my relative lack of sympathy with the Royalist cause (I read too much Victor Hugo at an impressionable age)

Ha! Agreed! Most of her early books (before TFOTH) seem to be set during the French revolution or thereabouts, don't they? In the other book by hers I've read, the characters are Royalists too. But they are likable in spite of that! ;)

It's good to know that her themes of friendship and honour and loyalty are here in her first book too! :) And it's always enjoyable to read books that are as well-researched as hers, isn't it? Good luck with the read-through, it really sounds like a great idea! :D