The life of Lucy Dillon, an aristocrat in Marie Antoinette's court, is the subject of the seventh novel and flawed first foray into historical realism for South African author Kohler (Crossways). Through her resilience and resourcefulness, Lucy (based on the real-life Henriette Lucy Dillon) saves her husband, Frederic Seraphin, and their children from the Terror during the French Revolution. The book opens in 1794 with Lucy and her family fleeing France, then flashes back episodically to her role as apprentice lady-in-waiting at court and her severe childhood despite her aristocratic privilege. The contradictions in her upbringing, the novel suggests, may have helped Lucy to become the resourceful person who could lead her family to the U.S. and establish a dairy farm in upstate New York, where her friendliness and butter become renowned. But two years later, once the Terror ends, Frederic insists they return to France, though her time in America remains the moment when she lived out "the illusion... of being Queen of my own destiny." Kohler's writing is often deft, but the immense amount of historical material checks the narrative momentum. The novel succeeds better in conveying the particulars of Lucy's life, especially her adaptation to the rigors of American country life. (Apr. 24) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Kohler bases her enchanting seventh novel on the life of Henriette-Lucy Dillon, an aristocratic descendant of Irish Jacobites who becomes one of Marie Antoinette's ladies. Daughter of a general off defending French interests in the West Indies, the beautiful, witty Lucy is raised by her ill-tempered grandmother. Her arranged marriage with Frederic Seraphin, the future marquis de la Tour du Pin, becomes one of her greatest joys. She shows her mettle during the Reign of Terror--a scene where she and Frederic survey the sad ruin of the royal apartments at Versailles is movingly portrayed--by ensuring her family's last-minute escape aboard a creaky ship bound for Boston. A practical woman determined to make the best of everything, Lucy settles into a new career as a dairy farmer on the outskirts of Albany, New York. Kohler's elegant, clearly written prose conjures a heroine whose enthusiasm for life and learning is infectious, and whose disarming manner is immensely appealing. One of the best of the recent crop of French Revolution novels, and certainly the most uplifting. --Sarah Johnson Copyright 2007 Booklist