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Book Review
Jan. 28th, 2012 10:20 pmThe Oracle Glass
by Judith Merkle Riley
This well-paced historical novel is built around the real Affaires des Poisons in late 17th century Paris and at the court of Louis XIV. The fictional protagonist, Genevieve Pasquier, is a very intelligent, bookish girl horribly mistreated and outcast by her petty nobility family. When she runs away from them, Genevieve is taken under the wing of La Voisin, the most successful and powerful witch* in Paris, leader of a large organization of witches which is kind of a mixture of a guild and the mafia. La Voisin nurtures Genevieve's genuine talent for seeing visions in water and trains her to be a high society fortune-teller. Armed with a new identity and disguise as a 150 year old woman preserved through alchemy, Genevieve quickly rises through Paris society, counting the highest nobility among her clients. Thus she operates within a web of intrigue and scheming on the part of both the nobles and La Voisin. The decadent, degenerate court and the shadowy machinations of the witches both hold out great rewards and great dangers that Genevieve must navigate.
I quite liked the way Riley took real events and people and created this story around and out of them. The book also focuses nearly exclusively on the female characters, giving an interesting perspective on how women in this society could and did make lives for themselves. The plot and pacing in The Oracle Glass are very well done. The book starts out slowly and then smoothly accelerates into a suspenseful and exciting climax. Riley also weaves in good character development as Genevieve matures, learns how to operate within the world she has entered, and finds love.
*In this case, witch means fortune-teller and provider of abortions, poisons, and other occult services. La Voisin was a real person.
by Judith Merkle Riley
This well-paced historical novel is built around the real Affaires des Poisons in late 17th century Paris and at the court of Louis XIV. The fictional protagonist, Genevieve Pasquier, is a very intelligent, bookish girl horribly mistreated and outcast by her petty nobility family. When she runs away from them, Genevieve is taken under the wing of La Voisin, the most successful and powerful witch* in Paris, leader of a large organization of witches which is kind of a mixture of a guild and the mafia. La Voisin nurtures Genevieve's genuine talent for seeing visions in water and trains her to be a high society fortune-teller. Armed with a new identity and disguise as a 150 year old woman preserved through alchemy, Genevieve quickly rises through Paris society, counting the highest nobility among her clients. Thus she operates within a web of intrigue and scheming on the part of both the nobles and La Voisin. The decadent, degenerate court and the shadowy machinations of the witches both hold out great rewards and great dangers that Genevieve must navigate.
I quite liked the way Riley took real events and people and created this story around and out of them. The book also focuses nearly exclusively on the female characters, giving an interesting perspective on how women in this society could and did make lives for themselves. The plot and pacing in The Oracle Glass are very well done. The book starts out slowly and then smoothly accelerates into a suspenseful and exciting climax. Riley also weaves in good character development as Genevieve matures, learns how to operate within the world she has entered, and finds love.
*In this case, witch means fortune-teller and provider of abortions, poisons, and other occult services. La Voisin was a real person.
