The Countess Angelique (Bantam Books #N4367)

by Anne Golon

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0330022504
• ISBN13: 9780330022507
• Release Date: January 1969
• Publisher: Bantam Books
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.

Customer Reviews

"Oh Brave New World that has such wonders in it ...."

Shakespeare said it first, Aldous Huxley borrowed it and wrote a fantastic (in its literal sense) novel - Angelique is about to experience all the wonders that the New World has to offer. At last, after all this time the Count and Countess Peyrac have the opportunity of being together as man and wife, last experienced by them for so short a time in Book 1 (Marquise of the Angels). So should this therefore be the happy ending to the tragic separation they experienced when Angelique was a young woman of 20 just beginning to realise what life was all about? It would have been nice to think so, but the authors' are not yet ready to conclude the story (thank goodness for that!). This book starts deceptively, it heralds the safe arrival, across the treacherous ocean, of a united family. Wife finds husband, husband finds new daughter, mother re-united with sons, one of whom she thought dead. The makings of happiness of a delirious nature - it doesn't last long, there would be no story if it did. First of all, there is the matter of 2 adults who have not seen each other for 15 years needing to re-establish a norm. Too many pre-conceived ideas that have not yet been explained. Then there is a child whose past is not clearly defined, but for the sake of the mother who is devoted to the child Joffrey de Peyrac accepts this independent being, so desperate for a father, as her own. Florimond, used to his mothers' ways has no problem in adjusting to having both parents around him for the first time in his life and becomes a great leveller. Cantor is a different bag of mashings, he remembers the mother he loved dearly but cannot reconcile his perception of her behaviour towards the father he meets on reaching adolescence - it begs the question, why did Joffrey never tell him of their life together. (Or did he?). We move on to experience the wonders of the New World in vivid description, colours jump out of the printed page, smells surround the reader, the joy of experienceing this virgin land is very personal. Whilst re-reading this book I watched a film called "Tecumseh: The Last Warrior" - about the man who was the last native american warrior to put up a challenge to the British authorities. As I watched the film, I thought "I've seen all this somewhere before" - I realised I was watching pictures of what had been so accurately described by the Golons in "Countess Angelique" - I had no idea that anyone could describe anything so vividly that ones own imagination creates an image never seen before. I had experienced the untouched land of the Americas before seeing it in pictures on a screen. But, not all is new - the sinister undercurrent of the Old World manifests itself from a distance and hearsay - a Jesuit, a man unknown to them is waging his own private persecution of the Peyracs, the circle is complete. Now, not only do the Peyracs have to fight to survive in the most literal sense, hostile natives,

Enthralling episode of Angelique's early days in America

The early part of Angelique's adventures in the New World, this is a book of two halves - the first a tale of treachery and deception, and how Angelique and Joffrey escape certain death at the hands of the Iroquis after being blamed for the death of their chiefs, the second their struggle to survive the winter, trapped far from home with rapidly diminishing supplies in an icy winter.The counterplay of dramatic action followed by the psychology of a small group of people closeted together under extreme privation shows Anne & Serge Golon's mastery of all aspects of the thriller. But read the prior books first.A wonderful tale of love, endurance and commitment.

The Beginning of the Second Angélique Story

Whereas "Angélique in Love" ended the first part of Angélique's story - that of her loss, search for, and reconciliation with her beloved husband, Joffrey de Peyrac - this book begins what I consider a whole new story. Having found each other following a decade and a half of separation, the couple must begin a new life together in the American wilderness. Not only does Angélique find herself having to struggle against hostile Indians and murderous elements, but also the superstitions haunting the uncharted country she must now call "home." Her happiness at having found once again the love of her life is at once jeopardized by the fact that she is taken for a beautiful demon whose coming is prophesied by a clairvoyant nun. She soon finds herself the deadly enemy of the fanatic Jesuit priest, Father d'Orgeval, and in a mystical struggle for survival. Once again, Anne Golon proves herself to be the supreme mistress of storytelling at its best.