Porcelain Dove Paperback – Import, 1 July 1994

I read this book more or less straight through. At the end, I felt it was a mashup of two genres - historical literary fiction (France, before and during the French Revolution) and traditional fantasy. I think it's best read as surrealist literary historical, as the pacing is a lot slower than a fantasy novel and the fantasy elements really don't appear until quite late in the novel. Moreover, the story is narrated by an observer (Berthe, lady's maid) rather than the person at the center of the action.The fantasy story really begins when the villagers storm the chateau. It feels like the last few chapters actually have another novel in them, a fantasy novel starring the girl Linnotte. If the author writes that fantasy, I think it would be an excellent read.

Recommended for those with a fondness for historical fiction and fantasy. The fantasy elements are very easy reading, mostly involving fairies, sorcerers, enchanted objects and magical curses. There is no world building here, as it is set in 18th century France, so your mind doesn't have to work too hard imagining strange creatures and landscapes and devices.While this book is not full of likeable characters, they are developed and true to themselves. The main character tells the story completely from her point of view.The story itself is satisfying and I enjoyed the book very much. I have also purchased a volume of short stories by the same author as I really liked Delia Sherman's writing style. Another thing about this book, while it is for adults, there was nothing so graphic in it that I would hesitate to share this book with my daughter.

Delia Sherman writes a story that takes the reader into the world of 18th century France, but with a fairytale twist. There are lords and ladies, wizards and curses, dark secrets and magic - and the very real French Revolution. The world of the novel is created with utmost attention to detail, especially when it comes to the French terminology used to describe clothing. I found that even though I didn't exactly know all the words (despite having studied French a few years), the presence of the foreign language added to the atmosphere of the novel. The French fit the characters, naturally.In the heart of this story is an old fairytale core. There is a curse and it needs to be broken in order for happiness to return. In this case, the porcelain dove needs to be found. In the throes of the French Revolution the story unwinds, not without some serious damage to people and property.Before we get to that point, there are twists and turns and delightful descriptions of life of the lesser French nobility and especially their servants in the late 18th century. The narrator of the story is Berthe Duvet, a lady's chambermaid to a young lady Adele du Fourchet who is then married to the Duke of Malvoeux. The Duke is the eccentric lord of the castle Beauxprés and he collects exotic birds. This might sound harmless enough, but there is a curse on the house of Malvoeux and that is what Berthe Duvet has to deal with while loyally attending to her mistress, now Madame Malvoeux. And as the secrets of the house of Malvoeux are revealed little by little, it's clear that the story has a very dark heart to it.What I really loved about this novel was the mix of historical and fantastical. The first half of The Porcelain Dove feels more like a historical novel than a fantasy novel, but as we get closer to the end, the fantastical elements become dominating and we are whisked into the world of (dark) fantasy. Quite lovely.Why I gave this utterly delightful novel only four stars is because I might've liked to see the background story of Berthe Duvet tightened a bit. But other than that, The Porcelain Dove was a wonderful read and the further into it I got, the harder it became to put the book (well, the Kindle edition for iPad...) down. I can warmly recommend this to readers who enjoy fairytales, their "modern" versions and historical novels.

Love the story!! It took me a while to get into this book but after a few chapters I read it to the end with no breaks .

Dreamlike historical fantasy set in Revolutionary France. Fascinating relationship between a lady's maid and the cursed aristocratic family she works for, sort of a Downton Abbey with horrific family secrets. I'm happy to see this re-released!