ABOUT THE BOOK
1792, France Rumors of revolution in Paris swirl in Marseille, a bustling port city in southern France. Gilles Etienne, a clerk at the local soap factory, thrives on the news. Committed to the cause of equality, liberty, and brotherhood, he and his friends plan to march to Paris to dethrone the monarchy. His plans are halted when he meets Marie-Caroline Daubin, the beautiful daughter of the owner of the factory.A bourgeoise and royalist, Marie-Caroline has been called home to Marseille to escape the unrest in Paris. She rebuffs Gilles's efforts to charm her and boldly expresses her view that violently imposed freedom is not really freedom for all. As Marie-Caroline takes risks to follow her beliefs, Gilles catches her in a dangerous secret that could cost her and her family their lives. As Gilles and Marie-Caroline spend more time together, she questions her initial assumptions about Gilles and realizes that perhaps they have more in common than she thought.
As the spirit of revolution descends on Marseille, people are killed and buildings are ransacked and burned to the ground. Gilles must choose between supporting the political change he believes in and protecting those he loves. And Marie-Caroline must battle between standing up for what she feels is right and risking her family's safety. With their lives and their nation in turmoil, both Gilles and Marie-Caroline wonder if a revolutionnaire and a royaliste can really be together or if they must live in a world that forces people to choose sides.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
AUTHOR INTERVIEW
LIFE IS WHAT IT'S CALLED - What inspired you to write this story?
ARLEM HAWKS - In truth, I fell in love with Gilles's character while writing Georgana's Secret. I knew some snippets of his past, but I wanted to dig deeper into it. When I was looking at the timeline of his life and where it took place, I realized he'd be in Marseille during the French Revolution, and I thought it would be an interesting setting, as most French Revolution stories take place around Paris. I studied French and French history from elementary school through college, and I was excited to write a book that tied into that part of my life.
LIFE IS WHAT IT'S CALLED - What do you like most about the time period featured in Beyond the Lavender Fields?
ARLEM HAWKS - I'm not sure I like this, but I was fascinated by the ever-changing political climate. People's loyalties changed back and forth in such a short amount of time. One minute a person could be a darling of the Revolution, and the next they could be burned in effigy in the streets (or worse!). Throughout my research the question "How did normal people survive this?" kept playing through my head. With so much confusion and fear, I gained great respect for the everyday French people keeping their families afloat.
LIFE IS WHAT IT'S CALLED - In the book you present different opinions, whose opinion do you find closest aligns to your own?
ARLEM HAWKS - I don't know that I side firmly with one or the other. Revolutionaries did some terrible things, but royalists weren't much better, especially when you get into the counterrevolution that takes place after the events of this book. In Beyond the Lavender Fields, the Jacobins are rising to power, so Caroline's royalists look a little more favorable, but that wasn't the case the whole Revolution. I'm on the side of respect for others, even if they don't agree with you.
LIFE IS WHAT IT'S CALLED - What did you want readers to learn from this book?
ARLEM HAWKS - I think I wanted people to learn that just because someone has a differing view doesn't necessarily mean they're a terrible person. Sometimes people who seem so far apart in beliefs are closer in mind than they think. Often we're trying to solve the same problem, but we're coming at it in different ways.
LIFE IS WHAT IT'S CALLED - What do you hope readers will love about this book?
ARLEM HAWKS - I hope Georgana's Secret fans love getting to know Gilles better and how much he grows as a result of his friendship with Caroline. I also hope they enjoy the taste of southern France, as we don't get a lot of it in clean historical romance (at least in the English literature world).
LIFE IS WHAT IT'S CALLED - What are your next writing projects?
ARLEM HAWKS - I'm working on another French Revolution piece set in a different area of France and another Royal Navy Regency.
LIFE IS WHAT IT'S CALLED - Is there anything we can take away from this book and apply it today's political climate?
ARLEM HAWKS - I think the biggest takeaway I hope readers get is to look beyond the labels and see the person. Putting yourself in another person's shoes can be difficult to do when you're on opposite sides of an argument, but respect, understanding, and compromise are vital tools to establishing peace in life and relationships. When you seek to understand, you learn from others, and at times you realize that some of the beliefs you clung to weren't as true as you thought.
REVIEW
LIFE IS WHAT IT'S CALLED - What inspired you to write this story?
ARLEM HAWKS - In truth, I fell in love with Gilles's character while writing Georgana's Secret. I knew some snippets of his past, but I wanted to dig deeper into it. When I was looking at the timeline of his life and where it took place, I realized he'd be in Marseille during the French Revolution, and I thought it would be an interesting setting, as most French Revolution stories take place around Paris. I studied French and French history from elementary school through college, and I was excited to write a book that tied into that part of my life.
LIFE IS WHAT IT'S CALLED - What do you like most about the time period featured in Beyond the Lavender Fields?
ARLEM HAWKS - I'm not sure I like this, but I was fascinated by the ever-changing political climate. People's loyalties changed back and forth in such a short amount of time. One minute a person could be a darling of the Revolution, and the next they could be burned in effigy in the streets (or worse!). Throughout my research the question "How did normal people survive this?" kept playing through my head. With so much confusion and fear, I gained great respect for the everyday French people keeping their families afloat.
LIFE IS WHAT IT'S CALLED - In the book you present different opinions, whose opinion do you find closest aligns to your own?
ARLEM HAWKS - I don't know that I side firmly with one or the other. Revolutionaries did some terrible things, but royalists weren't much better, especially when you get into the counterrevolution that takes place after the events of this book. In Beyond the Lavender Fields, the Jacobins are rising to power, so Caroline's royalists look a little more favorable, but that wasn't the case the whole Revolution. I'm on the side of respect for others, even if they don't agree with you.
LIFE IS WHAT IT'S CALLED - What did you want readers to learn from this book?
ARLEM HAWKS - I think I wanted people to learn that just because someone has a differing view doesn't necessarily mean they're a terrible person. Sometimes people who seem so far apart in beliefs are closer in mind than they think. Often we're trying to solve the same problem, but we're coming at it in different ways.
LIFE IS WHAT IT'S CALLED - What do you hope readers will love about this book?
ARLEM HAWKS - I hope Georgana's Secret fans love getting to know Gilles better and how much he grows as a result of his friendship with Caroline. I also hope they enjoy the taste of southern France, as we don't get a lot of it in clean historical romance (at least in the English literature world).
LIFE IS WHAT IT'S CALLED - What are your next writing projects?
ARLEM HAWKS - I'm working on another French Revolution piece set in a different area of France and another Royal Navy Regency.
LIFE IS WHAT IT'S CALLED - Is there anything we can take away from this book and apply it today's political climate?
ARLEM HAWKS - I think the biggest takeaway I hope readers get is to look beyond the labels and see the person. Putting yourself in another person's shoes can be difficult to do when you're on opposite sides of an argument, but respect, understanding, and compromise are vital tools to establishing peace in life and relationships. When you seek to understand, you learn from others, and at times you realize that some of the beliefs you clung to weren't as true as you thought.
REVIEW
For me, Beyond the Lavender Fields goes beyond a historical fiction romance. It shares the friendship and marriage of two different political stances. This book felt like an allegory in a lot of ways by showing how different viewpoints can go too far into believing that they are right, how to get along with others that have different viewpoints, others that take no stance, and others that only care for their beliefs and forego relationships because of it. This book was rich in French history and the story felt like it was full of interesting talking points that could be discussed with friends and/or a book club. Even though the book's setting is during the French revolution, there's a lot of ideas that could apply to the political turmoil that's going on now. I enjoyed the rich historical elements in the story and Arlem Hawks does a good job at painting the confusion, the struggles and horrors of the French revolution. She also paints the setting really well with her words. It was easy to visualize the people and places in the story. Overall, this was a fascinating read. The characters were interesting and well developed. The storyline moved on quickly and gave me something to really think about. To learn more about Beyond the Lavender Fields, click here.
Please note that I received a free copy to review, however, this is my honest opinion. This post contains affiliate links to help support this blog.
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