Book Review: The French Wife by Diney Costeloe*

The French Wife published by Head of Zeus and written by Diney Costeloe is about two girls in 19th century rural France.

Annette works below stairs. Hélène is a daughter of the house. As children on the mean streets of Paris, they went through more together than anyone must ever guess and they share a secret to be kept at all costs.

The book starts off with Madame Agathe Sauze who works as a housekeeper with young Annette at the Clergy House. But when the old priest dies, Madame Agathe is asked to leave and young Annette stays on to care for the younger priest. She soon finds herself in much danger and has to escape.

With the help of Madame Agathe, she is soon reunited with her friend Hélène whom she met during the terrible events of the 1871 siege of Paris.  Annette is given a job with Madame Rosalie St Clair (Hélène’s mother) at her country house in return for lodging as Madame Rosalie is short of staff due to her daughter’s wedding.

But Annette is hiding a dangerous secret, which Hélène has promised to keep at all costs. Meanwhile, Hélène herself has begun to fall in love with a young English nobleman called Rupert Chalfont whom she cannot marry. And must marry a man she cannot love. A man she is beginning to suspect is both cruel and dangerous…how will this all end?

What did I think of the book?

I thoroughly enjoyed immersing myself in the book as I learnt more about the life of the French and English high society people who have wealth as well as those who are employed by them.

I loved how the story moved between England and France and the blossoming love story between Rupert and Hélène and wondered if it was ever to be on many an occasion due to Rupert’s reputation and the tragedy that befalls his family.  I was left heartbroken when things took a turn for the worse especially with Rupert’s family were not keen on him having a French wife, nevertheless, the story ends well and love prevails in the end.

I did not realise that the book is a sequel to a previous novel titled Children of the Seige and wondered why no more explanation was given about what happened to the children when they were young.  Nevertheless, it was a great standalone book and easy to read by itself.

This is my first book of Diney Costeloe but I assure you, it won’t be my last. She is such a gifted writer who has the ability to draw you into her story. I found myself being connected to the characters as Costeloe has a gift for bringing them to life that I soon found myself rooting for my favourite characters and quickly disliked some others.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this historical romance book which speaks of love, betrayal and reconciliation and can’t wait to start reading Costeloe’s other books.

Where can you buy The French Wife and how much is the book? 

The hardback copy retails for £12.94 while the paperback copy for £2 from Amazon, but please check for the recent price as this may change.

I have also used the Rechargeable Clip Book Light (see above photo) to help me read at night. This bendable mini clip easily clips to the book and comes with 2 brightness. Easily rechargeable via USB, this book light retails for £20 from Menkind.

About the Author

Diney Costeloe, an author who writes under two names.  Diney Delancey writing romantic novels while Diney Costeloe writing 20th Century Historical novels. She is the daughter of a London publisher, and was always encouraged by her father to write from a young age.

Her children are all grown up and married now and she is a grandmother 7 times over, but she still love to write, encouraged by her long-suffering husband…and even when they travel, which they do quite a lot, she always take my laptop with her.

About the book

Author : Diney Costeloe
Publisher : Head of Zeus
ISBN : 978-1789543292
Number of pages : 416 pages
Format : Hardback

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* We were given a copy of the book in return for a feature. All opinions are our own.