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Madeleine: Last French Casquette Bride in New Orleans
In 1728, beautiful, resourceful Madeleine Boucher is one of the last in a group of poor young girls given modest dowries in trunks, or casquettes, by the French government-then shipped off to America, where they are intended as wives for the French settlers in the Louisiana Territory. Despite a series of romantic travails, Madeleine remains fiercely dedicated to finding true passion and securing the promise of her new adopted land, free from the prejudices of the past.
The story of Madeleine and the other casquette girls is the story of New Orleans itself. Like the city, they struggled through Indians, hurricanes, fires, and floods. Like the city, they absorbed the shocks and assimilated the dominance of other cultures, while remaining steadfastly French.
Madeleine's brutal but enlightening journey vividly brings back to life a forgotten era, a history, a people-and the nation they came to call their own.
-Terri Cheney, New York Times bestselling author of Manic and Modern Madness
The story of Madeleine and the other casquette girls is the story of New Orleans itself. Like the city, they struggled through Indians, hurricanes, fires, and floods. Like the city, they absorbed the shocks and assimilated the dominance of other cultures, while remaining steadfastly French.
Madeleine's brutal but enlightening journey vividly brings back to life a forgotten era, a history, a people-and the nation they came to call their own.
-Terri Cheney, New York Times bestselling author of Manic and Modern Madness
- GenresHistorical Fiction
203 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 1, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
April 16, 2021
The satisfying story of Madeleine, one of the filles a la casquette and a forgotten French policy to colonize the wilderness known as Louisiana.
When the master of the de Mandeville chateau began to take an inappropriate interest in his wife's ladies' maid, 17-year-old Madeleine Boucher finds herself enrolled in the French government's program to provide suitable females as potential brides for their pioneering countrymen in their Louisiana colony. Madeleine is accepting of this fate; it is a chance for her to have a future in a new world far from the shadow of poverty and her early life as the daughter of a serf on the de Mandeville estate, a chance to be her own person and no one's servant ever again. Along with 59 other filles a la casquette, she's provided with a trunk (casquette) of household basics with which to start her married life with whomever she chooses as her husband. The girls with their chaperones, Ursuline nuns traveling to their convent in New Orleans, board Les Belles Soeurs, the ship which is to be their home for the next 3 � 4 months as they make the long journey by sea from France to the Port of New Orleans. They endure cold, heat, storms, sickness, diminishing food supplies, and the constant threat of pirates along the way.
Through no fault of her own, the lovely Madeleine is mistakenly identified on the ship's roster as a member of the de Mandeville family rather than from the de Mandeville chateau. However, she doesn't correct the error, hoping to prevent others from treating her like a mere servant. But rather than acting like a fragile flower from an aristocratic family, Madeleine pitches in to pull her own weight and help out any way possible, all the while keeping a cool head under the considerable stress of the ocean crossing. She catches the eye of the ship's captain, Jean Paul Beauchamp, and although there is an immediate and mutual attraction between the two, they manage to maintain the utmost decorum and respect for each other. On their last night aboard ship before debarking for the final journey upriver to New Orleans, Captain Beauchamp admits to Madeleine that despite his deep regard, his life will always be the sea.When the girls finally arrive safe and sound in New Orleans, they are dismayed by the rough, crude conditions. Still, the warm and friendly welcome from the colonists lifts their spirits and soothes their disillusionment. They are soon showered with marriage proposals from men of all manner of background, circumstance, and situation. Madeleine is attracted to a young French army lieutenant, Jacques Bouligny, the younger son of an aristocratic family back in France. Jacques, in turn, is just as enamored of her but is away from New Orleans more than not quelling the rising turmoil among the Indian tribes inhabiting the Louisiana territory.
One by one, all the casquette girls except Madeleine make their selection of a husband and leave to start their new lives. She chooses to stay with the Ursuline sisters, assisting in their hospital and school for girls as she waits for Jacques to declare himself or Captain Beauchamp to return, having changed his mind.I thoroughly enjoyed this new story of Madeleine and the filles a la casquette, set in the early 1700s in the wilds of southern Louisiana. It was an interesting and adventurous historical fiction novel laced with an irresistible romance. The heroine brought to mind Barbara Taylor Bradford's Emma Harte from A Woman of Substance or Margaret Mitchell's Scarlett O'Hara (without the negative personality traits.) I read with anticipation of the resolution of Madeleine's romantic relationships. Would things work out for her and Jacques, or would Jean Paul come back into the picture? I thought the plotline involving the Natchez exciting yet troubling. The tension of this situation was always hovering in the background. The same can be said regarding the reality of slavery. The characters of Moses, Rima, Lying Boy, Laff, and Lame Doe were some of my favorites, and I enjoyed their presence in the story. I hope to see more of them in the next book.
As the story covers almost 25 years, there is plenty of action during that time frame; there was never a dull moment in the book. This one kept me up reading way past a decent bedtime.I recommend MADELEINE: LAST FRENCH CASQUETTE BRIDE IN NEW ORLEANS to readers that enjoy historical fiction with a romantic storyline or those that would like a story about a forgotten French policy (filles a la casquette) in the history of Louisiana and New Orleans. This story contains details related to sexual relations and is better suited to a more mature audience.
I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy from the author through France Book Tours.
April 14, 2021
In "Madeleine Last French Casquette Bride in New Orleans" Wanda Maureen Miller has brought to life a little known to me part of Louisiana history. Madeline is a Casquette bride, one of many girls sent to the new colony in New Orleans to be a bride to the men, who started the colony. It was a method employed by the French crown to populate their colonies, as "les filles du roi" were in my country, Canada. Since the 17 year old Madeleine Boucher, a servant, was becoming too much of a temptation to her husband, Countess de Mandeville decides to send Madeleine with a group of nuns to New Orleans to become one of the brides. When a clerk mistakes Madeleine's surname for that of her former mistress, Madeleine sees an opportunity to rise from her station in life as the daughter of a poor farm serf to that of a higher class.
The author brings to vivid life all the hardships these women endured, not only the physical hardships of the journey but the mental anguish they suffered, not knowing what sort of husband and life they would have in their new home. It makes you appreciate, what our ancestors went through on their passage to the New World. Through this journey Madeleine grows as a person, gaining new skills that she could use to better her life. I particularly liked their confrontation with the pirates, since the gunner on Madeleine's ship was Duvall, "a one-time murderer who had run to the sea to escape the justice awaiting awaiting satisfaction for his crimes". Was this character based on a real life person? After Madeleine finally arrives, she receives many offers of marriage. But unlike the other ladies on the ship, she bides her time, waiting for the right person. She had fallen in love with the captain of the ship Beauchamp. However, he was an impossible choice. Finally she marries the handsome soldier Captain Jacques Bouligny, a gambler and womanizer.
Madeleine's story is an entertaining one. My only criticism is that the characters and their stories could have been developed more, especially that of Captain Beauchamp. The author does cover lots of years in her novel and some parts seem rushed. It will be interesting to see what develops in the next book, Solange, the daughter of Madeleine and her husband, Jacques Bouligny.
If you liked Aimie K. Runyan's series, Daughters of New France, and Suzanne Desrochers'"Bride of New France" you will enjoy this one.
For a chance to win your own copy of this book, go to:
The author brings to vivid life all the hardships these women endured, not only the physical hardships of the journey but the mental anguish they suffered, not knowing what sort of husband and life they would have in their new home. It makes you appreciate, what our ancestors went through on their passage to the New World. Through this journey Madeleine grows as a person, gaining new skills that she could use to better her life. I particularly liked their confrontation with the pirates, since the gunner on Madeleine's ship was Duvall, "a one-time murderer who had run to the sea to escape the justice awaiting awaiting satisfaction for his crimes". Was this character based on a real life person? After Madeleine finally arrives, she receives many offers of marriage. But unlike the other ladies on the ship, she bides her time, waiting for the right person. She had fallen in love with the captain of the ship Beauchamp. However, he was an impossible choice. Finally she marries the handsome soldier Captain Jacques Bouligny, a gambler and womanizer.
Madeleine's story is an entertaining one. My only criticism is that the characters and their stories could have been developed more, especially that of Captain Beauchamp. The author does cover lots of years in her novel and some parts seem rushed. It will be interesting to see what develops in the next book, Solange, the daughter of Madeleine and her husband, Jacques Bouligny.
If you liked Aimie K. Runyan's series, Daughters of New France, and Suzanne Desrochers'"Bride of New France" you will enjoy this one.
For a chance to win your own copy of this book, go to:
March 7, 2021
An apprentice extraordinaire, Madeleine learns from (aprendis) her masters:
her pitifully poor parents; the justly jealous aristocratic owner who, not unlike her parents, “sails her off�; the oh-to-be in-control “Captain, My Captain� of the seas between France & the New World of New Orleans; and even the casquette companions yearning-to-be-free but prepared to exchange one form of bondage for another.
Nope. Not M. Breathtakingly beautiful, quick-study, strong, resourceful, and determined Madeleine, in a split second opportunity, chooses her destination.
The parallel between the yet untamed New Orleans and Madeleine is striking. Appreciate strong-as-steel female protagonists like Scout & ‘Ahab’s Wife�?
Madeleine's your gal. LOVE New Orleans (who doesn’t?)? You’ll delight in the lagniappe value of this meticulously researched historical fiction. How about the old-as-time theme of fresh starts? Yeah. You’ll LOVE this book.
her pitifully poor parents; the justly jealous aristocratic owner who, not unlike her parents, “sails her off�; the oh-to-be in-control “Captain, My Captain� of the seas between France & the New World of New Orleans; and even the casquette companions yearning-to-be-free but prepared to exchange one form of bondage for another.
Nope. Not M. Breathtakingly beautiful, quick-study, strong, resourceful, and determined Madeleine, in a split second opportunity, chooses her destination.
The parallel between the yet untamed New Orleans and Madeleine is striking. Appreciate strong-as-steel female protagonists like Scout & ‘Ahab’s Wife�?
Madeleine's your gal. LOVE New Orleans (who doesn’t?)? You’ll delight in the lagniappe value of this meticulously researched historical fiction. How about the old-as-time theme of fresh starts? Yeah. You’ll LOVE this book.
April 13, 2021
I thought Madeleine: Last French Casquette Bride in New Orleans to be a really good read. It is, also, the first book I have read by Wanda Maureen Miller and it will not be the last. I loved being transported back in time to the early eighteenth century. I enjoyed getting to know Madeleine. She grew on me more and more throughout the story. There was a lot that I love to read in a book within the pages: danger, adventure, action, romance and history. I could not put it down from the time I started until I read the very last page.
Madeleine: Last French Casquette Bride in New Orleans will be getting a very well deserved five plus stars from me. I recommend it for readers who enjoy reading historical romance. I will be looking forward to reading more by Wanda Maureen Miller in the future. This one should definitely not to be missed.
I received a paperback copy of Madeleine: Last French Casquette Bride in New Orleans from the publisher. This review is one hundred percent my own honest opinion.
Madeleine: Last French Casquette Bride in New Orleans will be getting a very well deserved five plus stars from me. I recommend it for readers who enjoy reading historical romance. I will be looking forward to reading more by Wanda Maureen Miller in the future. This one should definitely not to be missed.
I received a paperback copy of Madeleine: Last French Casquette Bride in New Orleans from the publisher. This review is one hundred percent my own honest opinion.
March 3, 2021
"Madeleine"... is a high quality historical romance novel on a par with the bestsellers in the genre today.
I've enjoyed reading a final draft of the novel. Wanda Maureen Miller is an excellent writer with a good imagination and an interesting perspective on character.
Gaining insight into a locale, a society and a period of American history I knew nothing about has been a great benefit of reading "Madeleine."
I also enjoyed the feminine perspective in a male-dominated society. Interesting are the ways in which Madeleine is able to express herself while maintaining unassailable propriety of behavior.
It may be early days for Ms. Miller's current novel, but I'm hoping for a sequel about the adventures of Madeleine's offspring.
I've enjoyed reading a final draft of the novel. Wanda Maureen Miller is an excellent writer with a good imagination and an interesting perspective on character.
Gaining insight into a locale, a society and a period of American history I knew nothing about has been a great benefit of reading "Madeleine."
I also enjoyed the feminine perspective in a male-dominated society. Interesting are the ways in which Madeleine is able to express herself while maintaining unassailable propriety of behavior.
It may be early days for Ms. Miller's current novel, but I'm hoping for a sequel about the adventures of Madeleine's offspring.
November 26, 2021
I won this book through a Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ giveaway! I always love a strong female lead. I think the historical fiction was very engaging. I felt like I could see the scenery. There was also several storylines and I was really impressed by how each characters line was managed and mixed into the narrative. Her second book will focus on Madeline's daughter, and I hope we see some small updates on how Madeleine is doing, but I'm really happy her story has a tied up ending.
December 22, 2021
A MOST EXCELLENT READ
I loved the book and everything about it. It was fascinating and informative and one of the best books I've read in a long time. I read it in 3 days. I could not put it down, and then I didn't want it to end. I can't wait for the next book. I totally encourage you to read this amazing book. You won't be disappointed.
I loved the book and everything about it. It was fascinating and informative and one of the best books I've read in a long time. I read it in 3 days. I could not put it down, and then I didn't want it to end. I can't wait for the next book. I totally encourage you to read this amazing book. You won't be disappointed.
March 4, 2021
I can’t remember when I read a book this good. I literally couldn’t put it down! I absolutely loved it. I’m a slow reader and read it in 3 days. 5 enthusiastic stars!!!
February 17, 2023
I liked this book more than I thought I would. It was a nicely told story about a part of history that is not well known. Not a bodice ripper and not predictable. It was a good read.
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