THE MUSE OF FREEDOM

This historical novel introduces readers to the author’s ancestor Jean Pierre Bondurant and a tumultuous France in the late 17th century.

To understand the times, readers must grasp the religious discord between the Roman Catholics (King Louis XIV’s state religion) and the Huguenots, the persecuted Calvinist Protestants. Jehan (Jean), whose parents are Huguenot, was forcibly raised by the Dominican Order of the Frères from a young age (“the Dominicans baptized me into the Roman Catholic faith”). Now, at 18, he is free and returns to the family estates, trying to figure out his place in the world, where the threat of persecution and dire punishment is ever present. Secrets are the order of the day. Jehan is training to be an apothecary, and in his work, he meets—and falls in love with—the beautiful and mystical Amelia Auvrey. The feeling is mutual, but for reasons of her own, the relationship must remain platonic. The two seek a better way and a higher truth while dodging the Catholic authorities and becoming leery of the Huguenots’ growing madness. There are several close scrapes and hairbreadth escapes. Jehan’s uncle encourages him to escape to Switzerland and wait for a better future—either a return to a France that has resolved its religion issue or finding a new land where he and Amelia can be together again. Larimore tells an engrossing story about fiercely independent people. They are reflections of the Cévennes mountains in southern France, where the tale takes place: beautiful but rugged and unforgiving, honeycombed with caves and secret redoubts, a sort of European Appalachia. And this defiance frustrates the efforts of the bumbling and bloviating Intendant Basville, the king’s hellhound in the region. Along the way, readers learn a lot about the natural remedies of the times and come to realize how Jehan and Amelia’s apothecary practices could drift easily into spiritual healing, prayers, and amulets. Amelia, it is suggested, has preternatural powers. Of course, the author supplies significant context for this compelling tale of a noble ancestor. The audience is advised to first read the copious backmatter—the history of the region and other details—for valuable background and guidance.

This absorbing tale of religious strife creates a vivid world that will draw readers in.