Women of Chateau Lafayette

 by Stephanie Dray

This was a large book, 500 pages. I don't normally have the staying power for a long book but this one was certainly worth it.

It is based on real historical characters.  The story is about three different women, two of whom were real people.  The first story takes place in the 1770's the second in WWI and the third in WWII.

The story starts with a woman Adrienne, who marries a man named Lafayette.  Her family are nobles and her father works to get her and her husband active in the french court.  She is warmly welcomed by Marie Antoinette but her husband is teased.  Her husband, against family wishes, leaves for America to fight with the Americans to get them free of the British.  He is highly regarded by the Americans for his leadership and bravery and comes back to France Highly regarded.  However, the mood in France changes both towards him and towards the king.  He tries to get the King to agree to a constitutional Monarchy and the King signs papers but soon indicates he has no intention of following through.  This results in the French revolution.  Lafayette soon becomes hated by the french as they see him supporting the king.  Eventually he is imprisoned in Austria where his wife eventually goes to join him rather than be separated.  His wife is almost beheaded but escapes thanks to the intervention of an American diplomat.  Her mother, grandmother and sister are not so lucky.  Eventually the Lafayettes settle in the family estate, the chateau Chavaniac where the locals welcome them warmly.

The second story takes place  in WWII. A stage singer/actress marries a rich British man. She is the second real person. He is an adventurer.  At first they are very much in love but then the husband injures his leg and he doesn't seem to want to have anything to do with his wife and children.  His wife, waffles between love and disgust regarding her husband.  Although they aren't getting along the man buys his wife Chateau Chavaniac.  She decides to turn it into a shelter for orphans and sick children during the war.  She then becomes very active travelling back and forth between the U.S. and France, against her husband's wishes.  She and another woman set up a Lafayette Foundation to fund the work of the Chateau.  Because of her husband's name she has lots of connections in the U.S. and raises lots of money for her cause but she cannot get the U.S. president to send troops to aid in the fight in Europe.  The woman has a romantic relationship with a wealthy french soldier, he wants her to leave her husband and marry him.  While she does love him she decides not to marry him and eventually returns to the U.S. and her children but she keeps a hand on the running of the Chateau in France.

The third character is a girl Marthe, who has grown up as an orphan at the Chateau.  She longs to know who her parents were.  She is now a teacher at the chateau.  WWII is raging and the girl's fiancee, a livelong friend, is killed in the fighting.  The girl marries a local gendarme and this allows her to use her artistic skills to create false documents for some of the patients at the chateau and for others fleeing france.  Eventually she confesses and is about to be arrested but her husband arrives on the scene and while attempting to support her he is shot.  Eventually the woman is able to go to the U.S. on a scholarship to study art.

This was a fascinating story.  I never really knew about this french involvement in the American war of Independence and learned more about the turmoil in France in the 1700's.    It was dreadful all the innocent people who were killed by the masses.  A great read.