Angel
Heart by Marie Laval is a stunning piece of historical romantic suspense,
exquisitely written and lovingly told, against the backdrop of the close of the Napoleonic era in
France. Although a few scenes take place
in England, the story unfolds mostly in France,.
In
the opening chapters of the novel, we meet Marie Ange Norton, (nee Jones), a
young widow, still in her early twenties, widowed tragically young. She continues to wear mourning and lives in
seclusion, cherishing sweet memories of a husband she’d just been getting to
know when he was tragically killed in battle off the Spanish coast. We may not initially realize it, but her
memories are tinged with idealism.
Christopher was the perfect lover and the perfect husband. She loves her late husband’s younger brother
and treats him as her own brother, all too aware that he will soon leave her
and follow his elder brother into the Royal Navy. The brother and sister-in-law, the last of
their family, live in crumbling mansion on the coastline of England. However, the arrival of a French ship in the
neighbourhood bearing the enigmatic French Army officer Hugo Santclair changes Marie
Ange’s secluded existence forever, although she’s not aware of it at the
time. Capitaine Saintclair bears news of
the demise Marie Ange’s step grandfather, the notorious Edmond Malleval. Malleval has, it seems, left Marie Ange some
bequest. She is now required to
accompany the Capitaine to France to meet her step uncle, Uxeloup Malleval
(don’t you just love that name!) and complete some routine formalities. The journey to Malleval’s home in France is
hazardous, first a ship journey, then a long drive by carriage, encountering
unknown dangers along the way, such as highwaymen. France, with its monarchy newly re-established,
is a dangerous place and it is hard to know who is a friend or a foe. Marie Ange, having lived a simple life up to
know, is not at all attracted to the handsome Capitaine, finding him somewhat
worldly and repulsive.
The
story takes an interesting turn when Marie Ange spots a man who looks and
sounds exactly like her late husband, who doesn’t seem to recognize her. Either the man is an exact double, or her
husband didn’t die after all. Her
relative Uxeloup Malleval turns out to be a dark character indeed and he has
some dastardly plans for Marie Ange.
Finding herself in a hotbed of intrigue and danger, she finds that
Malleval and his ghastly friend Karloff are more than a little interested in
her late mother’s locket and sketch book.
A mystery worthy of the Da Vinci Code ensues, involving hidden
treasures, Knights Templar and the like.
Marie Ange also uncovers mysteries from her past such as her true
parentage. There were delicious chills
and excitement in abundance, adding up to a thrilling read.
What
is particularly interesting is the development of the characters, how they grow
and change in the course of the story.
Capitaine Santclair, a man of humble origin who has risen to be an
officer in Napoleon’s army, shows a perfect example of how a cynical, war
weary, worldly man can turn into a passionate, valiant and faithful lover. Marie Ange is so simple and unworldly that at
first the Capitaine suspects her of duplicity, wearing the mask of a grieving
widow while pursuing affairs in secret.
The realization that Marie Ange is exactly what she shows herself to be
– woman still in love with her dead husband – has a strange effect indeed on
this man. But as the story progresses,
Marie Ange shows her inner strength,
metamorphosing from being a simple,
gentle girl widow to a feisty woman, ready to fight to defend herself and even
to kill when put to the test. As the
story develops, she transforms, in the eyes of the world, from a grieving widow
to a lover and most astonishingly, to a
runaway wife. The ultimate irony, in a way.
Discovering that she may not, after all, be a widow, would have brought
joy to her life at the opening of the story, but as her relationship with the
capitaine develops, it complicates things..
As
a lifelong enthusiast of all things French, language, culture and history, I
was struck by how authentically French the novel felt. The author voice was perfectly clear and expressive
in English, yet it had a French ring to it.
I was not surprised to learn that the author is a Frenchwoman.
There
is a slight supernatural twist to the story too and this only added to the pleasure
of reading. There is a lot to recommend this
book and I hope that it is widely read and enjoyed.
