In the Shadow of the Sun King (Darkness to Light Series #1)

by Golden Keyes Parsons

Overview

Madeleine Clavell—beautiful, fiercely faithful, and...an outlaw.

As Huguenots in 17th-Century France, Madeleine Clavell and her family defy French law daily. Though they live in comfort and happiness in the French countryside, their Protestant Christianity is considered traitorous. But they are wary. Persecution is surely at hand.

Then King Louis XIV's dragoons arrive, forcing the family from their country estate. Madeleine must gather her courage and seek out the king in his royal palace at Versailles.

Because Madeleine has a secret. Though years and a thousand choices have separated them, Madeleine and King Louis have a history together. One she feels certain he has not forgotten. She will risk everything to speak to him again. But will the impetuous king choose to save her...and her family? And if so, at what price?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781595548955
Publisher:	Nelson, Thomas, Inc.
Publication date:	09/13/2010
Series:	Darkness to Light Series , #1
Pages:	384
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 8.30(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Golden Keyes Parsons is the author of the highly acclaimed Darkness to Light series. She's been nominated for several awards, including the ACFW Book of the Year. She and her family live in Texas.

Editorial Reviews

Madeleine Clavell, the heroine of this fast-paced if narrow historical (the first in a planned series), is a former lover of Louis XIV and, unfortunately for her and her family, a Huguenot. When her family is harassed by Louis's dragoons, she goes to Versailles to exploit her past relationship with the king, but her plan backfires and soon her husband is a galley slave, her daughter is sent to a convent for Catholic re-education and she and her sons are headed to Switzerland for protection. There, with the help of a courtier and her unshakeable faith, she reunites with her husband and daughter and escapes the influence of Louis XIV without forsaking her religion. While the importance of faith and surrender to God is repeatedly used as a blunt instrument and many of the characters are thin caricatures, Parsons dramatizes nicely the historical period and its religious strife. Parsons is intent on ensuring happy endings for the Clavells, and readers of a similar worldview should enjoy following the family's travails. (Oct.)

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Publishers Weekly

In Catholic France, the estate of Huguenots Francois and Madeleine Clavell is seized by Louis XIV. Once the king's lover, Madeleine makes a high-stakes move to try to help her family, one that may ruin their lives. The first entry in a historical trilogy by a debut author.

—Tamara Butler

Library Journal