As a young girl, Annette Vallon is a free spirit. She reads novels, rides horses, and hunts with her father. She is far from ordinary, particularly set against the backdrop of the French revolution. When young, Annette meets and falls in love with William Wordsworth, an English poet who has just found his muse. This book follows Annette in her journey to persevere during the French Revolution, as a woman who is strong, faithful, and brave.

I found it a bit difficult to engage with this book. I’m not sure why. It is well-written and well-told, particularly the love between Annette and William, and by the end I found myself overwhelmed by the story I’d read and a bit sad that I’d felt so distracted through the rest of the novel. I think I would have had a better time with it if I had a little more patience around this time of year. It’s unquestionably very good. Annette is a wonderful character, surrounded by loveable sidekicks and a few despicable enemies. The plot is always lively. I felt as though the author slipped into Annette’s narrative voice more easily as the story went along, and he did a very good job portraying a woman’s mind. It would have been easy to make Annette weak, considering all that happens in her life, but instead she is brave and daring. I wish there was more history written about her so that I could know more - and that, as Tipton says in his author’s note, Wordsworth’s nephew hadn’t destroyed all evidence of their correspondence.

It isn’t the best historical fiction I’ve read, but Annette Vallon is worth a look, particularly for those who like to really sink into a book and stay there.

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Behind every great poet is a courageous, passionate woman; Annette Vallon should be known as far more than just William Wordsworth's first romance, and all praise to James Tipton for shining the light on her for a change.

If Annette's character is initially too fantastic to believe, it is only because she lived through incredible times and held the courage of her convictions. Raised in the comfortable ignorance of a wealthy bourgeois background, her story is not a bland championing of the French Revolution, but an honest and occasionally terrifying account of a regime built on paranoia and violence. The author has weighed his obviously thorough historical research and faithfully applied it from the perspective of his heroine. When her uncle's chateau is raided by a local mob, Annette is understandably terrified, and when she is forced to take a stand, it is on the side of humanity, of her own community, and not the Revolution.

This refreshing evaluation of a chapter in French history too easily read as a victory of the people is admirable. Tipton describes the Reign of Terror and events like the 'Noyades' in Nantes as Annette might have viewed them - with fear for her life and for her daughter's future, grief for the fate of her country, and a determination to challenge the ruthless leaders and their neurotic laws.

Annette becomes a champion of the Chouans, the resistance movement of the Vendee, and risks her life to save others facing persecution and death. In disguise, like a French version of the Scarlet Pimpernel, she becomes a highwayman, freedom fighter and spy, but not as a royalist or an exiled aristocrat - merely to help people, and not to fail her own conscience. But what is truly inspiring, and lifts this novel above the usual historical melodrama, is that Annette's story is based on fact - from 1792 to 1815, she offered protection and shelter for refugees fleeing the Revolution, the Directory and Napoleon, and was rewarded with a pension during the restoration for her services to her country.

James Tipton has expertly woven Annette's history with an engrossing romance to create this detailed portrait of a lost era and a forgotten heroine. William Wordsworth, in a mere supporting role, is weak and unremarkable compared to the mother of his child. The detailed descriptions and evocative narrative also help to bond the reader with Annette throughout her bohemian and dramatic life in France, sharing her love and loyalty for the beautiful countryside in which she lived.

Apart from some less than subtle exposition, this is a captivating novel. Recommended. ( )

Review for HarperCollins:

Annette Vallon is a gripping tale of historical fiction that places the reader at the center of events during the French Revolution. At the beginning of the book, Annette is barely more than a child; however, through the course of the book, she morphs into a strong woman and a leader in her own right. Though the book is billed as the story of William Wordsworth’s mistress, Annette is much more than that. Indeed, after the beginning of the book, Wordsworth only plays a minor role. The real story of the book is Annette’s struggle to follow her conscience and make a difference in the horrible backdrop of the French Revolution. She is a heroine in her own right, and fans of historical fiction will thoroughly enjoy reading her story, as presented by James Tipton. ( )