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- In 1876, Louise St Quentin was sixteen. She was an orphan and the rich owner of a huge estate. Her future seemed all mapped out; a marriage of convenience would be arranged for her so that she would have someone to help her manage her estate. But Louise had the rather unfortunate tendency of listening to her heart rather than her reason. The end of the nineteenth century was terribly exciting, and Louise wanted to discover everything - the adventure lying at the end of the railway track, romantic music, the modern cuisine in the new Parisian restaurants, and impressionist painting. Was her artistic, cultural and above all sensual upbringing going to lead the young girl to her ruin or to love? A native of the Selle valley, would Louise find the grass greener on the other side of the world? A word by Jane Hentges, the translator It was so exciting when, after sending emails to each other for a couple of weeks, Gabrielle Dubois contacted me on Mothering Sunday to tell me that she had chosen me to translate the first volume of her Louise Saint Quentin saga Mistress Mine (Sous les Eucalyptus in French). It was a wonderful, totally unexpected mothering day present. After teaching English literature and translation in a French university for twenty years, here I was confronted with a real challenge - and some challenge! Such simple things at first sight as Monsieur, Madame and Mademoiselle turned out to be amazingly difficult to translate, as ways of addressing people at different periods in time, in different social classes and in different countries are t the same and t only is the vel is set in the 19th century but the heroine, Louise, travels all over the world! The fact the vel is set in the 19th century also creates numerous other difficulties of a more technical nature. For example, it would have been so simple if young girls had worn tee shirts and jeans at the time but this was far from being the case. They wore very sophisticated, elaborate clothes, especially in the upper-class circles which Louise moves around in, and Gabrielle Dubois obviously studied the fashion of the time in detail. In fact the whole vel is extremely well documented. The vel, however, was a real pleasure to translate as it is so pleasant to read. The reader can't help getting attached to the heroine and all the men who cross her path during her travels. Louise Saint Quentin t only becomes their much desired Mistress Mine but she is above all her own Mistress Mine as she has to learn all about life and how to fend for herself from a very early age, something unusual for a girl at the time. The numerous, often pithy, dialogues throughout the vel show her personality and how it evolves. They bring both Louise and the other characters to life and together with all the little, well-observed details, create a reality effect. In a word, Mistress Mine is a good read as we are drawn into the vel from the start and find it hard to put down. Although we are rather sad to get to the end, we kw there are other volumes of the saga in store and we can't wait to read them as we kw very well that Louise's journey through life is in its early stages and that Mistress Mine is just the beginning.
Product Identifiers
- PublisherCreatespace Independent Publishing Platform
- ISBN-101530834325
- ISBN-139781530834327
- eBay Product ID (ePID)222415647
Additional Product Features
- Content NoteBlack & White Illustrations
- Author BiographyGabrielle Dubois was born in Toulouse, in France, in 1967 and discovered the pleasure of reading very early on. She was a quiet child who loved making up stories. However, life went on - work, travelling, marriage and children - all the usual things. It was only in 2011 that Gabrielle finally came to recognize that at heart she is a storyteller in love with the literature and music of the nineteenth century. It was then that she wrote Mistress Mine, the first volume of her Louise Saint Quentin saga. Gabrielle Dubois wrote quickly with the same verve, passion and energy as her characters show in the books. Her novels are packed with breath-taking action from beginning to end and the heroine, Louise, is always fresh and spontaneous. The author's strength is her punchy dialogues and the way she weaves together a good story. In fact, reading Mistress Mine is just like watching an exciting romantic, adventure movie. http: //www.gabrielle-dubois.com/welcome-usa-uk/ #gabrielleduboisthestorysteller
- FormatPaperback / Softback
- LanguageEnglish
- Author(s)Gabrielle Du Bois
- Date of Publication31/03/2016
- Format DetailsTrade Paperback (US) ,Unsewn / Adhesive Bound
- SubjectAnthologies
- ImprintCreatespace Independent Publishing Platform
- Country of PublicationUnited States
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