Yeah, I agree that the strong sense of place is important (I loved her descriptions of the Channel Islands, especially in the last section with La Vireville and Raymonde meeting again, as well as La Vireville's mourning for his lost home).
Raymonde as a fully-rounded character, yes! That last scene on the boat was really striking, in that sense—she keeps her cool during the crisis, and bravely does her part in saving them both, but then at the end she breaks down with all the emotion of it, as is quite understandable considering what she's been through. And you feel for her all the more for seeing both/all sides of her. I love her :D
I am weak for the "personal salvation through human connection" trope (which, in a sense, is a sort of emotional homecoming and Broster really kicks ass at writing this!) and you really see this in the bond the Chevallier forms with Anne and then with Raymonde
Oh, yes—it is all very sweet, and that emotional weight is done very well throughout. And I agree that it's refreshing to see this trope done with a quasi-parental relationship rather than a romantic one (although some of the implications about the importance of having your own children did rub me the wrong way, especially in light of similar themes in FotH—but that's subjective, I suppose).
Well, this is what fanfic is for, isn”t it?
:D I'm not sure how Keith would feel about a cousin of his supporting the French Royalists—are they just as bad as the Jacobites? (What would he think of the Revolution? who knows...)
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Raymonde as a fully-rounded character, yes! That last scene on the boat was really striking, in that sense—she keeps her cool during the crisis, and bravely does her part in saving them both, but then at the end she breaks down with all the emotion of it, as is quite understandable considering what she's been through. And you feel for her all the more for seeing both/all sides of her. I love her :D
I am weak for the "personal salvation through human connection" trope (which, in a sense, is a sort of emotional homecoming and Broster really kicks ass at writing this!) and you really see this in the bond the Chevallier forms with Anne and then with Raymonde
Oh, yes—it is all very sweet, and that emotional weight is done very well throughout. And I agree that it's refreshing to see this trope done with a quasi-parental relationship rather than a romantic one (although some of the implications about the importance of having your own children did rub me the wrong way, especially in light of similar themes in FotH—but that's subjective, I suppose).
Well, this is what fanfic is for, isn”t it?
:D I'm not sure how Keith would feel about a cousin of his supporting the French Royalists—are they just as bad as the Jacobites? (What would he think of the Revolution? who knows...)