From an award-winning author comes an exquisite historical novel about two young women growing up in pre-Revolution France, set against the freethinking French Enlightenment salons of Paris.
Lili is a thoughtful and serious girl growing up as the ward of a Parisian noblewoman, Julie de Bercy. Madame de Bercy, a friend of Lili’s late mother, a brilliant and controversial scientist, has a daughter, Delphine, the same age as Lili. Though they could hardly be more different, the two girls grow up as sisters, steadfast friends, and confidantes. Delphine sets her sights on a courtly marriage, while Lili pursues a love based on a shared life of the mind.
Lili can never understand Delphine’s fascination with frivolous things like beautiful dresses, perfect curtsies, and fairytale endings. She prefers a life in pursuit of the truth about nature and people. But when she boards with Delphine at a convent school where independent thinking is punished, it becomes clear to Lili that she is expected to be satisfied with having no goals in life other than to be a supportive wife, charming conversationalist, and pious mother.
Set in France during the last decades before the French Revolution, The Laws of Motion explores the complicated tensions between the frivolity of court and the serious pursuit of scientific knowledge, and the perils of being caught between the demand for conformity and the need to fulfill one’s genius. Through Lili’s discoveries, we are reminded of the importance of remaining true to ourselves—regardless of the consequences.
FINDING EMILIE is historical fiction at it's finest. The reader is instantly drawn in and becomes more interested with every page turn. I loved being taken back in time and entertained. Laurel is great at painting a picture with her words and I look forward to reading more of her work.
978-1439197660
April 12, 2011
448 pages
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Disclosure: I received a copy of this book for free.
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