Core Beliefs are Not a New Wrinkle
France 1685 — Huguenots people expelled from France. Protestant principals have been tolerated until Louis XIV comes to the throne. Whether for spiritual beliefs or for other gain, King Louis XIV decides that the skilled and prosperous Huguenots will no longer be comfortable in France. My bet is on “Follow the money.” Yet, the brain drain for France had be be painful at some point.
Paul C.R. Monk has written three excellent historical fiction books chronicling religious persecution in Renaissance times. Beyond belief, the life and times of Renaissance people in the 1600s makes a great read.
Jeanne and Jacob Delpech have three children and one on the way. They refuse to recant their beliefs. Their value is confiscated and they are separated. The three books chronicle their sufferings and maintenance of their faith through difficult Renaissance times.
Renaissance times — Yech!
I’m guilty of attachment to modern technology! I love my water heater, warm house and convenient, off the rack clothes. Let’s not even get into technology for my computer, Kindle, phone and more!
Huguenot Discrimination
The parts I liked were the historical experience typical of when Huguenots were expelled and driven from France.
My ancestors also fled France, but I think they caught onto what the future offered there quicker than the Delpech family. Fleeing to Holland for several years, they immigrated to the New World with Peter Stuyvesant.
Those who would stay were forced to recant their beliefs. Some ‘lied’ to survive and protect — do you remember “Better Red than Dead?” These lies preserved Jeanne and Jacob’s children who would have been hunted with them. Had they been found, the children would have been taken to Monasteries to ‘learn the right way.’
Hard Times and Strong People
Things never easy for Jeanne and Jacob. They were separated for years, often at risk of life and limb. Some of their core beliefs were challenged, particularly for Jacob as an indentured servant in the Caribbean. Intelligent and resourceful, they learn new skills to make them employable wherever they go.
As the blurb reads: Will the Delpech family survive the years of war, piracy and persecution to reunite at last?
The three books are fast moving, yet not difficult to follow as the author ‘lives’ in both worlds while Jeanne and Jacob are separated. That ‘blurb’ doesn’t cover the daily discomforts or tragedy that follows them, sometimes making them wonder if their determined principals are worth the effort.
I highly recommend these books. I’m sure I’ve read the Prequel at another time, but I can’t find a record of that, so perhaps I dreamed. Author, Paul C.R. Monk, offers a free copy of “Before the Storm” the prequel to Huguenot Chronicles at his website. Paul C.R. Monk Website. The parts that were familiar were worth re-reading making the pleasure all mine. Because of the cliffhanger ending, I hope there is more to come.
You can learn more about Paul C.R. Monk and other books he has written at his website linked above or at his Amazon Author Page.
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