The year is 1508. Louis XII, King of France, wants to stamp France’s footprint upon Italy.
Anne of Brittany, Queen of France, and ruler of neighboring realm Brittany, wants to produce a son and heir for Louis and to save the independence of Brittany from France.
Louise of Savoy, the mother of the king’s intended successor, the future Francis I, wants to see her son on the throne of France.
All three have suffered the twisting of their fates by Anne de Beaujeu, the spider king’s daughter, who ruled France from 1483-1491. Two shake off her shadow; one does not.
One sees their dreams come true; two do not. But in this game of thrones, winners lose and losers win the greatest prize of all.
Anne and Louis Forever Bound is the standalone fourth and final novel of the award-winning Anne of Brittany Series.
Anne and Louis, Book Two of the Anne of Brittany Series, is the general fiction winner of the 2018 BookLife Prize.
Assessment:
Plot: Gaston's plot offers a vibrant and dynamic staging of the lives of Louis XII and Anne of Brittany. As provocative as it is engaging, it moves at a quick pace that readily pulls readers into the story.
Prose: Gaston's prose is lovely and compulsively readable, though much of that is driven by and in service of the plot. Even in the third-person, the character's voices are full and clear.
Originality: While the narrative adheres to conventions, fans of historical fiction will find much to enjoy in this engrossing novel that takes readers deep into the personal and political lives of royalty.
Character/Execution: Anne is given a voice and personality that shines through the page, which is particularly refreshing given history's tendency to favor and empathize with the men. As a protagonist she captivates and balances well with Louis, whose story feels fresh and new.
Date Submitted: August 31, 2020
“This last volume of the entwined story of Anne, Queen of France and Duchess of Brittany, and King Louis XII of France begins in 1508. It is a time of troubles for Louis and France. The relationship between Anne and Louis sizzles with drama as their opposite political views place a strain on the deep love they share. Gaston brings their conflict to life with such intensity and keeps up the drama that I couldn't put the book down. Bravo for her fortissimo closing to a dramatic era in French history. Anne, still remembered as the "Good Duchess" of Brittany and Louis, The Father of His People, have been overlooked for far too long in historical fiction written in English. I highly recommend this novel.”
“In this fourth installment of a series revolving around Anne of Brittany, Gaston once again displays an extraordinary knowledge of the period, an erudite mastery evident on every page. She achieves an impressive historical authenticity, translating an intricate story into a captivating drama. Anne is a mesmerizingly complex character—decent yet calculating, fierce yet vulnerable. Gaston’s writing avoids melodrama—but not at the expense of flair and emotional poignancy. An engrossing and rigorously researched work of historical fiction.”
"Gaston's best yet. The book delivers delicious and vivid detail of a royal romance with plenty of 16th century Renaissance French and European history, intrigue in the background and strong women characters. Lovers of historical fiction will find it a splendid and enjoyable read."--Susan Abernethy, author of The Freelance History Writer
Anne and Louis Forever Bound is accepted into the Amercian Library in Paris 2021 Book Award competition. Submissions accepted by invitation only.
"...a royal historical romance of the highest caliber."
Betsy Golden Kellem, Yale Historian, contributor to The Atlantic, Vanity Fair, The Washington Post, and author of popular history blog Drinks with Dead People features Anne of Brittany for Women's History Month.
Rozsa Gaston's motto? History matters.
An interview with acclaimed historical fiction blog Paper Lantern Writers
Are there TV shows or films that have influenced your writing?
Yes. I saw The Red Balloon (1956) at our local library when I was a young girl. I was immediately enchanted with Paris. The movie has no words and there are no words to describe how deeply it moved me. The boy in the movie was poor. He lived in a small apartment in a dirty rundown section of Paris. Yet I was moved by Paris’s beauty and charm in every scene.
When I was 19 I went to Paris for the first time as an au pair and lived in a maid’s garret on the top floor of a building. No hot water, shower or bath. A Turkish toilet (don’t ask). Just like the boy in The Red Balloon chasing his balloon in the streets of Paris I spent that year chasing beauty all over Paris.
What do you worry about in your work?
I tend to avoid conflict and always seek happy endings. Yet novels are built upon conflict. To write a good novel you need lots of conflict before you can get to the happy ending. In my Anne of Brittany series I was challenged to touch upon the less positive aspects of my heroine’s character. Now that the series is done, I have moved on to Margaret of Austria, who experienced plenty of conflict during her years as governor of the Netherlands from 1507-1530.
As governor of the Netherlands she was responsible for administering Habsburg rule over 17 different territories that comprise today’s Holland and the Benelux countries, as well as Burgundy (now folded into France). She batted heads with many of her legislators, each of whom wished to maintain privileges for their respective regions.
My challenge is to refrain from writing a puff piece on Margaret of Austria, but rather to offer a balanced view of how she managed her position, both good and bad. I hope I will lead my readers to a satisfying ending, coming away with a deep appreciation for this historical figure.
What brings you great joy as a writer?
It brings me great joy to read a passage from one of my books a year or two after it came out and realize there’s a certain voice to the prose that is all my own.
A second source of joy is to hear from readers of my Anne of Brittany series that they had never heard of Anne of Brittany before and are fascinated to discover her story. I hope the same will be true of Margaret of Austria once my new book comes out. I feel connected to a larger purpose by bringing to life the stories of these female Renaissance rulers who played such vital roles in early 16th century Europe. History books have only sketched them in. My goal is to fill in the gaps and bring their personalities to life for readers of today.
Do you speak a second language? Do you think differently in that language? Does it influence your writing?
Yes. I speak French passably, not fluently. I think differently in that language. When I speak French my personality becomes more feminine, refined. I feel more myself. The challenge is to translate French phrases into English in a way that maintains their subtlety, shifting the English-speaking reader’s sensibility. The French language reflects its culture, utterly different from that of English-speaking countries. When researching historical figures in French texts, fascinating differences between Anglophone and Francophone worlds emerge, particularly in the area of pleasure.
The French celebrate pleasure, the English-speaking world feels guilty about its pursuit. The French pursue pleasure in eating, in creating beauty in their surroundings, in giving and receiving pleasure.
When I read texts covering Francis I and his 16th century Renaissance court I came across many passages about men’s preoccupation with providing satisfaction to their ladylove. There would be references to men boasting of how many times they pleasured their ladylove. My eyes opened and the scales fell away. If there were similar texts in English, either the subject would not be mentioned at all or any male boasting would have been about how many times they achieved satisfaction, not their female partner.
What was the inspiration for your most recent book?
While researching Anne of Brittany’s story I came across mention of Margaret of Austria as an 11-year-old, raised at the French court to become queen to Charles VIII of France. Charles jilted Margaret to marry Anne of Brittany, who was very kind to her despite having taken her place. When Margaret returned to the Netherlands, Anne of Brittany and Margaret of Austria stayed in touch. Both were interested in creating a Habsburg hedge around France, to curb its dominance. Both women were instrumental in the seminal development of what has now become the European Union. Both began their lives as pawns of powerful men and both emerged to become powerful players themselves on the European political stage.
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Anne and Louis: Forever Bound
Published 14th April 2021
Author: Rozsa Gaston
Published: Renaissance Editions on 10th May 2021
Format: Paperback/Kindle
In the early 16th century, a queen longs for an heir who will rule France and permit Brittany its autonomy in this historical novel. In 1508, Anne of Brittany, the queen of France, is married to Louis XII, an arrangement that permits her to remain the sole authority over Brittany, its independence the great charge of her life. She has two daughters but no son to ascend to the throne should her husband die, and she pines to produce an heir who will respect Brittany’s sovereignty. Otherwise, Francis I, the son of Louise of Savoy and a brashly arrogant teenager, will become the next king. Louise will stop at nothing to see her son rule—she dreams of her own power as the Madame la Grande of France—but frets that if Anne bears a son, it will spoil her plans. Meanwhile, Louis is obsessed with invading Italy; his “sacred dream” is to rule Milan, which he considers his birthright. But when Pope Julius II brokers an alliance with Venice, a treaty Louis labels a betrayal, he contemplates replacing him with a pontiff of his own selection, risking excommunication and infuriating Anne.
In this fourth installment of a series revolving around Anne of Brittany, Gaston once again displays an extraordinary knowledge of the period, an erudite mastery evident on every page. She achieves an impressive historical authenticity, translating an intricate story into a captivating drama. Anne is a mesmerizingly complex character—decent yet calculating, fierce yet vulnerable. And Gaston’s writing avoids melodrama—but not at the expense of flair and even some emotional poignancy.
An engrossing and rigorously researched work of historical fiction. –Kirkus Reviews, April 2, 2021
