The Seamstress

In this lyrical, propulsive story set on the eve of the French Revolutionary War, Pittman (Loving Luther) charts the life of young widower and farmer Émile Gagnon after he takes in two orphaned cousins. Renée and Laurette have grown up safe and content in the quiet village of Mouton Blanc, but after the death of their father, a friend of Gagnon’s, the extreme poverty that roils the country due to the profligate king finally reaches them. As troubles increase and peasants began banding together to rebel, Gagnon is unable to dissuade the girls’ friend Marcel from joining the rebellion, and he fears Laurette will fall under his influence. But then an unexpected, very fashionable visitor shows up in Mouton Blanc and, coming across Renée’s stitching skills, offers her entry into the palace of Marie Antoinette as one of the queen’s seamstresses. Seeking her own purpose, Laurette also heads to Paris, but in the company of Marcel. The faithful Gagnon can only wait prayerfully and patiently as the two young women he loves confront evil, face heartbreak, and chart their own course through the reign of terror. Featuring two fully formed, headstrong, and resilient heroines, the novel stitches together a gripping tale of grace and truth amid incomprehensible suffering. (Feb.)