About the Book
Title: The Seamstress of Acadie
Author: Laura Frantz
Genre: Historical Romance
Releases: January 9, 2024
I received a copy of the book from the author and publisher through NetGalley. I also ordered a paperback copy for myself and a friend. No positive review was required, and all opinions are my own.
(As part of the Launch Team, I am reviewing an ARC of the book.)
As 1754 is drawing to a close, tensions between the French and the British on Canada’s Acadian shore are reaching a fever pitch. Seamstress Sylvie Galant and her family–French-speaking Acadians wishing to remain neutral–are caught in the middle, their land positioned between two forts flying rival flags. Amid preparations for the celebration of Noël, the talk is of unrest, coming war, and William Blackburn, the British Army Ranger raising havoc across North America’s borderlands.
As summer takes hold in 1755 and British ships appear on the horizon, Sylvie encounters Blackburn, who warns her of the coming invasion. Rather than participate in the forced removal of the Acadians from their land, he resigns his commission. But that cannot save Sylvie or her kin. Relocated on a ramshackle ship to Virginia, Sylvie struggles to pick up the pieces of her life. When her path crosses once more with William’s, they must work through the complex tangle of their shared, shattered past to navigate the present and forge an enduring future.
About the Author
Bestselling, award-winning author, Laura Frantz, has been writing stories since age seven. She is passionate about all things historical, particularly the 18th-century and her novels often incorporate Scottish themes that reflect her family heritage. She is a direct descendant of George Hume, Wedderburn Castle, Berwickshire, Scotland, who was exiled to the American colonies for his role in the Jacobite Rebellion of 1715, settled in Virginia, and is credited with teaching George Washington surveying in the years 1748-1750. Proud of her heritage, she is also a Daughter of the American Revolution. Though she will always consider Kentucky home, she and her husband live in Washington State.
According to Publishers Weekly, “Frantz has done her historical homework.” With her signature attention to historical detail and emotional depth, she is represented by Janet Kobobel Grant, Literary Agent & Founder, Books & Such Literary Agency of Santa Rosa, California. Foreign language editions include French, Dutch, Spanish, Slovakian, German & Polish.
Readers can find Laura Frantz at http://www.laurafrantz.net
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My Impressions
“The evil had come. It pulsated all around her, thick and black and unruly as a horde of gray wolves with no restraining hand.”
All Sylvie Galant and so many of her fellow Acadians wanted was to be neutral, uninvolved in the land grab in the “New World” between England and France. The Acadians just want to go on living life in their beautiful, productive land as they have for generations. But that right is ferociously torn away from them by the English governor, who vanquishes them all from the land of their dreams to exile in the English colonies… if they survive to arrive. While all Acadians know Bleu Galant, Sylvie’s half-brother, fights for them and the French, they also know that the man responsible for rounding up the Acadians is Le Diable Blanc (the White Devil), Le Loup ( the Wolf).
Laura Frantz, winner of the Christy for historical fiction in 2023, has written yet another novel, The Seamstress of Acadie, equally deserving of a Christy.
No one has a way with words like Laura Frantz. Frantz writes so beautifully, I can almost hear music or see art accompanying her words. I could certainly see Acadie in all its beauty, then its denudation of its people and prosperity. Frantz makes you feel like you are on those transport ships of death. I could feel the rise and swell of the waves in the storm, smell the odors of sickness and fear, feel the terror of the hurricane, taste the loss of dreams and faith.
Still, people that go through the same horrific circumstances can come out different on the other side. Frantz points the reader to the fact that this is because some, like Sylvie, devastated, turn to their faith to bolster them and provide a purpose for their lives. Others continue to stew in their hatred, with disastrous results.
Some, like Sylvie, attempt to share the bit of light they find. “God Himself collects our tears and stores them in a bottle…God takes note of our suffering. It is no light matter to Him. I find that . . . comforting.” Yet few are willing to see that God can be present in and allow horrible circumstances and still be directing a person’s path. “There is no bottle big enough for Acadie’s weeping.”
Sylvie battles fear, loss of family, loss of homeland, prejudice, and finally her own treacherous heart, falling for the one man she should hate.
With a map, glossary, and short historical note at the front, the reader is well-prepared for this both painful and beautiful journey. In The Seamstress of Acadie by Laura Frantz, I found a new book to reread for her rest of my life!!
Notable Quotable:
“Perhaps the Lord was leading her in ways she hadn’t planned or preferred, but still he leadeth.”
My Rating
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Beyond Magnificent!! But read The Seamstress of Acadie for yourself. You decide.
Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions 