Ribbons of Scarlet: A Novel of the French Revolution's Women

 Collaboration of six talented female writers brings an epic story about historical female figures, who came from different backgrounds, but had one common goal to give women a voice. They were passionate about politics, which wasn’t a place for women to be meddling in. But they did. 

Paris, 1786. Sophie de Grouchy, 22 years old, comes from minor aristocratic family. Her uncle Charles is a magistrate, taking charitable cases of defending poor during the time of the French Revolution. Since she can’t marry a man she loves, she wants to devote herself to the causes she assists her uncle with, “crusading on behalf of condemned peasants.”

Major-general Lafayette, who served in America under General George Washington, is one of the wealthiest men in France. And Sophie hopes to “recruit that wealth and influence” to her and her uncle’s cause. Instead, Lafayette suggests Nicolas de Condorcet, a prodigy “in philosophy, science, economics, and mathematics.” 

Condorcet, a man of bit peculiar manners, when trying to explain his scientific point, the guests flee the room. But what time presents later, is a man of great significance not only on historical level but also personal. The story explores his forward thinking of women and their rights.

Sophie accepts his proposal of marriage. She likes their arrangement. She likes her freedom, but she can’t bear purposelessness. Thus she continues to be busy with the cause. Even starting a school for poor women.

Louise Audu is one of her students. She is a fruit seller and a passionate disbeliever that anything can change. Even though, she respects Marquise de Condorcet, she has her own opinions about aristocrats. When she meets Pauline and observes her bravery, then she wants to make a difference. Her voice is very real and raw and also entertaining with her opinionated mind.

Princess Elisabeth, sister of King Louis XVI, is pious. She believes “in divine right of kings as fervently as she believes in God.” But she is not blind to the plight of common people. She is devoted to charity not politics. The voice of Elisabeth is woven into this story to present different points of view.

Manon Roland is married to Jean-Marie Roland, minister of the interior. When she sees the streets of Paris running with blood, she can no longer give herself excuses for not writing. She picks up a pen and drafts her husband’s speeches. She knows his style; she just adds some boldness and strength.

Pauline is a leader of highly respected society of women activists. “To end the hypocrisy and the blatant disregard for the lives of those who kept this country alive – peasants, soldiers, women.” She has had enough of empty words, she is all about violence. “If our country was going to make its true transformation, it had to be all the way. No king living, and no heirs to take up his mantle. Which meant that his wife and his children needed to follow him to the guillotine, and soon. Their lives were a necessary sacrifice.”

The story explores-well both sides of the story. It is easier for aristocratic women to fight with words when they are well-provided for. It is a different story for those poor women, who have been not only voiceless but also very hungry. Words are not enough any longer, thus they resort to violence. 

I highly applaud the two extraordinary aristocratic women, Sophie and Manon. They were ahead of their time and they stood for what they believed in. Manon felt the most free, when she was in prison, knowing that the guillotine was inevitable for her, she wrote without any restrains, with every fiber in her body she expressed what she believed in. (Her words were smuggled out of prison). 

With immersive prose and smart dialogue, the characters shine with ambitions, fighting for the free most important words in French history: liberty, equality, and fraternity. 

The story is rich in historical details, bringing key events of the French Revolution and more; offering phenomenal cast of historical figures, some more likeable than the others. And above-all paying honor to the women, who took the leading roles in fighting for the most important triumphs and inspiring changes of the tumultuous French Revolution. 

Release date: 1 October 2019

Source: William Morrow