Genevieve Pasquier is a girl crippled from birth by being born with a clubfoot,loved by her scholarly father but despised by her beautiful and vain mother who dotes on her more beautiful older sister.

She is in short an ugly duckling but a smart duckling ;)

Her father educates her and gives her books to read.

When on his deathbed he sends for her and gives her some words of wisdom.

But her mother thinks Genevieve was told where her father hid a vast fortune.But Genevieve of course dont know anything and is then put through such abuse that she has no other choice but to leave home.

While escaping she happens on the powerful society witch Catherine Montvoisin wwho proposes a deal:work for her and get revenge.

She become the Marquess, an allegedly 200 year old fortune-teller who acquired immortality through an elixir and its not long before she is popular in the aristocratic circles of Paris.

But things get dangerous when Athenais Montespan,the kings mistress,ask to get her fortune told.

It seems like Monvoisin has some darker agenda that could shake France if the plan is ever carried out.

I dont want to give to much away,but there is enough suspense so you wont get bored.And all the characters feel real and has motivation for their actions. And there is a romance but it takes a while for the heroine to realize who truly loves her.

Judith Merkle Riley has written other historicals wich ive also enjoyed but this book remains my favorite of them.
There is some horrible elements in this story(rape,occult rites,poisoning) But in the end the good prevail.

This is built around an actual event in history,the affair of the poisons.And even though the author takes some artistic liberties it stays mostly true to history. ( )

One of 3 loosely-linked historical novels (with a soupçon of fantasy) by Judith Merkle Riley, this historical novel deals with the diviner Madame de Morville (or Genevieve Pasquier).

Genevieve Pasquier is the youngest daughter of a disgraced financier (who fell with Fouquet). Growing up in a straightened household, her spendthrift mother believes her husband squirrelled away a fortune and does her best to get hold of it, murdering her husband and mother-in-law. Believing Genevieve knows where the fortune is, she threatens her life. Genevieve runs away and falls into the clutches of Catherine Monvoison, Queen of the Witches of Paris.

La Monvoison grooms Genevieve as a water diviner, disguising her as Madame de Morville, a 150 year-old cursed with eternal life. As a diviner, Genevieve makes an excellent living, coming to the attention of Madame de Montespan, who is desperate to keep the affections of the king by any means possible. Along the way, Genevieve gets mixed up with Hugenots and playwrights.

There is less overtly supernatural elements in this book, although it is suggested that Genevieve has true visions of The Terror.

Recommended.

Geneviéve Pasquier es la hija de un financiero arruinado. Su padre la adora, pero su madre la aborrece por ser coja y tener la columna vertebral torcida, pero Geneviéve es una niña muy precoz y bien instruida en Ciencias Humanísticas por su padre.

Después de una doble tragedia en la familia -el padre y la abuela mueren misteriosamente casi el mismo día- la niña, desesperada, decide tirarse por un puente del río Sena, pero es salvada por una extraña mujer e iniciada en la lectura de una bola de agua, a través de la cual adquiriere una singular habilidad que le permitirá introducirse hasta en las más altas esferas de la nobleza francesa y, así, llegar hasta el rey; la historia transcurre durante el reinado de Luis XIV, "El Rey Sol".

La autora nos introduce a través de esta joven en un mundo tenebroso de hechicería, brujería, misas negras, satanismo y expertos envenenadores, en la que va a ser testigo de las intrigas y amoríos de la Corte Francesa. Es una historia verdaderamente rocambolesca, con héroes y villanos, y final feliz.

Todos los personajes, aparte de Geneviéve, su familia y amistades, son verídicos; así lo certifica la autora. Al lector o lectora se le puede "encoger el corazón" ante tanta crueldad y vileza, pero al mismo tiempo, cautiva hasta el final.

Muy recomendable, por encima de todo, por el sutil humor con que se nos cuenta esta historia. ( )

While I enjoyed many of the details, it was fairly forgettable. ( )

The tale of a deformed little girl, with an uncaring mother and loving father, who enters the world of witches after her father's death and being brutalized. She becomes Marquise whom all believe to be 150 year old seer and enters a life of intrigue. French politics, high society and underground world. Definitely long read, but kept pulling me back to find out where the author was going and how her story ends.
( )