NEMESIS AND THE SWAN

A French teen searches for her identity against a backdrop of revolution.

In Paris in the summer of 1792, 19-year-old Hélène d’Aubign, daughter of a French marquis, is thrown into prison—though she doesn’t know who accused her or what her crime is. The story flashes back nine years and recounts her growing up with an idealistic governess, unfeeling mother, and domineering father. Alternately indulged and oppressed, she falls in love with Théo, a jeweler’s apprentice. When villagers kill her father and set fire to the family’s château, Hélène and her mother escape to her mother’s family, whom she’s never met. Hélène begins to unearth family secrets while plotting to return to Théo, but when she manages to reach Paris she is met with news that changes everything. She settles into life as an ordinary citizen, but danger still lurks—brief prison scenes interrupt the narrative until the timelines converge at Hélène’s trial. Bandy’s debut features credible historical detail, an engaging narrator, and a sweet romance. Lulls in the pacing slow momentum, and the ending sacrifices credibility for convenience. Ultimately, this is an above-average history and romance, though less satisfying in terms of the mystery. Major characters are White; Hélène’s radical governess introduces her to her lover, a formerly enslaved Black abolitionist.

A lush portrayal of personal and national struggles let down by a rushed ending.