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The Huguenot Chronicles: Books 1 - 3: A historical fiction trilogy

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There's no indication that the author plans to continue the Huguenot saga on to settlement in the New World, even if he leaves the Delpeche family in Ireland.

The Huguenot Chronicles Trilogy – Paul C. R. Monk The Huguenot Chronicles Trilogy – Paul C. R. Monk

The Huguenot Chronicles is a gripping historical drama that spans continents, from King Louis’ France to the Caribbean, and from London to colonial New York. The author needs to take a writing 101 class as even though this is a YA novel, it is so poorly written that it is an insult to even a ten year old reader. To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. This trilogy covers about 12 years of a very important period in both European history as well as the Reformation era. Forcibly separated and driven from their native lands, the father is sentenced to slavery aboard a French vessel.Having chosen to read Merchants of Virtue (book 1), they had kindly asked if I would join them for a talk by Zoom. I found the first two books moved considerably faster for me as I got a bit bogged down in the politics described in the third book. As a result, there has always been a strain of virulent anti-Catholic sentiment in our family which embarrassed me and which I was curious to understand. If Jeanne and Jacob can’t find a way to evade the soldiers’ clutches, their family will face a fate worse than poverty and imprisonment.

The Huguenot Chronicles Trilogy by Paul C R Monk - Waterstones The Huguenot Chronicles Trilogy by Paul C R Monk - Waterstones

Although there is no doubt that Protestants were persecuted in this time, the author is careful to include sympathetic Catholic characters, as well, and I came away with a much better understanding of the period. The author does more than bring the period brilliantly to life, however; he creates characters based on real historical figures who would rather risk their lives, status and fortune than surrender their values and beliefs. I read about this book some weeks back and through the auspices of the Leominster Public Library I was able to get the book.

Monk brings the circumstances to life through the tale of Jeanne and Jacob Delpech and their family. Eventually she is driven from there but is reunited with her son, a lad of about 9 years, and together they make their way to Amsterdam and then to Geneva, the spiritual "home" of their Calvinistic faith. Perhaps it is the Calvinist Christian in me saying this, but I would have much preferred that at least some attention was paid to this issue. This impacts on the pacing which at times feels heavy and ponderous - across the course of the three books it takes an awfully long time for relatively little to happen. The first and most important issue that I have is that as this book is all about the trials and tribulations of a group of Protestants severely persecuted by a power-mad Roman Catholic hierarchy, yet very very little is said about the beliefs they hold.

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