GSMC Book Review Podcast Blog: The Wardrobe Mistress by Meghan Masterson

I recently sat down with Meghan Masterson to discuss her new novel The Wardrobe Mistress. You can check out our full conversation here.

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The Wardrobe Mistress is Meghan Masterson’s debut novel and gives us a story combining Historical Fiction, romance, and a dash of adventure. The story revolves around Giselle, an undertirewoman working to take care of Marie Antoinette’s massive wardrobe. When the book begins the French Revolution is in its nascent form, but as the story unfolds so does the Revolution. Because of Giselle’s placement in the queen’s household we see the Revolution from both sides.

She meets Léon Gauvain early on during the Revolution and the two form an immediate bond that leads to romance. They seem ideally suited, but tensions develop from Giselle’s work with the queen.

Here is the description of the book from Masterson’swebsite:

THE WARDROBE MISTRESS is Meghan Masterson’s fascinating and visceral debut, an inside look at Marie Antoinette’s luxurious life in Versailles remarkably juxtaposed against life in third estate as the French Revolution gains strength. A propulsive exploration of love, loyalty, danger, and intrigue…not to be missed.

It’s Giselle Aubry’s first time at court in Versailles. At sixteen, she is one of Marie Antoinette’s newest undertirewomen, and in awe of the glamorous queen and her opulent palace life. A budding designer, it’s a dream come true to work with the beautiful fabrics and jewels in the queen’s wardrobe. But every few weeks she returns home to visit her family in the Parisian countryside where rumors of revolution are growing stronger.

From her position working in the royal household, Giselle is poised to see both sides of the revolutionary tensions erupting throughout Paris. When her uncle, a retired member of the secret du roi, a spy ring that worked for the old King, Louis XV, suggests that she casually report the Queen’s actions back to him as a game, she leaps at the chance. Spying seems like an adventure and an exciting way to privately support the revolution taking the countryside by storm. She also enjoys using her insight from Versailles in lively debates with Léon Gauvain, the handsome and idealistic revolutionary who courts her.

But as the revolution continues to gain momentum, and Giselle grows closer to the Queen, becoming one of the few trusted servants, she finds herself dangerously torn. Violence is escalating; she must choose where her loyalty truly lies, or risk losing everything…maybe even her head.

What I learned:

A different perspective on Marie Antoinette than the one I’m used to being presented
The role fashion played in the French Revolution
18^th Century methods of contraceptives were NOT for the faint-hearted

What I loved:

The way Giselle walked between the 2 worlds of the French Revolution, seeing the side of her family and friends of the Third Estate as well as the side of the royalists in the royal family.
How Giselle kept her word and stuck by her principals despite pressures and the potential of losing relationships that were important to her.
The way the complex details of the French Revolution are woven seamlessly into the story so that we get the big picture while focusing on smaller details like the lives of those affected by the upheaval of the time.

Who should read The Wardrobe Mistress: