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Belle Epoque #2
Unholy Loves
In this sequel to the very successful Paris Requiem, Marguerite de Landois again finds herself embroiled in a mystery - this time involving her husband, the Count de Landois. She again calls upon Chief Inspector Durand to help her unravel the mystery. The setting of fin-de-siecle france is fascinating and atmospheric.
- GenresHistorical Fiction
454 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published October 10, 2006
36 people want to read
About the author
Lisa Appignanesi
59 books98 followersaka Jessica Ayre
Elżbieta Borensztejn was born on 4 January 1946 in Łódź, Poland, the daughter of Hena and Aaron Borensztejn with Jewish origin. Following her birth, her parents moved to Paris, France, and in 1951 they emigrating to Canada. She grew up in the province of Quebec - first in a small Laurentian town, subsequently in Montreal.
She graduated from McGill University with a B.A. degree in 1966 and her M.A. the following year. During 1970-71 she was a staff writer for the Centre for Community Research in New York City and is a former University of Essex lecturer in European Studies. She was a founding member and editorial director of the Writers and Readers Publishing Cooperative. Through the eighties she was a Deputy Director of the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London, UK, for whom she also edited the seminal Documents Series and established ICA television and the video Writers in Conversation series.
She produced several made for television films and had written a number of books before devoting herself to writing fulltime in 1990. In recognition of her contribution to literature, Lisa Appignanesi has been honoured with a Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres from the French government. In 2004, she became Deputy President of English PEN and has run its highly successful 'Free Expression is No Offence Campaign' against the Racial and Religious Hatred Bill. In 2008 she became President of English PEN. She writes for The Guardian, The Independent and has made several series for BBC Radio 4, as well as frequently appearing as a cultural commentator.
In 1967, she married Richard Appignanesi, another writer, with whom she had one son in 1975, Josh Appignanesi, a film director. They divorced in 1984. With her life partner John Forrester, she had a daugther, Katrina Forrester, a Research Fellow in the history of modern political thought at St John's College, Cambridge. She lives in London.
Elżbieta Borensztejn was born on 4 January 1946 in Łódź, Poland, the daughter of Hena and Aaron Borensztejn with Jewish origin. Following her birth, her parents moved to Paris, France, and in 1951 they emigrating to Canada. She grew up in the province of Quebec - first in a small Laurentian town, subsequently in Montreal.
She graduated from McGill University with a B.A. degree in 1966 and her M.A. the following year. During 1970-71 she was a staff writer for the Centre for Community Research in New York City and is a former University of Essex lecturer in European Studies. She was a founding member and editorial director of the Writers and Readers Publishing Cooperative. Through the eighties she was a Deputy Director of the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London, UK, for whom she also edited the seminal Documents Series and established ICA television and the video Writers in Conversation series.
She produced several made for television films and had written a number of books before devoting herself to writing fulltime in 1990. In recognition of her contribution to literature, Lisa Appignanesi has been honoured with a Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres from the French government. In 2004, she became Deputy President of English PEN and has run its highly successful 'Free Expression is No Offence Campaign' against the Racial and Religious Hatred Bill. In 2008 she became President of English PEN. She writes for The Guardian, The Independent and has made several series for BBC Radio 4, as well as frequently appearing as a cultural commentator.
In 1967, she married Richard Appignanesi, another writer, with whom she had one son in 1975, Josh Appignanesi, a film director. They divorced in 1984. With her life partner John Forrester, she had a daugther, Katrina Forrester, a Research Fellow in the history of modern political thought at St John's College, Cambridge. She lives in London.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
October 24, 2014
Sacred Ends (Part 2 of the Belle Époque Trilogy)
Lisa Appignanesi
Arcadia Books
9781909807587
£8.99, 352 pgs
The most dangerous phrase in any language is, “But we’ve always done it this way.”
Lisa Appignanesi is back with her signature blend of history, psychology, politics, caste, art, science, sex, religion, madness and murder. The emphasis in part two of the Belle Époque Trilogy is on religion; most of all the still-present conflict between the new-and-improved and superstitious tradition. Marguerite de Landois and Chief Inspector Durand reprise their roles in Sacred Ends, part two of Appignanesi’s Belle Époque Trilogy that began with Paris Requiem. (You can follow this link to read my review of part one.) It is a brand-new century, January 1900, and Marguerite has high hopes for a brand-new era. Unfortunately, the Comtesse has received an urgent letter from her husband, Olivier, calling her away from her adored, bustling Paris, back to the family estate in the countryside. Marguerite boards a train for the chateau with her newest waif, Martine Branquart, in tow. The only good thing about being recalled to the hinterlands is that she’ll now be better able to help Martine find her missing sister, as they are from the same area.
Marguerite arrives to find that Olivier has made many changes in her absence: new décor; some of the staff has been replaced; there’s a young sculptor in residence; a new Catholic priest with political ambitions hanging about; and a baby – a foundling. All of a sudden, Olivier has discovered traditional family values. He wants to abandon their understanding of lengthy duration (living apart ten months of the year and generally staying out of each other’s business) to form “a proper family.” Marguerite “…could feel an iron gate coming down with a clang in front of her.” As she applies herself to solving the mysteries of Martine’s sister’s disappearance, Olivier’s abrupt personality transplant, and the true parentage of the foundling, all hell breaks loose and she calls in Chief Inspector Durand from Paris to assist her.
The sexual obsession in Sacred Ends reminds me of nothing so much as Esmeralda and the High Priest in Victor Hugo’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame, which is still so very topical in this day and age. The characters are diverse and complex, although most of their motivations are horrific; this is not their fault, mostly. The plotting is impeccable and the pacing swifter than in part one. The setting is visceral; such a complete picture of the age and place, remarkable. And, best of all, the sumptuous sentences are back, as well. For example, a passage describing the rural landscape, page 45:
Outside it was so cold the air cracked and whistled. The stairs cut into the crag were steep, the road unpaved. The houses huddled into the rock face like the Neolithic caves out of which some of them had grown. …There was an adventure to the world growing older and older as it bounded into the future.
And this, as Marguerite is reflecting on the authority of the church in the provinces: “The power of the clergy over people’s minds in this region remained enormous. Men, dressed as God’s minions, infringing private boundaries by right. The prurience of the righteous.”
There is more humor in Sacred Ends. Such as when the new village doctor explains his frequent visits to a particular estate, “Madam Tellier suffers from two unmarried daughters, amongst a number of other perennial complaints.” And this, as the same doctor is explaining to Marguerite that the poor man whose body was found under a train was already dead when his body was placed there. Her reaction: “You mean he died of a prior dying?”
The only flat note in Sacred Ends is a subplot involving Inspector Durand and a police case back in Paris. I found it extraneous and do not believe that it added to the story the author was telling. Perhaps it will show up in part three of the trilogy to explain its inclusion. I’ve already asked Arcadia Books when I can get my hands on part three. So, to sum up, if you love Paris Requiem as I do, you will definitely want to read Sacred Ends.
I’ll leave you with this, page 351:
…She [Marguerite] had been complaining of her sense that she had come to La Rochambert to enter some strange, hoary clime far from this new twentieth century, a space where medieval tortures and consciences abetted by ideas of sanctity were still at their destructive work and no one seemed to notice. A place where families were allowed to abuse and women were mistreated; where the Enlightenment had never taken place and the Republic might as well never have been born. All that, plus the murder of innocents. How could such a world still exist in the twentieth century?
I hate to tell her this but that world still exists in the twenty-first century. She could be talking about us.
Lisa Appignanesi is the author of numerous novels and works of nonfiction, including the prize-winning Mad, Bad and Sad: A History of Women and the Mind Doctors. Appignanesi is a past-president of English PEN and is the chair of the Freud Museum, London, and Visiting Professor in Literature and the Medical Humanities at King's College London. She was awarded an OBE in 2013 for her services to literature.
Lisa Appignanesi
Arcadia Books
9781909807587
£8.99, 352 pgs
The most dangerous phrase in any language is, “But we’ve always done it this way.”
Lisa Appignanesi is back with her signature blend of history, psychology, politics, caste, art, science, sex, religion, madness and murder. The emphasis in part two of the Belle Époque Trilogy is on religion; most of all the still-present conflict between the new-and-improved and superstitious tradition. Marguerite de Landois and Chief Inspector Durand reprise their roles in Sacred Ends, part two of Appignanesi’s Belle Époque Trilogy that began with Paris Requiem. (You can follow this link to read my review of part one.) It is a brand-new century, January 1900, and Marguerite has high hopes for a brand-new era. Unfortunately, the Comtesse has received an urgent letter from her husband, Olivier, calling her away from her adored, bustling Paris, back to the family estate in the countryside. Marguerite boards a train for the chateau with her newest waif, Martine Branquart, in tow. The only good thing about being recalled to the hinterlands is that she’ll now be better able to help Martine find her missing sister, as they are from the same area.
Marguerite arrives to find that Olivier has made many changes in her absence: new décor; some of the staff has been replaced; there’s a young sculptor in residence; a new Catholic priest with political ambitions hanging about; and a baby – a foundling. All of a sudden, Olivier has discovered traditional family values. He wants to abandon their understanding of lengthy duration (living apart ten months of the year and generally staying out of each other’s business) to form “a proper family.” Marguerite “…could feel an iron gate coming down with a clang in front of her.” As she applies herself to solving the mysteries of Martine’s sister’s disappearance, Olivier’s abrupt personality transplant, and the true parentage of the foundling, all hell breaks loose and she calls in Chief Inspector Durand from Paris to assist her.
The sexual obsession in Sacred Ends reminds me of nothing so much as Esmeralda and the High Priest in Victor Hugo’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame, which is still so very topical in this day and age. The characters are diverse and complex, although most of their motivations are horrific; this is not their fault, mostly. The plotting is impeccable and the pacing swifter than in part one. The setting is visceral; such a complete picture of the age and place, remarkable. And, best of all, the sumptuous sentences are back, as well. For example, a passage describing the rural landscape, page 45:
Outside it was so cold the air cracked and whistled. The stairs cut into the crag were steep, the road unpaved. The houses huddled into the rock face like the Neolithic caves out of which some of them had grown. …There was an adventure to the world growing older and older as it bounded into the future.
And this, as Marguerite is reflecting on the authority of the church in the provinces: “The power of the clergy over people’s minds in this region remained enormous. Men, dressed as God’s minions, infringing private boundaries by right. The prurience of the righteous.”
There is more humor in Sacred Ends. Such as when the new village doctor explains his frequent visits to a particular estate, “Madam Tellier suffers from two unmarried daughters, amongst a number of other perennial complaints.” And this, as the same doctor is explaining to Marguerite that the poor man whose body was found under a train was already dead when his body was placed there. Her reaction: “You mean he died of a prior dying?”
The only flat note in Sacred Ends is a subplot involving Inspector Durand and a police case back in Paris. I found it extraneous and do not believe that it added to the story the author was telling. Perhaps it will show up in part three of the trilogy to explain its inclusion. I’ve already asked Arcadia Books when I can get my hands on part three. So, to sum up, if you love Paris Requiem as I do, you will definitely want to read Sacred Ends.
I’ll leave you with this, page 351:
…She [Marguerite] had been complaining of her sense that she had come to La Rochambert to enter some strange, hoary clime far from this new twentieth century, a space where medieval tortures and consciences abetted by ideas of sanctity were still at their destructive work and no one seemed to notice. A place where families were allowed to abuse and women were mistreated; where the Enlightenment had never taken place and the Republic might as well never have been born. All that, plus the murder of innocents. How could such a world still exist in the twentieth century?
I hate to tell her this but that world still exists in the twenty-first century. She could be talking about us.
Lisa Appignanesi is the author of numerous novels and works of nonfiction, including the prize-winning Mad, Bad and Sad: A History of Women and the Mind Doctors. Appignanesi is a past-president of English PEN and is the chair of the Freud Museum, London, and Visiting Professor in Literature and the Medical Humanities at King's College London. She was awarded an OBE in 2013 for her services to literature.
September 28, 2015
A lovely atmospheric historical mystery by a Canadian author I haven't read before. Unholy Loves is much more than a mystery. It is also a look at France in the year 1900. It explores the role the church plays in the country, in individual lives and how women were treated at the time.
The Comte de Landois orders his wife Marguerite from Paris to his country home. On her train journey she encounters the first body and the action builds as steadily as the number of mysteries. Their is a foundling, a missing sister and more mayhem.
This rich story ensures that I will read the earlier book in the series -- Paris Requiem.
The Comte de Landois orders his wife Marguerite from Paris to his country home. On her train journey she encounters the first body and the action builds as steadily as the number of mysteries. Their is a foundling, a missing sister and more mayhem.
This rich story ensures that I will read the earlier book in the series -- Paris Requiem.
August 11, 2010
A Belle Époque Mystery
The story takes us to the Loire Valley early 1900's during the period of the Belle Époque. Adventure after adventure will captivate the reader till the very last page.
It opens when Marguerite is ordered by her husband the Comte de Landois to leave Paris and accompany him at their country residence. A normally enjoyable train ride is soon shattered when a man is found dead on the tracks before them. Without saying a word, her travelling companion suddenly takes on a different allure at the sight of the man. Is there a connection ? Is she hiding something?...This was not the only surprise in store. On arrival the Comte has a revelation that will change her life forever...he introduces her to a child and informs her that he is in the process of adopting him.
At this time in the Comte's life, he is highly influence by his friendship with clerics, this brings new rules and regulations to the household, but Marguerite with a mind of her own will not let herself be manipulated that easily.....Another challenge surfaces when the sister of her companion mysteriously disappears and Marguerite teams up with Chief Inspector Emile Durand in search of answers....What dark secrets will they unearth?...
Ms Appignanesi is a talented and diversified writer. "Unholy Loves" is a cleverly conceived fiction that is populated with easy to follow yet complex and interesting characters, their actions are guarantied to stimulate ones emotions. Don't expect a chivalrous or a romantic tale here; it is far from that. What the mystery will do is to provide a chilling study into obsessions of mankind blended with the gripping power of love. The author has achieved this quite eloquently.
This epic is a fascinating travel back in time that I enjoyed very much.
The story takes us to the Loire Valley early 1900's during the period of the Belle Époque. Adventure after adventure will captivate the reader till the very last page.
It opens when Marguerite is ordered by her husband the Comte de Landois to leave Paris and accompany him at their country residence. A normally enjoyable train ride is soon shattered when a man is found dead on the tracks before them. Without saying a word, her travelling companion suddenly takes on a different allure at the sight of the man. Is there a connection ? Is she hiding something?...This was not the only surprise in store. On arrival the Comte has a revelation that will change her life forever...he introduces her to a child and informs her that he is in the process of adopting him.
At this time in the Comte's life, he is highly influence by his friendship with clerics, this brings new rules and regulations to the household, but Marguerite with a mind of her own will not let herself be manipulated that easily.....Another challenge surfaces when the sister of her companion mysteriously disappears and Marguerite teams up with Chief Inspector Emile Durand in search of answers....What dark secrets will they unearth?...
Ms Appignanesi is a talented and diversified writer. "Unholy Loves" is a cleverly conceived fiction that is populated with easy to follow yet complex and interesting characters, their actions are guarantied to stimulate ones emotions. Don't expect a chivalrous or a romantic tale here; it is far from that. What the mystery will do is to provide a chilling study into obsessions of mankind blended with the gripping power of love. The author has achieved this quite eloquently.
This epic is a fascinating travel back in time that I enjoyed very much.
June 28, 2011
I liked the story, but the proof-reading almost put me off the whole book. I hate it when they can't get punctuation right--like opening and closing quotations! Don't know if that's editor or publisher work, but it's shoddy and takes away from the plot--for me, at least.
October 29, 2015
Very well written story of France and marriage in 19th century provencial France. A maids sister goes missing and must be found. The local village idiot is running amuck could he know something? You will have to read this book to find out.
September 26, 2016
Appignanesi is a wonderful writer. I love her Memory Man. Her Dead of Winter is great.
This book not so much. The gothic mood is captured very well, but I didn't care what happened to anyone. It was so much annoying. And too predictable.
January 30, 2008
Beautifully written.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews