The Countess Angelique

The Countess Angelique by Sergeanne Golon,

Once again Anne Golon and Serge Golon have written a wonderful story of adventure and

turmoil amidst the hardships of the early pioneering days of the New World set in the seventeenth century. I loved this story for the sense of romance, an authentic setting in a time -frame of early America and the descriptive quality of the writing.

A wonderful book to be recommended and I now look forward to reading the next Angelique book

in the on going saga of Angelique. A magical story in many ways, full of wonder, hope and

inspiration.

The Angelique books always

seem to add a new dimension to each and every book inspiring imagination and admiration for

Angelique and her husband, Joffrey de Peyrac, who against the odds, seemed to have an

uncanny ability to overcome the hurdles placed in their pathway of life, whether these be from the elements,

nature or people. The wonderful descriptions of the forests of the New World are also

quite magical. There is the beauty and also by contrast the harsh realities of the early existence

and battle for survival in these early pioneering days with so many variances of plot and characters

which are quite unexpected. There always seems to be something new and surprising to read as the story continues in each and every one of these books of Angelique.

I also enjoyed the book of “Angelique in Barbary” or the other title may be “Angelique and the Sultan” for the wisdom and

philosophies found in the pages when Angelique was in the east, in a desert and for a time at a harem.

This also brings to mind another wonderful book set in Old Constantinople, which today is Istanbul,

where the heroine of the novel was captured and taken to a harem. This was “The Aviary Gate” by Katie Hickman, set during the time of Elizabeth I, which I enjoyed reading last year. The beautiful love story always remained with me. This may also be the secret of the Angelique books, a unique and beautiful love story of the two main

characters, Angelique and her husband, Joffrey de Peyrac.

There is actually a loose thread in the story and I was slightly disappointed to read towards the end of the story that Joffrey

de Peyrac told Angelique that he could not risk a war with New France for the sake of a few

farmers' labourers, which did surprise me, as I remember from the book “Angelique in Revolt”

that Angelique took on the might of the French king, Louis XIV, to assist and give shelter to

persecuted Huguenots, and help them to escape from France. I hope to read more about

this incident in the next book, as from my reading, I cannot imagine that Joffrey de Peyrac would suffer

injustice and it would seem to be against his better judgement as he would wish to assist unfortunate captives. Angelique and her husband, with the assistance of another person did however, manage to prise away

one child who was relinquished to them, before the captors and their captives continued on their long walk through the forest, making their way to Montreal.

I will need to start reading the next book in the series to follow this quite compelling story,

which gives a wonderful insight into the lives and times of people from an earlier era.

My best wishes,

Sandra

p.s. the cover of the hard cover edition which I read was of a quite glamorous Angelique,

wearing brightly coloured beads and a colourful gown, with distant characters, one in long white

evening cloak, as though a bishop or priest,  and which evoked a 

different time and place.  Even the cover of this particular edition which I read was quite

spell binding, with a picture of a cavalry and horses included on the back cover.