The Blue, by Nancy Bilyeau, is a book about the search for a perfect shade of blue, to be used on porcelain. It’s an unusual subject, but an intriguing one as the book progresses, all about the porcelain wars of the 18th century between England and France. Magic of History is the latest stop on its blog tour.
Genevieve Planche, the heroine, is caught in the middle of both worlds. She is the descendant of French Hugeonots living in England, a Protestant sect reviled in France and its adherents forced to emigrate. But she still carries the “taint” of being French, and her desire to become a painter runs counter to what the expectations for women were at the time.
Written in present tense, The Blue shows Genevieve begin work at a porcelain factory in Derby England, and fall in love with a man she has been sent to investigate. Period detail is rich, and historical research is evident.
According to Goodreads:,
When Genevieve meets the charming Sir Gabriel Courtenay, he offers her an opportunity she can’t refuse; if she learns the secrets of porcelain, he will send her to Venice. But in particular, she must learn the secrets of the color blue…
The ensuing events take Genevieve deep into England’s emerging industrial heartlands, where not only does she learn about porcelain, but also about the art of industrial espionage.
With the heart and spirit of her Huguenot ancestors, Genevieve faces her challenges head on, but how much is she willing to suffer in pursuit and protection of the colour blue?
Credit-Siren-Com [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], from Wikimedia Commons
Nancy Bilyeau has worked on the staffs of InStyle, DuJour, Rolling Stone, Entertainment Weekly, and Good Housekeeping. She is currently the deputy editor of the Center on Media, Crime and Justice at City University of New York and a regular contributor to Town & Country, Purist, and The Vintage News.
A native of the Midwest, she earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan. THE CROWN, her first novel and an Oprah pick, was published in 2012; the sequel, THE CHALICE, followed in 2013. The third in the trilogy, THE TAPESTRY, was published by Touchstone in 2015. Her fourth novel, THE BLUE, will be publishing on December 3, 2018.
Nancy lives in New York City with her husband and two children.
Her website is http://nancybilyeau.com/
Ten copies of the book are being given away on Good Reads at this link.Deadline is December 1, 2018.
