I hate being in the minority (on the negative side) for a book that is getting so much love. I thought this was much too long and that the three story lines were maybe one too many. But her writing style was great and easy to read.

Wow! The Women of Chateau Lafayette by Stephanie Dray is a long book rich in details and historical facts. Make sure you have time to really dig into this fantastic piece of Historical Fiction before you crack the cover or start up your eReader.

At first I was a bit overwhelmed by all the people and places since I really don’t know much about France during 1774, but after a few chapters Dray’s style of writing allows the reader to quickly grasp the facts and names of the time period. And Dray’s ability to make the history of all three time periods come alive really is astounding. You can tell that Dray really delves into the subject matter that she writes about, as shown time and time again with her previous historical fiction books that have received lots of recognition.

If you love historical fiction, you’ve probably already read books by Dray, and have this one on your TBR. But even if you don’t read a lot of this genre I would still highly recommend giving The Women of Chateau Lafayette a try since Dray is a master at her craft.

Stephanie Dray bit off a lot when she chose to write this book. She did an excellent job weaving three separate stories together. First there is Adienne de Lafayette during the American and French Revolutions. Beatric Chanier’s World War I story is told as is the fictional Mart Simone during World War II. At times I wished that instead of focusing on all three, Dray told each story as part of a trilogy. I continually was confused at the World War stories. “How can you go to Paris? The Nazis will get you—oh wait a minute, this part is about World War II.” The book is slow but interesting reading.

3 women, all with very different lives, but with the same goal - protect the Chateau Lafayette. This was an interesting read, sweeping through different time periods to paint a full picture, and keeping the reader engaged. Follow these three women as they fight to protect the Chateau, and learn a little more about themselves in the process.

Three women, three different times all living within the life of strength. They each have taken roles of protecting and keeping Chateau Lafayette. This was a beautifully told story of how even in different times there can be so many similarities to how they live and survive .

Great characters in the multiple timelines of this book, all incredibly strong women. Some actual figures from history. Definitely a hard-to-put-down title. Thank you NetGalley.

This books follows three story lines. The first, beginning in 1774, is Adrienne, the wife of American hero and French patriot Lafayette. The second, set during WWI, is Beatrice, a woman who does everything she can to raise money and support the troops. The third, Marthe, takes place over WWII, as Marthe learns how to survive and secretly fight back. What ties together the women is Chateau Lafayette, a home, crumbling mansion, orphanage, and sanatorium.

This was an absolutely fascinating book. I was instantly captivated and found it very hard to put down. The three story lines worked really well together. The characters were well rounded and dynamic. Overall, 5 out of 5 stars.

Lafayette was also just someone in history I knew about but I love that this took us to France and showed us what that side of the world was like during the time. I thought Stephanie Day's ability to put us in that time period without writing in such a way that the reader wouldn't understand was remarkable. I want to read more from this author in the future.

What an historical epic! I am so impressed that this book is based on the actual Castle in France. I was familiar with Lafayette as students are taught peripherally about the French statesman in history classes. Yet, I wasn't familiar with what I learned from this book.
The juxtaposition of the 3 brave women portrayed and the Chateau Lafayette was so uniquely crafted. The range of historical ages, from the 1700's through World War II added such depth to the goings-on. What was especially interesting was the description of the womens' heroism, at the times when womens' role were anything but.
The part I found myself most caught up with involved the story of Marthe and how she provided the stranglehold on the Nazi perpetrators.
The author brought life to the Chateau through the lives of her characters. The story was fascinating, the tension always there and, thanks to those 3 brave women, justice was pursued and delivered. Totally absorbing read!

If your knowledge of the Marquis de Lafayette starts and ends with the musical phenomenon Hamilton, you’re going to be thoroughly enlightened and engaged.

The Women of Chateau Lafayette spans three time periods and three wars. It focuses on three powerful women who demonstrated independence, bravery and love – Adrienne de Noailles, wife of the Marquis, Beatrice Astor Chanler and Marthe Simone. The main setting for this sweeping story is Chateau de Chavaniac, the ancestral home of Gilbert du Motier (the Marquis) – later called Chateau Lafayette.

While in their teens, Gilbert and Adrienne marry. Several years later, Gilbert travels to America, aids in the American Revolution, is befriended by George Washington and returns to France a hero. Adrienne’s strength is tested as the French Revolution progresses and their lives are threatened. She seeks refuge at the Chateau.

Beatrice Astor Chanler, a woman of mysterious beginnings, decides not to live the life of a pampered New York socialite while her wealthy husband lives a life of adventure. While visiting France at the start of WWI and being moved by the plight of the soldiers, she returns to America and starts preparing care packages and raising funds for the men at war. She eventually relocates to France to convert Chavaniac into a hospital (preventorium) for children and a home for war orphans.

Marthe Simone is one of the children raised at the castle. Now a grown woman and living at Chavaniac as a teacher, she uses her artist skills to falsify documents and hide Jewish children from the Nazis during WWII. As an orphan, she is searching for her true identity.

This is a long book (close to 600 pages) and with so many characters and time periods, a slower than normal read. But don’t let that keep you from this wonderful book. It is truly an epic saga. Adrienne and Beatrice are historical figures and Marthe is fictional although the heroism that took place during WWII at the Chateau did occur. Lafayette would have been proud. Author Stephanie Dray weaves together a well-researched, exceptional story that historical fiction fans should love.

The unbroken spirit of the Lafayettes lives on through World War One, and World War Two. A great historical fiction for women’s history month, as we follow the strong women through their battles while their men are on the front lines.

I received a free electronic ARC of this historical novel from Netgalley, Stephanie Dray, and Berkley Press. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me. I have read this novel of my own volition, and this review reflects my honest opinion of this work. Stephanie Dray breathes life and heart into these characters, many modeled on historical figures from this place, this time.

We visit Chateau LaFayette in Chavaniac, France in three different time periods, and watch as it is transformed from a pastoral feudal retreat, large but not grand, into a self-sufficient preventorium and school housing many many children, many of them orphans, away from the death and destruction of war-torn Europe.

In 1774 gently-bred noblewoman Adrienne Lafayette and her husband, the Marquis de Lafayette, are actively supporting the French government's support and backing in the fight for American independence.

With Europe embroiled in The Great War in 1914, we follow New York socialite Beatrice Chanler who, after witnessing the devastation in France firsthand, takes on a reluctant President Wilson and faces the burden of convincing America to repay the French who backed our own independence by coming to their aid as the Nazis strip France of its resources, it's laws, it's pride, and it's people.

In 1940 French artist Marthe Simone, an orphan raised at the school in Chavaniac and now teaching there has an orphan's self-reliance and wants nothing to do with war. But as the realities of the Nazi occupation transform her life even in the isolated castle where she came of age, she understands that France under any other form of government would never again be home. Only with the heart and grit of every Frenchman left can France survive and recover.

Writing a book with three different timelines would be a difficult task, but the massive amount of research involved in producing this work of historical fiction is evident in the intensity of the stories. All three timelines take place around the castle of Chavaniac, where Lafayette grew up. The first timeline starts in the late 1700’s, featuring Adrienne Lafayette, the wife of the famous patriot who assisted in the American Revolution, and then back in France. Adrienne herself was a strong, determined woman, providing the support Lafayette needed to survive. Beatrice’s story takes place during WWI, where her humble beginnings do not stop her from marrying wealth, and then using that wealth to assist on getting President Wilson to enter the war. Beatrice purchases Lafayette’s birthplace and converts Chavaniac into a place orphaned and sick children can be housed. The only true fictional character is Marthe, who during WWII, works at the preventorium at Chavaniac for children with tuberculosis and other illnesses. Marthe’s bravery helps save Jewish children from the Gestapo roundups. The details around Marthe’s story are true, and the author did an admirable job fitting the story together. Although it took me a bit to get all the characters straight, the stories told were fascinating, and I highly recommend this book for fans of historical fiction. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

A marvelously expansive look at three women throughout three wars.

Phew, this was a hefty read! I am always in awe of historical fiction authors and the amount of research they dive into, but this was one of the most impressively expansive reads so far. The author takes us into the lives of the magnificently real Adrienne Lafayette during the founding of America and through the French Revolution and Beatrice Chanler through the First World War. Then, a fictional third perspective shows the legacy of the two women: Marthe, an orphaned French woman during the Second World War who teaches at the orphanage she grew up in - which happens to be the organization Beatrice founded and the standing remains of Lafayette’s castle.

Tying together these three huge eras of bloodshed and fear and showcasing women who were all so different and yet fought hard to make a difference was an amazing feat to read. And the overarching theme of the Lafayette’s and their fight for freedom was done beautifully.

My ONE con with this read was that it felt too long. Everything was important, but I felt some things could have been skipped or condensed because I had a hard time getting through the length.

All in all, a spectacular piece of historical fiction that I think will be a favorite with many HF readers!

"The Women of Chateau Lafayette" is historical fiction set in France (and America) during three different time periods: The French Revolution, World War I, and World War II. I think I would've enjoyed reading a biography of Adrienne Lafayette more than this since much of her part was shared as a summary of her life with a few scenes thrown in. She's a very interesting and heroic woman. Beatrice Astor Chanler made a huge difference during WW I, and it felt like she was the main story, drawing inspiration from Lafayette and setting in motion events that motivated the third woman during WW II. But Marthe Simone wasn't very likable, though she became more so as she found a cause (saving Jewish children by creating fake IDs) during WW II.

Historical details about the wars were woven into the story and brought the time periods alive in my imagination. Although we learned about the women's work, most of the scenes seemed to focus on strained relationships and scandals. Lafayette took a mistress. Beatrice had an affair. Marthe desired to passionately kiss her female best friend while she was engaged to a soldier (and her friend was married to a soldier) in a POW camp.

Most of the sex scenes were only briefly referred to, but there were a couple of detailed descriptions of Marthe and her husband having sex. There was occasional use of American bad language along with some bad language in French. Overall, the writing was good, but I only really engaged with the struggles of one of the characters. It's a long book if you're not really interested in two-thirds of what was going on.

Dray is a successful American author of many historical fiction novels such as "My Dear Hamilton" and "America's First Daughter". This new release is also an historical fiction. Extremely well researched, it is set mostly at the Chateau Lafayette located in Chavaniac France, which is now a museum and open to the public. It follows the life of two real women and one who is the creation of the author's imagination. During the late 1700's, we follow the life of Adrienne de Noailles, the wife of Gilbert Lafayette. Lafayette is known as a hero of the American revolution and his ideals helped lead to the French revolution and he was born at the Chateau. Fans of the musical Hamilton may recognize his name. During World War I, we follow the life of Beatrice Chanler. She was the wife of a wealthy man and organised a fund to purchase the Chateau to be used as a home for war orphans and sick children. During World War II the Chateau continued to be used as a children's home and school and was used to hide Jewish children. Unable to verify who did what during that time, the author created the character of Marthe, who risks her life to help the resistance. Although Marthe was not real, many of the events portrayed did actually happen. This is a novel about strong, determined women and includes an element of romance. It is a wonderful recommendation for fans of the genre and I really enjoyed it.

The Women of Chateau Lafayette by Stephanie Dray covers an incredible span of historical ground from the American and French Revolutions to World War I and World War II. The lives of Adrienne Lafayette, Beatrice Chanler, and Marthe Simone are all connected through the life and legacy of the famed French hero Lafayette.

American & French Revolutions- Adrienne Lafayette was a woman far ahead of her time who spoke up for the voiceless during the French Revolution and bravely confronted injustice even in the face of certain death. Her story is incredible and is one that I sadly had no knowledge of prior to reading this novel. Though her husband is credited with championing for the rights and freedoms of the French after becoming a war hero in the American Revolution, Adrienne is a hero in her own right as well. She continually put herself at great risk for the cause of the French people and for her family. Her devotion to family and nation are truly admirable and worthy of recognition.

WWI- Beatrice Chanler is a former actress who became a woman of great status when she married her wealthy American husband. Beatrice combines her tenacity and her family’s influence to create the Lafayette Fund to raise funds for the French effort in World War I and to convince the American public to join the French and British to defeat the Axis Powers. Along the way, Beatrice confronts many obstacles, but remains stalwart in her convictions that she is making a difference.

WWII- Marthe Simone is an artist yearning to leave behind the Lafayette Castle where she grew up as an orphan, but coming up against societal expectations that are at odds with her dreams for the future. Once the war begins she finds herself with an important skill set that will require great sacrifice and risk in order to save the lives of children.

The stories of the women of Chateau Lafayette are all interwoven in the history of the Lafayette estate which is very much a character in itself. This castle was the birthplace of the famed Marquis de Lafayette and was preserved by the bravery of Adrienne Lafayette during the tumultuous French Revolution. Beatrice plays a pivotal role in honoring the legacy of the Lafayettes when she establishes the Lafayette Fund and later purchases the property to begin a school and hospital for French children.

I was completely invested in the stories of each of these three brave women and loved making note of the myriad threads of connection throughout the novel. A cherished trinket will show up in multiple generations, paying homage to its original owner or a particular location will host multiple pivotal moments in time over the course of the novel. Historical fiction readers will be pleased with the author’s research and attention to detail in this beautiful story of resilience. I highly recommend this one! Many thanks to Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Pardon my French, but this book is a goddamn masterpiece of historical fiction. It’s positively epic. A tour de force coming in at just under 600 pages, but I was hanging on every word.

It’s based on the true story of a castle located in the heart of France – Chavaniac, the ancestral home of the Marquis de Lafayette. Through the centuries, we see how the chateau shaped the destinies of three extraordinary women.

Adrienne Lafayette:
In the years leading up to the American Revolution, she willingly serves as her husband’s political partner in the fight for American independence and for a constitutional monarchy in France. But as the monarchy fails and the French Revolution erupts, she faces losing everything she holds dear.

Beatrice Chanler:
A glittering New York socialite, Beatrice is a force of nature, daunted by nothing--not her humble beginnings, her crumbling marriage, or the outbreak of World War I. But after witnessing the devastation in France firsthand, Beatrice takes action, both by supporting the soldiers in France and by establishing a home for displaced and sick children at Chavaniac.

Marthe Simone:
A former resident and current schoolteacher at Chavaniac, twenty-something Marthe has an orphan's self-reliance. But as the realities of Nazi occupation transform her life in the isolated castle, she makes a discovery that calls into question who she is, and more importantly, who she is willing to become.

I was so impressed by how the author wove together all these stories spanning the centuries. Adrienne Lafayette and Beatrice Chanler are both real historical figures, and Marthe is a composite of several women at Chavaniac who played a role in the French Resistance. I cannot recommend this book enough! It comes out on March 30 – mark your calendars!

The Women of Château Lafayette is a sweeping saga that showcases the strength and tenacity of three women who each have a connection to the Château de Chavaniac, an imposing castle in France with a compelling history of its own.

The story spans three different eras -- the French Revolution, WWI and WWII and is told by three women. The first is Adrienne, the wife of the Marquis de Lafayette (you may remember Gilbert Lafayette from the Broadway hit Hamilton) whose story line takes place in the 1770's leading up to the French Revolution. The second is Beatrice Chanler, a chorus girl turned socialite turned social activist in WWI, and the third is Marthe, a fictional character in the 1940's who grew up at the Château de Chavaniac as an orphan and later became a teacher at a preventorium housed at the Château. Each of these women captured my attention in different ways - from Beatrice’s humour and strength to Adrienne's devotion and fight for American and French independence, to Marthe's experiences living under Nazi control and the mystery of her parentage. This is an impressive trio.

This is a big book (I'm not gonna lie) and there's a lot going on. The story spans 200 years, two world wars and one revolution and, at times, following three POVs in three eras was a bit confusing. The story had its ups and downs and even though I'm a fast reader, I found this was a deceptively long read with the story occasionally dragging due to excessive details and dialogue, particularly in the middle of the book.

But I loved that I learned a lot from this book, namely the characters of Adrienne and Beatrice, and I particularly liked how Dray addresses why the US delayed their entry into both world wars. As a granddaughter of a Canadian veteran of WWII, I appreciated getting a better understanding of why the US waited so long to join the Allied forces in the wars.

Overall, this is an impressive story that showcases the varied and important roles women played in the fight for freedom that are not often detailed in historical texts. This is a compelling story filled with intrigue, danger and history told by a tenacious trio of women who showed bravery and perseverance despite the adversity and danger they faced.

Disclaimer: My sincere thanks to Berkley Publishing Group for my complimentary advanced copy via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

In her author's note and throughout the book, Dray talks about the "Spirit of Lafayette," which, even as an American history major, I'm ashamed to know I knew very little about until reading this book. Now, I know a lot more, and am inspired to continue my learning with non-fiction (to me, this is a mark of good historical fiction). Dray's research is exacting, but she avoids the well-researched novelist's abyss of needing to share everything she's learned. Instead, this is a deep and rich portrait of three women, each of whom embody the "Spirit of Lafayette" throughout three different wars.

Dray bit off a lot with this book, which weaves together three separate stories, that of Adrienne de Lafeyette during the American and French Revolutions, Beatrice Chanler during WWI, and the fictional Marthe Simone during WWII. Each could have sustained a story on their own. And it might have been less confusing if Dray had made this into a trilogy, rather than a single, interweaving story. In fact, my only teeny complaint about this book is that I sometimes forgot which war we were in. (My actual thoughts several times during the book: "You can't go to Paris now, the Nazis will get you! Oh wait, this is WWI...") I can only imagine that people who lived through both wars might have felt the same way. But I understand that each story gained power from being told alongside the others.

To say that this book moves slowly doesn't do it justice. Think of it like a lazy, meandering river. It'll take you a long time to get from one end to the other, but the journey is more than worth it.