it last through jacket pockets, jean pockets and rush hour Metro human sardines. You *need* a good portable map, and I found this one to be the one for me!

Mr. Paris seriously must have been on some strong psychotropic medications when he wrote this book. It was one of the most entertaining books I have ever read. The research was laughable at best, most of his sources weren't even secondary sources, let alone primary sources. Yes I understand that Many Evangelical Christians try to paint Catholics as the ... of Babylon etc etc, but if you have to lie, distort history and insult the intelligence of your readers to accomplish this is it worth it?

It was a very entertaining read, but I do regret the money I spent on it. Sadly money doesn't grow on trees, and tehre are better things to spend $$$ on than one man's bizarre take on Catholic history

This is a great work of science fiction. Bravo to Mr. Paris for such a vivid imagination! The conspiracy theories associated with the Kennedy assasination don't come close to the ones proposed here.

In the words of this book's publisher, "Edmond Paris exposes the Vatican's involvement in world politics, intrigues, and the fomenting of wars throughout history. It appears, beyond any doubt, that the Roman Catholic institution is not a Christian church and NEVER WAS. Prophetically, she is the ... of Revelation 17 and 18. The poor Roman Catholic people have been betrayed by her and are now facing spiritual disaster.

May God use this book to help you commit yourself anew to leading the precious Roman Catholics to the true and living Christ of the Bible that their souls may be saved."

I can add nothing to those words, other than this; If you read no other book besides the Word of God in your entire lifetime -- Read this one!

I only give this book two stars only because Rod and I grew up in the same hometown ( Windsor, Colo.), we are both orginally from Nebraska and went to the same church in Windsor ( with the same minister that was mentioned in this book, only this minister wasn't so accepting of my homosexuality as he was mentioned with Rod's homosexaulity in the book). It brought back the same strugles that I had with aceptance of my homosexuality that I had in Windsor 10 years later ( Rod in the late 70s. Myself in the late 80s).
I respect them both individually but as a gay couple on parade I don't subcribe to this approch ( when it comes to marriage ) that is stated in this book. It has been my experience that if you have to broadcast something this personal and this loud some thing is wrong with the situation.
My advice, If you are looking for a gay couples guide for a better marrige you won't find it here. This book is like a supermarket trade romance book that you see in the checkout line. If you want to work on your marrige work on your self first.

I have always admired Bob Paris for his health and fitness and was equally amazed at his coming out. It was a great testimony of rising above the homophobia of his industry.

This book was his and former partner Rod's on-going chronicle of the development of their relationship. It would have been great...had it been another couple. I mean no disrespect but this was the most co-dependent couple that has ever written a book about relationships. You may have to read it to believe it.

I was not surprised when they later announced their public "divorce." The formula for their relationship was a disaster waiting to happen. Perhaps Mr. Paris should write a follow-up book about what lessons he's learned from that experience. This would help others who have thought that his last relationship was something to be modeled after to learn that there is a much better way for relationships to run.

The book is an easy read. The content however is a little hard to swallow but it's a real memoir. It would be an interesting study on co-dependent relationships. Read this book for what it is--a memoir, not a how-to book.

Being one of the first gay couples in the national spotlight, Bob Paris and Rod Jackson were pioneers who paved the way for other well-known, and prominent celebrities to come out of the closet in order to gain great greater acceptance in today's society. While many gay celebrity couples such as Ellen DeGeneres & Anne Heche and Melissa Etheridge and Julie Cypher have come out together with little or no opposition from both the media and society. The story of how these two men came out is an inspiration to all seeking acceptance, regardless of your sexual orientation.

Bob Paris, who was one of professional bodybuilding's top stars and Rod Jackson, a former Playgirl Man of the Year, met, fell in love, and later went on to stage a ceremonial wedding where they exchange vows. "Straight From the Heart," is mostly an autobiographical account of their lives, from their childhoods to their present-day lives. Although Paris and Jackson broke off their relationship in 1997, their story is still an excellent account of what it is to be gay and famous in today's society.

The book can be a tad bit too lame when it comes to both authors giving each other accolades or affection. However, I was intrigued by both Bob and Rod's touring the country and speaking at universities, colleges, and at events about their struggle for acceptance and their advocacy for gay & lesbian rights. The tour opened up in my alma mater, Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida, where the authors faced a crowd that was both rude and anxious to hear them speak. I found that interesting because their appearance came a few years before I enrolled there.

"Straight From the Heart," is an interesting account of how love knows no boundaries. While Jackson hasn't been so visible in the spotlight lately, Bob Paris continues to be a best-selling author or fitness and gay studies books. He is an excellent author, as well as a fascinating individual. I recommend this book to anyone wanting to know what it feels like to risk everything in your life in order to pursue happiness with the one you love.

I am a firm believer that an author should never try to write the same story over and over again just to sell books. Therefore, I was happy to read the other reviews, though negative, of Knowledge of Water. They told me that although Sarah Smith carried characters from The Vanished Child over to this book, it would not be just a rehash of the first one.

However, even if one does not compare the content of the two books, the first one is far superior, as all events turn on the central thread of the novel, the story of the 'vanished child'.

Smith chose as her central thread here the Paris flood of 1910. However, that thread frays early on, leaving too many scattered ends drifting like flotsam in the flooded Seine.

Once again, Alexander Von Reisden is the anti-hero of the story, along with Perdita, his partially sighted fiancee, who dreams of a career as a concert pianist. Perdita knows that she ultimately cannot commit to marriage, as she will one day leave to follow her passion. Reisden, still haunted by the death of his first wife (events described in Vanished Child) is content to simply let the relationship carry on as is; the same as Perdita. But, even though both feel that there is no real future for their love, passion eventually overtakes them.

Enter Roy Dougherty, police officer and friend from home (Boston) who quite correctly deduces that the relationship has progressed to being far from platonic, with the usual consequences.

Reisden is called in for questioning in the matter of a dead girl, the 'Mona Lisa'. He aides the police as much as possible, since he knew the girl in passing, and begins receiving notes asking him to 'do right by her' and see that she is 'taken care of'. Reisden and the police deduce that it is her killer making these requests, and set out to trap him.

Perdita, as well as Reisden, is drawn into an art forgery investigation, along with Dougherty, headstrong writer Milly Xico, and Reisden's 'cousin' Dotty, all convinced that Dotty's 'original Mallais painting' is nothing of the sort. Perdita takes up residence next to the widow Mallais and her shut-in brother Yvaud, befriending the kindly old woman, and soon learns that not all is as it seems.

The book is well written, but the story is what suffers from a lack of development. The central thread of this book seems to bounce back and forth. The flood; the art forgery; the dead girl; the well-meaning killer; Perdita's musical career; Reisden's mental clinic....too many focal points for one story. While I enjoyed the author's style and brand of prose once again, I was sad to see that nothing gelled into a main storyline, at least not for me. Most conflicts are resolved by the last page, but...with so many different story threads, it is hard to really enjoy any of them completely. Just when you are drawn in to one particular sub-plot the story shifts to another.

I eagerly await reading the third novel in the trilogy, A Citizen of the Country, as the reviews and book description all praise it highly.

I can only give this book 3 stars, however, and in comparison with part 1, it pales. Hopefully part 3 will even the score.

I found The Knowledge of Water to be an absorbing blend of mystery, period history and romance; but before you write it off as a bodice-ripper, let me add that the characters are well developed and believable, and the thorny women's issues are thought-provoking and timely. The result is good, entertaining brain food.
My only regret is that I read this volume before the first one in the series, The Vanished Child. Although I plan to go back and read it now, I fear Knowledge of Water gives away too many of the surprises from the first novel.

This book was excellent. I loved the images of turn-of-the-century Paris and its suburbs. I also loved the usage of the French language. The mystery was involving and kept the reader guessing until the resolution. I am now reading it for the second time and it is just as good. I intend to read the prequel to this (The Vanished Child) sometime very soon. Sarah Smith has a very unique way of words and describes scenes while leaving some to the imagination.

Unfortunately, Philippe Tapon seems to have gorged himself on far too many Nazi movies (and perhaps a few set in Paris) before sitting down to write this unsatisfying tale of l'amour, French style. This novel reads as though it were written in a single sitting, without revision, as French menus and plot twists flew into the author's mind. Except for one ghastly and characteristically Gallic murder, the book is strangely flat. The characters of stomach doctor Emile Bastien and the Gestapo officer he treats have some depth; everyone else serves as a backdrop. If you want to read an authentic novel set in France during the Nazi occupation, read anything by Kay Boyle. She was there. J. Robert Janes' current detective series set in Paris under the Vichy government is also far superior to this overrated book.

"The Mistress" is an apt title for this novel, even though it may be misleading for those who are looking for a romantic read. Philippe Tapon gives the reader a penetrating look at Paris during the Nazi occupation through the eyes of a doctor, Emile Bastien, and his mistress, Simone. Dr. Bastien, specializing in the treatment of stomach ailments, is an equal opportunity doctor, accepting both French and German patients, including those from both the Gestapo and the Resistance.

Bastien lives with Simone and his two children in Paris. His wife, Marie resides on her estate in the south of France, racing horses, tending her vineyards, and nursing her bitterness and rage at the husband who has betrayed her. Simone is Bastien's nurse, secretary, housekeeper and nanny, as well as his jaded lover. Their love petered out long ago. They live very well in the war deprived city and Simone continues to stay with the sometimes abusive doctor out of self preservation. Where else is she to go? Self-preservation is something that Simone excels at. She is privy to all her lover's secrets and when he makes a move, during the final days of the occupation, to revenge himself against the Nazis, she has her own alternate plan.

Tapon's novel is tautly written in elegant prose. He tells a tale of betrayal and revenge against the backdrop of paranoia and fear that is Paris in 1944. His small cast of characters are cunning and duplicitous. Everyone is out for themselves in this dog-eat-dog world that the Third Reich created. I found myself unable to put this gripping and original novel down. I recommend it highly.
JANA

The NY Times gave a great review of "The Mistress" when it first came out. It concluded: "Reading 'The Mistress' may feel like a guilty pleasure, but Tapon has nothing to be ashamed of: it's a fine, wicked book."

Of course, that may not be what you're looking for. As a result, some people might dislike it. After all, many of the characters are hard to like. But that's the point of the book.

It follows a French family trying to live during the German occupation during WWII. The family is a wreck, partly because the father is having an open affair with a mistress. The kids suffer as a result. Then there's gold that the family must hide from the Nazis, and other challenges that they face.

If you're looking for an exciting book set in WWII, with a cast of characters that are quite devious, then this is it.

This book is well written from the standpoint of sustaining a narrative based purely on personal facts and historical data, and in making one person's life interesting to people now far removed from his time, but the book really begins to slow down and become pedantic somewhere near the middle. It is the fault of poor editing, I believe, and the inclusion of several strange passages where the writer interjects his own opinions or judgements both on Chopin's character and the times he lived in were just redundant, annoying, and superfluous. By the time you finish reading the book your respect for Chopin will probably be lessened noticeably, not only because the writer seems to always dwell on what he considers the "faults" of the musician's character, but also because the unending reiteration of their cataloguing becomes fatiguing by the end. Who cares, really? Does it matter when listening to this man's Nocturnes or Polonaises or the incredible Etudes that he was a good businessman, extremely "careful" with his money, and that he was anti-semetic, often verbally abusing his Jewish music publishers? Does it matter that Chopin was a hypochondriac, a gossip, a manipulative, immature, emotionally-inept recluse? Will it matter to you? You will have to decide after reading this book, as all the "sordid" details of his life are open to your perusal. When confronted by Chopin's "faults" and "sins" or "defects of character" I was not impressed in the least. In fact, even though the author goes out of his way to make one aware of these things, nothing he could say really surprised me, and the attempts on his part to prejudice the reader seemed clumsy and ill-handled. A better writer would have been persuasive, the would-be moralist Szulc ends up merely berating and nagging. There are better biographies out there.

Szulc's biography of Chopin is the first biography I have read about a musician. My purpose in reading the book was to become acquainted with the man Chopin. I am a history major and a pianist and very impressed with Szulc's work. Using a multitude of primary sources, Szulc accurately describes who Chopin was. Szulc's greatest success is in portraying Chopin's personality. As a result of reading this book, I have become enthralled with Chopin's music and now delight to play it much more than I did before I read the book. This book has the ability to attach the reader to Chopin and even let him feel some of Chopin's emotion, which made him the finest Romantic pianist and composer. This book is a marvelous achievement, historically sound and musically inspirational.

After reading most of the Chopin biographies, I wasn't sure that there was more I could learn. Tad Szulc offers a more personal and intimate view of this enigmatic master than any others. This is because he brings into play a great deal of material from Chopin's contempories. So much more of the relationship between George Sand is available with a much more sympathetic portrayal of Chopin's third and last great paramour. We also learn about Chopin's personal views on Beethoven, other musicians and artists, on piano pedagogy, based on discussions with his friend and the artist, Delacroix. Chopin's relationship with the Marquis de Custine, who above all others seemed able to understand the inner soul of Chopin and his music. The fact that the marquis was homosexual and perhaps adds to the empathy of one man for the expression of another does not go unnoticed though the author cautions against any inferences that Chopin may have had an intimate affair with another man. Chopin, the sensitive thinker amidst the rich turbulence of the times is portrayed through letters, correspondences and recalled conversations. Chopin is probably the most personal of all the great masters, yet he was aloof from the artistic excesses of his times, played Bach's well Tempered daily, meticulous in his composing habits and yet, a little appreciated fact emphasized by Tad Szulc that Chopin was an innovator and creator of new and important musical forms. Certainly all popular music and jazz harmonies of the 20th century are direcly derived and based on Chopin. If you love Chopin the musician, his music and fascinated with the rich artistic and political times of the early 19th century, you will treasure this book. Michael Tierra

From the "100 Best Resorts" series by The Globe Pequot Press. The
authors point out that travelers save up to 25 percent of vacation
costs when booking all-inclusive stays. Rates start at $800 per week, per person; the average cost per couple is $2,500 per week. In addition, all-inclusive travelers often receive airfare discounts; for instance, Club Med (the original all-inclusive) has exclusive deals with airlines while the owner of the Sandals chain also has a controlling interest in Air Jamaica.

All-inclusive resorts offer one price for all services, gratuities, food, and lodging. If nothing else, it is an amazing peace-of-mind feeling to go on vacation knowing the exact cost. There are no surprises, especially in cost, with all-inclusive resorts; consistent quality is another trademark. The resorts were originally designed for singles but now cater to couples and families, too.

This book excludes European properties, in spite of Club Med starting there some 50 years ago. The rankings and the book have a very US-centric focus. 84% of the properties are in North America, including US, Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean. In fact, this book could serve as a useful guide for someone choosing between resorts in Jamaica and Mexico (27% of the listings).

Contact points, including toll-free telephone numbers and Web sites, are provided for each listing. Check with either or both for package deals, specials, or other additional information. Prices for most properties are listed per person, per day, even though the Introduction indicated that most stays are for one week. It would be nice to have weekly rates listed, especially if they are different (that is, less) than the daily rate times seven. Another silly inconsistency that bothered me is that airports (and other information) are listed in different formats;
perhaps because the authors merely duped the information provided by the resorts. For instance, the closest airport for most of the Jamaican resorts was listed three different ways, although it was the same airport (Donald Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay). Also, airports are listed in time, distance, or both from the resorts. This would probably bother only me.

Reviewed November 2001 by Charles McCool ...

Usually, it is hard and confusing to find out where you stay for a vacation where you can spend quality time with your family, but with the help of the Paris's book, it is a breeze! This is a book everybody should have on their bookshelf at home!

Over the past few years I have visited several of the resorts listed in this book. I've found the management and conditions excellent. I like the resorts so much that I wouldn't want the mass market or other wrong-headed persons to visit. That makes me hesitate to promote these spots too much. However, in the face of the curious pans on some of the resorts from other Amazon readers, I felt compelled to make note of my own times at these Best All-Inclusives! I'd also like to mention my absolute favorite but that I'm going to keep a secret of course!

Jules Verne is best known as an early science fiction writer. As most readers know, his "Inventions" include the atomic submarine (20,000 Leagues ...). In "Paris..." he is more of a futurist in the vein of George Orwell. In fact Orwell's writing style in "1984" is very similar to this book. Verne forsees the 20th century clearly but misses some important 19th century innovations. He writes about elevated rapid transit trains and computers. However, his Paris does not have inside toilets, an invention from a few years after the book was written. The plot - and there is one is - expounds the difficulties which a non-technical person has in a highly technical society. It is a first class tragedy. The society has no use for "The classics." Books, plays, etc. are written by committees with the aid of computers. Even the job of soldiering as an occupation is gone since modern technology has made war obsolete. Summing up, "Paris in the 20th Century" is fascinating to read while remembering when it was written and the plot although weak, still carries the book through to its sad conclusion.

This work was not printed during Verne's lifetime. This was because of the depressing nature of the work. It is well written, and does have some accurate points as far as prophecy goes, automobiles, high speed trains, governmental control of education. However, Verne seems to suggest that society came to worship(or, at least, respect) science while ignoring the fuzzy studies of humanities. If you look around America today, the general ignorance of science is appalling, and fuzzy studies are becoming fuzzier all the time... So, as a look into the future, this novel fails miserably. As I note that at least one major newspaper reviewer criticizes Verne for being a "technonerd" that nobody reads, let us remember Verne is the father of science fiction(as in SCIENCE), and even his more famous works, such as "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea", have a great deal of contemporary science in them. If someone does feel science is boring and nerdy, he certainly will not enjoy this book and will be better off purchasing a comic book. In conclusion, this is not a great Jules Verne novel, but his worst is better than many novelists best!

This is a most singular work of science fiction indeed. Like many of the futuristic technological marvels Jules Verne described, this novel lay in obscurity, waiting for someone to come along and discover it. That someone was Verne's great-grandson, who in 1989 found the manuscript in an old safe that was thought to be empty. While I bought this book as soon as it was published, I have only now compelled myself to read it. I could not help but wonder if Verne would want this novel published now in its current form, especially given the fact it was one of his earliest writings, so I held off in respect to the founding father of science fiction. Having now read the novel, I must say it differs significantly from the other Verne novels I have read, expressing a maudlin and tragically pessimistic vision for the future of modern society. At the same time, its defense of the classics, arts and literature, and individual freedom is quite moving.

In one of the richest ironies in the history of literature, Verne's editor rejected the manuscript of Paris in the Twentieth Century because, in his own words, "No one today will believe your prophecy." As with so many of Verne's visionary ideas, however, fiction has now become fact. Among the wild ideas included in these pages are fax machines, horse-less carriages, a subway system, computers, calculators, and other modern luxuries we take for granted now. A much longer list could be produced, but I would contend that too much of the reaction to this "lost" novel has directed itself to Verne's prophecies fulfilled. Certainly, the basis of Verne's future society is built on technological accomplishment, but Paris in the Twentieth Century is a social commentary that rivals in its unnerving implications famous dystopian novels such as George Orwell's 1984.

Verne's vision of Paris in 1960 is a troubling one indeed; the wonders of technology have worked miracles on earth, yet humanity's savior has proceeded to become its curse. It's an action-oriented society, one run with great economy and efficiency. War has been made extinct because, once war progressed to the point that machines and not men were fighting each other, the whole thing seemed ridiculous. Life itself has become scientific, and in the process the society has given up its own humanity. There is no place for an idealistic dreamer such as Michel Dufrenoy in this world where the arts and literature have been completely forgotten; popular literature now consists of books such as The Lubrication of Driveshafts. Popular music is so un-melodic that it would make even John Cage cringe. Still, young Michel does try to become a modern man, taking a job (his first of many) in his guardian's bank. He finds friends in a long-lost uncle, one of his co-workers, his former teacher, and the lovely grand-daughter of the latter. Even still, his life of quiet desperation grows more and more disheartening and threatens to make him a martyr for the forgotten cause of the arts.

Verne's warnings over the possible dangers of the technology he is famous for espousing makes for an intriguing read. Through Michel, Verne gives the reader a crash course on the history of French literature and thought as well as a primer of sorts on musical history. Some critics say the characters of this novel are ephemeral, but I found them all quite compelling, especially the main character Michel. The only real issue I have with the book is the fact that Verne basically left matters unresolved; while this is indeed effective in terms of Michel, I yearned to know the ultimate fates of the extraordinary friends he had acquired. While there are a few comical bits in this book, Paris in the Twentieth Century is a somber, very serious book warning of the possible unintended consequences of modernization. It shows Verne as a true visionary as well as a social critic and devoted lover of literature. This book is so rooted in the French ideals of Verne's time that those who, like me, are not overly familiar with the context in which Verne was writing may not appreciate and understand all of the text's nuances, but its prophetic warnings are even more timely now than they were in 1863.

This was my first Anne Perry book. It may be my last.

My impressions:

1) The story plays too many head games with it's characters for a story less than 75 pages. I can't imagine what her longer stories might be like.

2) I never felt comfortable with Celie, the main character. Then again, I don't feel comfortable being around unstable people in the 'real world'.

3) This story could have taken place during any time in history. The back drop simply made a [bad] story, [a bad] story with a morbid setting.

After reading this book, I had to check the photo on the jacket to make sure it was the same Anne Perry who writes such wonderful Victorian mysteries. I found the main character annoying and I didn't really care about what happened to any of them. I'm a big fan of Anne Perry, but this book was a major disapointment. If you are looking for a character like the Pitt or the Monk books, you won't find that here.

This story is a departure from the usual Anne Perry novels in several ways. It is not set in Victorian England (story is set in revolutionary France, August-September 1792), the pace of the story moves much more quickly, and, given that it is only 73 pages long, there is naturally much less character development and attention to detail than I usually associate with Anne Perry's novels. None of this detracts from the novella in any way because it focuses only upon one event in Celie's life and how she reacts to it, with the beginning of the Reign of Terror in the backdrop. This makes the novella all the more intriguing because it provides a vehicle in which to carry out plans of revenge that were not available earlier. It is also all the more dangerous because once set in motion, there is no way to stop it. Anne Perry manages to convey Celie's deep hurt, sorrow, anger, gullibility, jealousy, thoughts (helped here by a less-than-well-meaning "friend"),plans, & acts for revenge, second thoughts, actions to remedy what she has done before it is too late, redemption, forgiveness, and love for her fellow human beings in what was possibly most terrifying period in French history. It is a story of revenge, but the revenge is carried out by different people for different reasons. Although there is not as much character development of Celie compared with Charlotte Pitt or Hester Latterly, I think readers still learn what kind of a person Celie is by her actions. If you are looking for the standard Anne Perry novel, then you will be disappointed (it is NOT a mystery), but if you are willing to take a chance on a different kind of story, you will not be disappointed.