Y’all, The Women of Chateau Lafayette is a special book! This epic saga, tells the story of one extraordinary French castle- weaving together the story of three different women and three wars!

I am blown away by the amount of research Stephanie Dray must have done to write this book! It’s brilliant, powerful and breathtaking. Adrienne, Beatrice, and Marthe were each amazing characters that believed themselves as capable as men and then put in the work to prove it! I highly recommend this one to all lovers of historical fiction!

Many thanks to Stephanie Dray, Berkley Publishing Group, and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. It publishes on March 30, 2021.

Throughout history, women have often been thought of as soft and mushy, unnecessary in the building of history or nations. In this extraordinary work of historical fiction, Dray sets the record straight! The ladies associated with Lafayette’s chateau are nothing soft and mushy. They are formidable, brazen, and stouthearted world changers! Adrienne, Beatrice, and Marthe were women willing to sacrifice, resist, and fight. And while I love a fictitious, well written, strong female protagonist, the best part of this novel is that two of our heroines are indeed based on real individuals and the third is crafted from factual information. Real women that made a real impact on history with a fascinating connection and colorful lives.

In this novel, we see countries in strife, fighting for freedom and justice. Rather than look at the men in the forefront, we are allowed a glimpse at the heart of the mission. Three eras. Three wars. Three women who believed themselves as capable as the men. And with their influence, we see justice and humanity prevail.

Dray expertly executes this complicated storyline, weaving the fight for freedom and decency through each character and timeline with an exquisite turn of a phrase. Not only did I come to know each lady as if she were a friend, I also felt deeply at home in the chateau itself. The past echoed through the stones of the castle through the words Dray used to craft its modest splendor.

You’d think delving into the history of three eras and artfully intertwining them would be enough for any author to undertake. But Dray doesn’t stop there. This novel is a discourse on many things beyond the fight for freedom. Dray also looks at the inner workings of marriage, the ramifications of infidelity, the desperation of loss, and the cost of sacrifice. They aren’t merely side notes either. These themes are well done.

To read this book is to dedicate yourself to it. It is a dense book with a depth of richly researched history. While the immensity of the history and details can be a bit overwhelming at times, I found the novel to be well worth the investment. I particularly appreciated the Author’s Notes at the end which indicated Dray’s dedication to maintaining historical accuracy. She also outlines the liberties undertaken in order to best manage the storyline as a whole.

This novel was brilliantly executed and is a testament to the power of devoted women.

Many thanks to Stephanie Dray, Berkley Publishing Group, and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Going into this novel, I was simply expecting a novel about three women in Paris at different points in time and how Chateau Lafayette effected their lives. On the surface, that was what received. But I also received a novel of three incredibly strong, resilient women who would let nothing hold them back from fighting for what they believed.

The Women of Chateau Lafayette shares the story of Adrienne Lafayette in 1774 as she becomes her husband’s political partner in the fight for America’s independence and then the French Revolution. She also shares the story with Beatrice Astor Chanler, a 1914 American socialite who is inspired by Lafayette to urge America to support France in World War One. Finally, They’re joined by Marthe Simone, a French school teacher, who would rather avoid the war if she could, but ends up defending France in her own way.

While The Women of Chateau Lafayette was a bit long in some spots, it kept me engaged for the majority of the book. I also loved the fact that both Adrienne and Beatrice were in fact real women who fought for what they believed in. And while Marthe was an invention of Dray, she still came alive as a character.

An amazing story of three women from three different wars you will never forget. The research was extraordinary and it is so beautifully written.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

My first connection with 'LaFayette' was through the musical Hamilton and his role in the American Revolution. Thank goodness that my love for author Stephanie Dray leads me to read The Women of Chateau Lafayette and discover more about the man but also about the amazing woman who supported him through his growth and helped build his legacy. As well, the women and communities were inspired by both Gilbert du Motier and his wife Adrienne de Noailles.

Author Stephanie Dray has created a narrative that begins in August 1939 with the character Marthe, an orphan working at Lafayette Memorial Foundation in Chavaniac, the ancestral home of General Lafayette, and then weaves in the stories and times of Adrienne de Noailles (1774) and Beatrice Chancler (1914). All three women are on both the brisk of difficult times - revolution (French) and war (1st and 2nd). Stephanie Dray creates a timeline with the three stories that enlighten, intrigue, inspire, and challenge the reader.

I love that I learn more about history, that I discover the lives of women who supported those around them. This is a book 'I could not put down'. I was excited to read more, discover more, learn more, and feel more. I miss the characters and wish I could visit and connect with them. I know that when I visit France I shall be adding new locations to my itinerary to celebrate the characters and to travel in their steps. Wonderful

Women of three eras defended Chateau de Chavaniac [Lafayette's home] from rebel crowds of the 18th century to the 20th century world wars. This tells the sotry of Marthe of WW II, of Adrienne, Lafayette's wife, and of Beatrice, an American who set up the Chateau as a place to receive orphan children of WW I.
This is a well woven tale of these three women and their influence on political events. They are loyal and fierce each in their own way.
Stephanie Dray made them come alive in her writings. The descriptions of the times, the feelings of these women, and their loyalities are well represented.
Definitely read.

Actually would say 4.5 stars!

Thank you to netgalley.com and the publisher for this ARC.

I loved this book telling the story of a castle in France from three different time periods and three different women including Adrienne Lafayette (wife of the famous Lafayette from Hamilton!), a woman who was married to an Astor family member, and a fictional woman. The story takes place during the French Revolution, WWI, and WWII. As a historical fiction lover, this book checked off a lot of boxes. The house being the central thing that tied all the stories together.

I have to admit, I read the author's book about Eliza Hamilton and was not thrilled but this book was excellent. I felt that it was well researched and believable. There are undercurrents of romance but they are not the main plot of the book.

Highly recommend this!

I appreciate Net Galley and Berkley Publishing Group for an advance digital review copy. This is my honest review. Historical Fiction is my favorite genre. When I saw this book was available to request, I couldn't request it fast enough. This is the story of three amazing women who live during different wartime periods. I've read several books with two characters existing at different time periods, but never three and Stephanie Dray pulls it off flawlessly. Adrienne is the wife of Lafayette, who I only know from his fighting in the Revolutionary War. He and Adrienne, who part of the story is about, are key to the French Revolution. Beatrice Chanler is married to Willie Astor Chanler sees the trauma the French people are experiencing during World War I and starts the Lafayette fund to raise money for humanitarian aid and to send supplies to the soldiers. She eventually purchases the Chateau de Chavaniac, the estate previously belonging to the Lafayette family and starts a school, orphanage, and hospital. Marthe is a young woman raised at the Chateau who becomes a teacher there. She is an orphan and hides Jewish children and aids freedom fighters during World War II at the Chateau.

The story is beautifully written as the three women's stories intertwine. This is a must read for Spring!

WOW! This is every bit the sweeping epic that it has been advertised as. Dray delivers three powerful women who compel the reader to live, love, rebel, defy and succeed right along with them. The author could easily have separated these three narratives into separate books. By combining them though Dray is able to use the Chateau as the symbolic nucleus for the story. Adrienne and Beatrice's stories are by far the strongest out of the three. Each character's personality is distinctly different from the other which is oftentimes not the case when an author uses multiple perspectives. The strength exuded by each woman is a testament to the strength that we are all capable of in times of need. Yes the book is long but it is an utterly compelling read. Anyone who loves strong female characters, well researched historical fiction, and books that shed light on otherwise unknown or forgotten women in history will love this book.

Stephanie Dray is one of my go-to authors, first introduced to with her Cleopatra's Daughter Series I quickly recognized her to be an author with a great respect for history.

The Women of Chateau Lafayette is an epic saga coming in at 576 pages that tells the story of 3 women set during three different wars with the common thread of a Chateau. Although I found Marthe's story a little slow at the beginning it didn't take long until I was absorbed in each of these narratives. Each of these women were unique but all were flawed, determined and authentic. They had a story to tell of heartache, compassion and love.

As usual I was drawn to the past (1774) story, mainly because my knowledge of Lafayette is limited to the musical Hamilton, I loved hearing his story through his wife Adrienne - but it was really her story. Getting to know them made the connecting thread all the more meaningful.

The book concludes with some wonderful author notes that I found just as interesting. It's evident that author spent a lot of time researching which showed in her writing.

Stephanie Dray is an author I highly recommend as is The Women of Chateau Lafayette, which hits bookstore March 30th and available for preorder now.

My thanks to Berkley Publishing (via Netgalley) for this digital ARC
in exchange for an honest review.

The best historical fiction both entertains and informs. This book certainly rates high on both counts. Following 3 women through 3 wars in France, we learn just how strong and influential women can be, even when they were never told this was possible.

Lafayette we are here! And we are still reading about you!

Thirty-six American cities and towns are named after for Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette -- the best-known being Fayetteville, N.C., and Lafayette, La. Countless streets, parks and counties also honor the French aristocrat who left his country at age 19 to enlist with George Washington in the American Revolution and helped win the war for America. I happen to live very near a Lafayette Township. I was eager to refresh my grade school knowledge of “America’s Fighting Frenchman”.

Actually, the new historical fiction book, The Women of Chateau Lafayette, is more about your wife, Adrienne, also of noble French birth and also a hero! Three women share their incredible stories about three wars in this epic saga. Adrienne lived during the American Revolution and the French Revolution. Beatrice Chanler, also a real and equally inspiring woman lived during World War 1. And World War II features the story of Marthe, a fictional character and composite of brave resistors, and the true story of the Chateau of Lafayette’s mission of service.

The stories of these “founding mothers” are told in alternating sections. Both Adrienne and Beatrice had such amazing and brave lives that I stopped reading at one point to see how much of this was really factual. (The author provides much background information about her diligent research at the end of the book.) Solid information, letters, and historical pieces are available about Adrienne, and through the author’s exhaustive efforts, much more information about the real Beatrice Chanler, society maven and exemplary do-gooder, is featured.

This is a story where the truth is more powerful than fiction! Adrienne and Beatrice were incredible- true to their missions, and true to themselves. They loved their families, their countries, and all who yearn for liberty and freedom. Although it is a long book, over 500 pages, it is well worth the read. The author makes the history, and her in-depth research fresh and larger-than-life.

Thanks to Net Galley and Berkley Publishing Group for an advance digital review copy. This is my honest review.

I absolutely love historical fiction and I was so glad to be able to review an advanced copy! The story covers the lives of three remarkable women across three wars. I found myself deeply invested in these characters. I had no idea about the impact that Adrienne Lafayette made on the American and French Revolutions. The courage and self-sacrifice of all three women was inspiring. This book had elements that I loved in the Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel about the role artists and forgers played in helping Jewish children escape. If you enjoyed that title you will equally love this book. This book may be even more ambitious because it covered the travels between American and France and the complicated relationship between these two countries during the wars. I would love to visit France to visit the real chateau one day because she describes the home and countryside so perfectly in this novel. This was my first book by Stephanie Dray, Author , but not my last. I look forward to reading America's First Daughter and My Dear Hamilton. I would also recommend that viewers follow Stephanie Dray on Facebook because she offers answers to "Question of History" and links to great videos and articles to help you learn more about Marquis de Lafayette and Adrienne Lafayette. One of the reasons I know I found a true gem of an author and a book is that I want to learn more! She makes historical figures come alive in her novels. Highly, highly recommend! I also can't wait to follow some of her author talks.

Stephanie Dray does such a great story of bringing this story to life. Her research is impeccable but never overshadows the tale she is telling. Powerful and absorbing. Excellent!

As a fan of historical fiction, with a particular fondness for all things France, I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. Three strong female characters, each set in different time periods, provide the extraordinary history of the Marques de Lafayette. From the 1774 fight for independence, to the 1914 war, and then to the Nazi occupation in the 1940s, this story shares some of the powerful roles women had in history. The author manages to weave these stories together in a beautiful and magnificent way, and I simply did not want this book to end. I also appreciated the author’s research notes and found they added to my overall love of this book. Five golden stars.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for providing me the opportunity to read and review this book.

I received a free e-ARC from Netgalley.
This is quite the epic historical fiction spanning 3 women's lives and how they intersect or are inspired by each other. It was long, but good. Men are often the ones that history books focus on, but these women were each heroines during their time as well. I appreciated the author's explanation of what was actually true or not at the conclusion of the book since I am often left wondering that myself.

Stephanie Dray’s talent for historical fiction is well spent on this handsome tale featuring three women who occupy the Chateau Lafayette, the ancestral home which once belong to the famed Marquis and his wife, Adrienne, which goes through many changes over the centuries.

Marthe Simone is an aspiring artist living in the early 1940s.  Having missed out on a scholarship to study abroad, she has accepted a proposal of marriage from her childhood friend, Henri, and is now stuck in France, living and working at a school located at the Chateau Lafayette, which has been transformed into a place of refuge for orphans and – secretly – Jewish children seeking protection from the Nazis.

Marthe had been in denial about the notion of Hitler attacking France, but with the country in the thick of battle and Henri in a PoW camp, she can no longer allow herself the callow comfort of her illusions.  Firmly dedicated to protecting the young children living at the chateau no matter what happens, she still yearns for one thing – to discover her roots, and hopefully meet her birth parents.  And so Marthe, as she runs across evidence that she might have a living mother, must decide if she’s willing to risk her life to discover the truth – or if her mother falsified the records.

Adrienne, Marquise de Lafayette, was not quite the saint the baroness running the museum-slash-shelter believes.  Actively questioning religion as a young girl (and questioning throughout the hard times she faces, even though she does find succor in faith eventually), she possesses a quick mind and falls in love with the marquis’ charm. Her upbringing does not prepare her for life as a revolutionary politician’s wife, but Adrienne adapts.  They are married when she’s only fourteen, and while she must figure out her place at the court of Marie Antoinette, battle a king and a father who want her to repudiate her husband, deal with the death of one of their daughters, nasty rumors, her husband’s frequent and long absences, the confiscation of their home, and imprisonment under the Jacobian and pre-Napoleon governments.  Their love endures through two wars and the threat of an appointment with Madame la Guillotine during the Revolution.

Former Broadway actress, frequent tabloid scandal subject and society matron Beatrice Astor Chanler stands at the cusp of World War I.  Her marriage to her playboy husband,  Willie -  injured in what the public’s been told was a boxing accident - has begun to crumble.  He openly has a mistress and has spent years gallivanting about the globe, leaving Beatrice alone with their two children and disapproving family.  Waiting for Willie to recover from surgery, Beatrice soon becomes involved in forming the Lafayette Fund, which will support the war effort, defying America’s intent to remain neutral.  Separating from her husband, she becomes involved with a handsome captain who is determined to deliver supplies to the allied side.

How Beatrice relates to Marthe, Adrienne to the both of them, and all three of them to the chateau, I shall leave the reader to enjoy.  Indeed, the beautifully braided narrative is a feature and not a bug for The Women of the Chateau Lafayette, which wraps the reader up in its beautiful research and smart storylines.

My favorite among the women was definitely Beatrice, who was brave and vulnerable, fearless and tender.  Marthe came off as too reckless and softhearted, but that fit her age and she grows beautifully, and Adrienne grows into a smart mother lion over time.  Dray, as always, knows how to pace her heroines’ journeys

Only she could pull off such heavy research and do it so well, and thus the entire volume is beautifully cohesive and balanced.  The book does not shy away from violence and bloodshed, and readers should be aware that there is much gore between the book’s covers.  But that shouldn’t dissuade you from sinking in to it.

Each woman has a complicated romantic life, and I most liked Adrienne and Lafayette’s romance, which was fond and sweet even in the heat of battle.

Overall, The Women of the Chateau Lafayette is a must-read novel that will entertain and inspire.

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Great book! Stephanie Dray's writing is riveting and I have never read anything about Lafayette's wife, so, it was interesting to hear about a new, dynamic character!

The Women of Chateau LaFayette is told from the views of 3 different extraordinary women as they face war and upheaval in their time. Adrienne in 1774, Beatrice in 1914, and finally Marthe in 1940. All of these women’s stories meld beautifully into one book that spans France’s darkest days and is a must read for any historical fiction lover.

Inspirational. Beautiful. Courageous. Words that describe this book and the women who live inside its pages.

Adrienne

During the American and French Revolutions, Adrienne Lafayette didn’t just stand by her man, she used every means and sacrifice at her disposal to fight for his safety and for the ideals of liberty, equality and freedom that they both shared.

Beatrice

During the Great War, Mrs. William Astor Chanler parlays her husband’s wealth and reputation into drumming up American support for a European war that was tearing up its allies. Her efforts ultimately culminate in the purchase of the Lafayette family castle, Chavaniac, and its transformation into a museum to the Lafayette legacy, an orphanage and hospital for displaced children, and a monument in celebration of American-French relations.

Marthe

During World War II once again Chavaniac is a safe haven not only to school children of Occupied France, but to resistance fighters and to Jewish children hunted by the Gestapo. The examples set by Chavaniac’s most famous chatelaine lives on in the bravery of the women who have taken up her mantle in defence of liberty, equality and freedom.

Honestly, it took me longer than usual to get into this book, but once I did, the effort was completely worthwhile. It is essentially three biographies rolled into one, and told simultaneously as three interwoven threads. Thus, each heroine’s story is continually interrupted but another’s and often (usually) at a cliffhanging point.

My favourite of the three is Adrienne. Married at the age of sixteen to the equally young and idealistic Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, Adrienne Lafayette demonstrated great love, ingenuity, faith and honour in all her actions. History remembers her as the mother of two nations. The hero Lafayette remembered her as his “dear heart”. Their love story is poignant and memorable.

The Women of Chateau Lafayette is an absolutely amazing must-read women’s historical fiction. I would give it more than 5 stars if I could!