The Queens Dollmaker Christine Trent by Christine Trent 9780758238573, 0758238576 instant download after payment.

On the brink of revolution, with a tide of hate turned against the decadent royal court, France is in turmoil - as is the life of one young woman forced to leave her beloved Paris. After a fire destroys her home and family, Claudette Laurent is struggling to survive in London. But one precious gift remains: her talent for creating exquisite dolls that Marie Antoinette, the Queen of France herself, cherishes. When the Queen requests a meeting, Claudette seizes the opportunity to promote her business, and to return home...Amid the violence and unrest, Claudette befriends the Queen, who bears no resemblance to the figurehead rapidly becoming the scapegoat of the Revolution. But when Claudette herself is lured into a web of deadly political intrigue, it becomes clear that friendship with France's most despised woman has grim consequences. Now, overshadowed by the spectre of Madame Guillotine, the Queen's dollmaker will face the ultimate test.

Dear Reader,

Thank you for your interest in The Queen's Dollmaker.  I've been collecting dolls for more years than I can count, and have a rather bizarre collection, including a wooden doll brought to me from Africa that made the strangest scratching sound for a long time.  One day, I looked at the doll and it had a big hole in the side of it.  Whatever had been burrowing inside was gone!  Fortunately, none of my other dolls show signs of interior inhabitants.

I knew I wanted to combine my love of history and dolls in creating my first book.  When I learned that Marie Antoinette loved dolls, too, I knew that I had to write a story about the doomed queen from the perspective of a fictional dollmaker.

I just recently learned that the Salisbury and South Wiltshire museum in England believes it possesses a doll dressed by Marie Antoinette for her daughter while imprisoned and awaiting execution.  I thought I was inventing the idea of the queen having a doll with her in prison, honest!

Please enjoy Claudette's adventures.  I hope you will consider the sequel, "A Royal Likeness," which follows the adventures of the dollmaker's heir, who becomes a waxworking apprentice to the great Madame Tussaud and soon finds herself embroiled in a secret plot against Napoleon.

Happy Reading,

Christine

Christine Trent writes historical fiction from her two-story home library.  She lives with her wonderful bookshelf-building husband, four precocious cats, a large doll collection, entirely too many fountain pens, and over 4,000 fully cataloged books.  She and her husband are active travelers and journey regularly to England to conduct book research at historic sites.