New Release: The Shadows of Versailles

Join me as I celebrate the release of The Shadows of Versailles, the first novel in a new series of loosely-linked stories set during the Affair of the Poisons, is now available in Kindle format! 

Seduced at Versailles. Broken by tragedy. Consumed by revenge.

Follow me to the glamorous court of Louis XIV, the Sun King. But beneath all the glitter of his impressive new palace lurks a danger, and not only to his own life. 

The Affair of the Poisons is a fascinating time when dark dealings came to light, involving not only ’lowly’ midwives, alchemists and fortune-tellers, but also high-ranking officials, courtiers and even the king's longterm mistress, Madame de Montespan.

We only meet La Montespan briefly in The Shadows of Versailles, as the focus is on Fleur, my fictional heroine, who discovers that Versailles reveals more hidden dangers than she'd expected. 

Fleur falls victim to a serial seducer in the picturesque gardens – an act that leads her into trouble as her overbearing mother places her into a convent to have the child, only to see him taken away after birth. The nuns tell her that her son is dead, yet she hears him scream.

What happened to the boy? Will Fleur ever find out? And will her obsession with vengeance lead to her downfall?

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Blurb:

Seduced at Versailles. Broken by tragedy. Consumed by revenge.

Fleur de La Fontaine attends the court of King Louis XIV at Versailles for the first time. Dazzled by the opulence, she is soon besotted with handsome courtier, Philippe de Mortain. When she believes his words of love, she gives in to his seduction – with devastating consequences.

Nine months later, when the boy she has given birth to is whisked from her grasp, she flees the convent and finds shelter at the brothel of Madame Claudette.

Jacques de Montagnac, a spy working for the Lieutenant General, investigates a spate of abducted children from the poorer quartiers of Paris when his path crosses Fleur’s. He searches for her son, but the trail leads to a dead end – and a dreadful realisation.

Her son’s suspected fate too much to bear, Fleur decides to avenge him. With the help of her new acquaintance, the Duchess de Bouillon, Fleur visits the famous midwife, La Voisin, but it’s not the woman’s skills in childbirth that Fleur seeks.

La Voisin dabbles in poisons.

Will Fleur see her plan through? Or can she save herself from a tragic fate?

Delve into The Shadows of Versailles and enter the sinister world of potions and black masses during the Affairs of the Poisons, a real event that stunned the court of the Sun King!

Curious? Then head over to Amazon to grab your Kindle copy! The paperback will be available soon too. I hope you'll enjoy the read.