The Women of Chateau Lafayette

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Trigger warnings: war, antisemitism, executions, violence

Three women's stories revolve around the Chateau Lafayette during the French Revolution and two world wars.

Adrienne de Naoilles is an aristocratic teenager in the late 1700s who is married to the wealthy and influential Marquis de Layfayette. The new Marquise de Lafayette travels to Versailles with her family. Her fortunes change when the French begin to revolt against royalty and the aristocracy. Adrienne hopes she will be safe in the country at the Chateau Lafayette. She reaches out to Americans for help since Lafayette helped the Americans win their freedom.

Marthe Simone works as a teacher at the Chateau Lafayette during World War II. She receives a commission to create artwork of Adrienne Lafayette to distance the castle's collections from the Revolutionary marquis. Marthe's studio is a room formerly occupied by the marquise. Her fiancé Henri is being held in a POW camp and she hopes for his safe return.

New Yorker Beatrice Astor Chanler's husband is injured in France in 1914 and she decides to visit in order to save their marriage. When she witnesses the horrors of the war on a train journey, she pledges to sway Americans that the French need their help. They name their fund the Lafayette Fund to invoke the aristocracy's sense of patriotism and open their purses. Eventually, she endeavors to purchase the Chateau Lafayette and turn it into a museum and community resource.

Adrienne's story is the most historically significant, yet I found the stories during the world wars more interesting. Beatrice and Marthe's stories are more connected as well, as they're both alive in the early 1900s.

Adrienne's narrator has a pronounced French accent, as is appropriate for a Frenchwoman. She is the most monotone of all the readers. Beatrice's narrator has an American accent (or non-accent if you're American). Marthe's reader has a slight French accent which becomes stronger when saying French names or locations.

Recommended for Francophiles and readers of wartime historical fiction.

Stephanie Dray is a bestselling author whose historical titles focus on women. She lives near Washington, D.C.

Publisher: Berkley (print); Penguin Audio

Narrators: Tavia Gilbert, Emma Bering, & Rachel Jacobs

Running Time: 23 hours, 55 minutes

Length: 576 pages

Release Date: March 30, 2021

I received an electronic galley copy of this title from the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.