Il posto delle pietre

by Constance Heaven, Paola Forti (Translator)

Emma Tremayne, che accompagna il padre a Parigi si innamora di Lucien de Fontenay, conosciuto a un ballo alle Tuileries.
Ma sotto la gaiezza del bel mondo parigino, i picnic a Versailles, le cavalcate al Bois de Boulogne, i fuochi d'artificio al Palais Royal, cova l'ombra della guerra.
Siamo nel 1803 e il trattato di pace fra l'Inghilterra e Napoleone si sta sempre più logorando. La felicità di Emma s'incrina.
In pensiero per la sorte del padre in missione segreta, dubbiosa della lealtà di Lucien, verrà coinvolta in una serie di drammatiche avventure in cui dominano tensione, mistero e passioni...

Genres: Romance

228 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1975

About the author

Constance Fecher Heaven
aka Constance Fecher, Constance Heaven, Christina Merlin

Constance Fecher was born on 6 August 1911 in Enfield, Middlesex, London, England, UK. She was educated at the Convent of Woodford Green, Essex from 1921 to 1928, when she went to study at King's College London, where she obtained a Honours degree in English in 1931. In 1931, she also graduated from London College of Music.

In 5 November 1939, she married William Heaven, who died in 1958. She was an actress from 1939 to 1966.

First published in 1963, she started writing historical novels with young protagonists under her maiden name Constance Fecher. From 1972, she signed her more romantic novels using her married name, Constance Heaven. She also used the pseudonym of Christina Merlin.

In 1973, her novel "The House of Kuragin" was the Winner of the Romantic Novel of the Year Award, and years later she was elected the eleventh Chairman (1981-1983) of the Romantic Novelists' Association. Mrs. Heaven continued writing until her death in 1995.

Reviews

[Misfit · Rating 3 out of 5]

Emma Tremayne's ne'er do well father suddenly decides to up take her on a pleasure trip Paris - but is it just for pleasure? Napoleon rules as First Consul and plans to invade England. Emma and her father are eventually detained by the French authorities along with several other English visitors, but her father manages to escape and he disappears entirely. Emma is rescued by Lucien de Fontenay, and he brings her to his family's estate in Provence masquerading as governess to his younger brother, but even this quiet country estate soon begins to be a hot bed of spies and counter spies and Emma finds herself in the midst of a plot to kidnap Napoleon. Who can she trust? Lucien who she's fallen in love with? Her father who still has quite a few secrets up his sleeve?

This was an easy, enjoyable read that had me guessing at most of the mysteries until the end and I never knew for sure who were the good guys and who was on the dark side. Emma was a clever enough heroine with just the right amount of spunk without going over board, and thankfully no sign of TSTL syndrome. This novel is very similar in style to Victoria Holt's romantic suspense novels, from the heroine in peril not knowing whom to trust, the first person narrative and even a brief stint in Cornwall. Just right for a rainy afternoon.

[Manua · Rating 3 out of 5]

L'ho letto parecchi anni fa, ma ricordo di averlo apprezzato parecchio, nonostante il genere. Mi era piaciuto soprattutto il fatto che la love story fosse collocata all'interno di uno scenario avventuroso e inusuale: non avevo mai letto nulla ambientato nel periodo napoleonico, all'epoca, quindi ero affascinata soprattutto da questo, credo :) forse, se lo rileggessi oggi, ne avrei un'opinione diversa... :)

[Roberta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recuperato su una bancarella dell'usato, è uno di quei bei romanzetti di qualche decennio fa (e uso questo termine con un'accezione che non intende essere negativa, tutt'altro!) che fondevano mirabilmente avventura, amore e un pizzico di mistero, con estremo garbo, senza eccedere in alcuna di queste direzioni.

[Alessia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un'altra epoca in cui comunque l'amore vince

[Estefania Fernandez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Una novela mucho menos interesante que "La estirpe de los Kuragin", mi anterior lectura de esta autora. Es una historia romántica situada en la Francia napoleónica, en el que su protagonista masculino es un joven noble despojado de sus posesiones por la Revolución Francesa, de ahí que su visión de este hecho histórico sea bastante crítica.
Curiosamente, lo más destacable de la novela es el personaje del padre de la protagonista femenina, del que se cuenta una historia de amor madura y mucho más apasionada y sentida que la principal. También me ha gustado la descripción de la región francesa de Camarga, en la que transcurre gran parte del libro.
No es en absoluto sobresaliente pero tampoco desestimable.

[Silvia Frassineti]

italiano

[Adil · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can tolerate romantic novels, but not this stubborn forced story.

[Priscilla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ho letto questo libro all'inizio delle superiori e l'ho adorato, poi l'ho trovato a una bancarella di recente, l'ho riletto e mi è sembrato ancora meglio. Secondo me è un piccolo gioiello!