The Executioner's Heir: A Novel of Eighteenth-Century France

Fiction & Literature, Historical
Cover of the book The Executioner's Heir: A Novel of Eighteenth-Century France by Susanne Alleyn, Spyderwort Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Susanne Alleyn ISBN: 9781301131044
Publisher: Spyderwort Press Publication: August 31, 2013
Imprint: Smashwords Edition Language: English
Author: Susanne Alleyn
ISBN: 9781301131044
Publisher: Spyderwort Press
Publication: August 31, 2013
Imprint: Smashwords Edition
Language: English

Charles-Henri Sanson is young, handsome, sophisticated, and rich. He’s also the eldest son of Paris’s most dreaded public official—and in the 1760s, after centuries of superstition, the executioner and his family are outcasts. Charles knows, despite the loathing he feels for the job, that the hangman’s son must become one himself or starve, for society’s doors are closed to him.

Though conscientious and compassionate, Charles, in accepting the inevitable, by the bitter irony of fate will someday become one of the busiest executioners in history. Long before the French Revolution, however, Charles must spend his youth unwillingly carrying out the monarchy’s merciless justice. A passionate love affair, and becoming a doctor to the poor, help him put out of his mind the horrors of public whipping, hanging, torture, breaking, and burning that he witnesses almost daily. But at last the day comes when—faced with stark injustice—he cannot reconcile the law’s brutal demands with his conscience.

Sure to appeal to fans of the “Hangman’s Daughter” tales, The Executioner’s Heir, the true story of a pair of tragic, converging lives, is a darkly atmospheric novel of prerevolutionary France in all its elegance, decadence, and cruelty.

(Publishers Weekly) "Charles’s personal crisis and clashing loyalties evoke Greek tragedy, and speak to the issues that will resonate with readers." (Starred Review)

(Kirkus Reviews) "Alleyn’s exhaustive research pays off handsomely in well-drawn characters and colorful historical context. In particular, her female characters are refreshing in their range and willingness to defy stereotypes. A sequel would be welcome to this deftly imagined tale of the years before the French Revolution. A well-researched, robust tale featuring an endearing executioner."

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Charles-Henri Sanson is young, handsome, sophisticated, and rich. He’s also the eldest son of Paris’s most dreaded public official—and in the 1760s, after centuries of superstition, the executioner and his family are outcasts. Charles knows, despite the loathing he feels for the job, that the hangman’s son must become one himself or starve, for society’s doors are closed to him.

Though conscientious and compassionate, Charles, in accepting the inevitable, by the bitter irony of fate will someday become one of the busiest executioners in history. Long before the French Revolution, however, Charles must spend his youth unwillingly carrying out the monarchy’s merciless justice. A passionate love affair, and becoming a doctor to the poor, help him put out of his mind the horrors of public whipping, hanging, torture, breaking, and burning that he witnesses almost daily. But at last the day comes when—faced with stark injustice—he cannot reconcile the law’s brutal demands with his conscience.

Sure to appeal to fans of the “Hangman’s Daughter” tales, The Executioner’s Heir, the true story of a pair of tragic, converging lives, is a darkly atmospheric novel of prerevolutionary France in all its elegance, decadence, and cruelty.

(Publishers Weekly) "Charles’s personal crisis and clashing loyalties evoke Greek tragedy, and speak to the issues that will resonate with readers." (Starred Review)

(Kirkus Reviews) "Alleyn’s exhaustive research pays off handsomely in well-drawn characters and colorful historical context. In particular, her female characters are refreshing in their range and willingness to defy stereotypes. A sequel would be welcome to this deftly imagined tale of the years before the French Revolution. A well-researched, robust tale featuring an endearing executioner."

More books from Historical

Cover of the book Les Ensorcelés de Berrymoor by Susanne Alleyn
Cover of the book Older Man: Guarding the Next Door Beauty by Susanne Alleyn
Cover of the book Tiaztlán: el fin del Imperio azteca by Susanne Alleyn
Cover of the book The Elder by Susanne Alleyn
Cover of the book George Orwell’s Commander in Spain by Susanne Alleyn
Cover of the book Emperor: The Death of Kings by Susanne Alleyn
Cover of the book The Secret Life of Josephine by Susanne Alleyn
Cover of the book Highlander Imagine: Beyond Infinity by Susanne Alleyn
Cover of the book Nessun luogo. Da nessuna parte by Susanne Alleyn
Cover of the book Supertsar by Susanne Alleyn
Cover of the book Who Shot the Water Buffalo? by Susanne Alleyn
Cover of the book Uncertain Glory by Susanne Alleyn
Cover of the book The Countess's Mistress (Pirates of Flaundia #3) by Susanne Alleyn
Cover of the book The 13th: Ineluctable Fate by Susanne Alleyn
Cover of the book Schloß Hubertus by Susanne Alleyn
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy