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Summary
Summary
Love. Magic. Revolution... Gita Trelease's debut fantasy about an orphaned girl who uses dark magic to save her sister and herself from ruin is "a soaring success" (NPR)!
Paris is a labyrinth of twisted streets filled with beggars and thieves, revolutionaries and magicians. Camille Durbonne is one of them. She wishes she weren't...
When smallpox kills her parents, Camille must find a way to provide for her younger sister while managing her volatile brother. Relying on magic, Camille painstakingly transforms scraps of metal into money to buy food and medicine they need. But when the coins won't hold their shape and her brother disappears with the family's savings, Camille pursues a richer, more dangerous mark: the glittering court of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette.
Using dark magic forbidden by her mother, Camille transforms herself into a baroness and is swept up into life at the Palace of Versailles, where aristocrats both fear and hunger for magic. As she struggles to reconcile her resentment of the rich with the allure of glamour and excess, Camille meets a handsome young inventor, and begins to believe that love and liberty may both be possible.
But magic has its costs, and soon Camille loses control of her secrets. And when revolution erupts, Camille must choose--love or loyalty, democracy or aristocracy, reality or magic--before Paris burns.
Author Notes
Born in Sweden to Indian and Swedish parents, Gita Trelease has lived in many places, including New York, Paris, and a tiny town in central Italy. She attended Yale College and New York University, where she earned a Ph.D. in British literature. Before becoming a novelist, she taught classes on writing and fairy tales. Along with her husband and son, Gita divides her time between a village in Massachusetts and the coast of Maine. Enchantée is her debut novel.
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 9 Up-Against the tumultuous backdrop of the French Revolution, two orphaned sisters, Camille and Sophie, struggle to survive on the streets of Paris. Possessing an inherited gift of magic from her once-aristocratic mother, Camille begins "turning" coins and cards for rent and food. When her debt-ridden, abusive older brother, Alain, steals their meager earnings, Camille is determined to save herself and Sophie. She conjures deeper, darker magic, creating a double identity, Baroness Cecile Descharlots, with a new appearance, elegant dress, and access to the gaming tables at Versailles. Even as she prospers and befriends courtiers and vicomtes, Camille's double life begins to fray. Her aeronaut boyfriend, Lazare, is hiding his own secrets. She suspects an ardent court admirer, Vicomte Seguin, of sinister intentions and destructive magic. Her pursuit of fortune in the royal court conflicts with her empathy for the common man. Then, Sophie disappears. Multiple threads of history are woven into this tale: the role and persecution of magicians in the French court; experiments with balloon aeronautics; contemporaneous attitudes toward women, queer folks, and biracial nobility; the opulent, decadent lifestyle of Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI; and, the rising outrage of impoverished citizens. Informative historical notes and a French glossary are appended. Distinctive characters, vivid 18th-century images of Paris and Versailles, lively French-infused dialogue, an appealing heroine, and an upbeat ending propel this lengthy romantic fantasy. VERDICT Romance and fantasy readers will enjoy the magic realism, ruse and tension of Camille's double identity, authentic historical references, and Camille's daring, passionate spirit. A must-have.-Gerry Larson, -formerly at Durham School of the Arts, NC © Copyright 2019. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
On the cusp of the French Revolution, 17-year-old Camille Durbonne and her 15-year-old sister are struggling to survive after being orphaned, then robbed by their abusive alcoholic brother. Camille has been using la magie ordinaire to transform metal scraps into coin, but getting caught when it changes back is a constant threat, and the rent is far past due. With the help of more dangerous magic, her mother's enchanted dress, and a few drops of blood, Camille infiltrates Marie Antoinette's court in disguise. There, her talent for manipulating cards fills her pockets with currency. Rebellion is in Camille's blood, and she's shocked to find herself befriending young nobles despite their politics of privilege. But as she becomes addicted to the magic and the opportunities it affords, Camille begins to wonder about the price of freedom. While debut author Trelease's twist on the Cinderella story offers some diversity with gay and biracial characters-Camille's love interest is an aeronaut of French and Indian descent-too much attention is given to the minutiae and intrigue of court life, leaving themes of diversity under-explored. Nevertheless, Camille's desire to be a voice of change for the oppressed will resonate. Ages 12-up. Agent: Molly Ker Hawn, the Bent Agency. (Feb.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
In an alternate history, a teenage girl weaves magic to survive in revolutionary Paris. Camille has always hated using la magie ordinaire, a magic that draws from sorrow to transform knickknacks into coinsa necessity to make ends meet for her and her sister since her parents died of smallpox. When their abusive addict brother steals their meager savings, Camille resorts to a darker magica dress and makeup enchanted by magie bibelotto transform her appearance and, combined with la magie ordinaire, becomes a practiced gambler at Versailles, where she falls in with a small group of card-playing aristocrats. But all is not as it seems, and as she becomes increasingly addicted to la magie and the French Revolution looms, Camille discovers she's not the only magician at court. With detailed descriptions and uneven pacing, the book sometimes feels overstuffed. Camille has a slow-burn romance with a biracial French/Indian balloonist, and race and racism are lightly touched upon. Camille's first friend at court is gay, and here too homophobia is implied but is not explored in depth. Camille and other main characters are white.Somewhat like its protagonist, Trelease's debut at times falls a little flat despite its ideal trappings and never rises to extraordinaire. (glossary, historical note) (Historical fantasy. 12-18) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
In eighteenth-century France, Marie Antoinette holds court in the Palace of Versailles, and appearances are everything. On the rue Charlot, three orphans struggle to survive. Camille uses exhausting magic inherited from her mother to transform twisted metal into temporary coins, willing to cheat to keep her sickly sister fed, while their older brother drinks and gambles. When he absconds one dark night with what little they have, Camille turns to more dangerous magicks: glamoire, which takes its power from sorrow, and which she can use to transform herself. Disguised as an aristocrat, Camille heads to Versailles to play games in order to keep herself and her sister alive. But she's not the only one here with two faces, and revolution is simmering on the streets of Paris. Safety may be beyond the grasp of even magic. The many-tiered plot occasionally stalls, but this is an immersive, glittering debut that intriguingly blends history and fantasy. A striking examination of power, privilege, and choice in a limited world, that makes Trelease a new voice to watch.--Maggie Reagan Copyright 2018 Booklist
