This book was really fun to read. Based on a true story - Julie D-Aubigny is the daughter of the king's fencing master, Queen of the upper crust underground scene, and makes her stamp with swordplay and opera singing. All as a teenager during the French Revolution. This book gave me a lot of vibes similar to Sophia Coppola's Marie Antoinette movie, the Three Musketeers, and La Femme Nikita. If you like historical fiction, I really think you'll enjoy this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me access to the free advanced digital copy of this book.

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC. I love anything history-related but I must say I had never heard of this story! It was so fascinating! It made me wonder what else has been kept hidden from us!

I really wanted to enjoy this novel since it is set in Versailles and is based on a real person. However, the story was really confusing, and I didn’t know what was happening. Still, this idea had potential but was not executed well.

I had the honor of interviewing Jordan Stratford about "La Maupin' for my podcast Storytime in Paris. Here is what I said:

My guest this week is award-winning author Jordan Stratford, whose latest novel “La Maupin” is the second in his new Sword Girl historical YA series. “La Maupin” is based on the true story of 17-year old Julie d’Aubigny, known as La Maupin, who became an expert swordswoman, graverobber, arsonist, nun, assassin, wife, lover, and opera superstar, all before her 18th birthday. Jordan’s telling is described as a blend of “French “Yé Yé” pop, 1980s Delacorta beach novella, and Luc Besson film.”

In our talk, Jordan discusses what drew him to La Maupin, how he got into her mindset, how she was able to navigate so much in such a short time, and so much more. Then, he treats us to a reading from “La Maupin.”

Listen to the podcast on parisundergroundradio.com/storytimeinparis
Or anywhere you listen to podcasts

my first book after over a month away from my kindle! i was actually reading two books at the same time this weekend and just finished this one first, i guess that's how much i missed reading 😅

french noblewoman julie d'aubigny, the mademoiselle maupin, was a familiar name to me from the days i used to spend reading rejected princesses, which, as i look at the tumblr entry of her on the original blog, was apparently posted 2014. 2014?? a full seven years ago?? anyway!

when i finished the book itself it felt like a pretty hefty read, which was intriguing to me. while i personally think it does capture the scandalous headlines of her real life, at some points it felt like we were just ticking off the bullet points of her life without thinking so much about how we got from point a to point b. but then again it would ironically make sense that a book about la maupin would be as messy as her colorful life...

This was not my cup of tea. The writing was OK, but not in a style that worked well here. Disappointing.

Thanks very much for the free review copy!!

Raised in Versailles, Julie gets married, becomes the mistress of a royal, runs away from home, and duels an awful lot of people.

I was introduced to Julie d'Aubigny years ago, I think in a Cracked listicle. She led a fascinating life, but one that is documented very haphazardly, and so I was excited to see how it would be turned into a narrative in this book.

Except I would argue that the book did not have much of a narrative. The author adopted an odd style of writing, a sort of stream-of-consciousness that hops around in the timeline and doesn't manage to engage. There's no coherent plot to follow, and I found myself often confused by what was happening - who Julie was bedding, who she'd killed, who she was working for.

I also found myself very frustrated with the character of Julie. She is portrayed as a devil-may-care chameleon, adapt with a sword and good at wriggling out of the many scrapes she gets into. However, we never get much of an explanation of how a young girl from the court of Versailles gained most of these skills, or what drives her incredibly reckless behavior. And her narration is oddly bereft of emotion.

This book really disappointed me, ultimately. Though it has a fascinating subject in its lead, I found the execution very strange and did not learn anything beyond the little I already knew.

Do not recommend.

"I am the breaker of sacred vows, both to my husband and to God, although it was God who cut my hair and this I have yet to forgive."

Thank you Netgalley and Outland entertainment for the chance to read and review this book!

The book is about a french noblewoman who was a good swordsman, mistress to the king's brother, who married another man and ran away with another, only to start a training space for men to learn how to fight, and then become a nun to get into a convent to run away with the girl she loves who leaves her. And yet despite Jordan Stratford's beautiful prose, it was still slightly dull and I found myself skimming the book.

In addition, the cover gives you the vibe that the book will be a light read, but then it really isn't!

Jordan Stratford is a good writer and the book has some really lovely prose. I'm not sure what about this book didn't work for me. It may be something I return to in the future, and I will be open to reading more by the author.

A well written book, that keeps you turning pages! The author writes in a way that capture the reader’s attention, and gets him/her invested in the story and the characters. I am amazed by fact that it is based on a true story.

Thank you to Netgalley and Outland Entertainment for the ARC. The story of Julie D'Aubigny is supposedly true. In the 17th century, she is the daughter of a fencing master. She participates in duels and is extremely skilled with the sword. She runs into trouble after leaving her first lover and husband behind. Julie leaves Paris with her lover and continues to live a most fascinating life. That of swordswoman, murderer, opera singer and nun.

The book started out with Julie in prison and reflecting back. You know it's going to be good from there. The book was short and easy to read. I just don't personally enjoy the way the dialogue or lack of is written. Julie's thoughts scramble and seem to leave things out. Overall, 3.5 stars.

I had heard of Julie d'Aubigny before (particularly the convent part), so I was expecting some sort of fun adventure story. Instead, this book reads like a stream of consciousness narration from Julie's pov that cuts between scenes quickly and doesn't focus enough on the more interesting bits of her life. The first third or so is all about her life at court, so it's pretty slow to get going. Once she leaves Paris things get more interesting, but it felt like there was a lot of lag and filler between the main points of action that bogged down the story. I was not a fan of the writing style here and found it difficult to keep track of what was happening and why. Overall, I wasn't a fan of this book, but I do hope readers will use it as a starting point for learning more about this interesting character.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Jordan Stratford for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for La Maupin coming out August 9, 2022. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

17 year old Julie d'Aubigny is the daughter of the King’s fencing master during the 17th century. She takes Paris by storm, dueling among the sons of noblemen. This is based on a true story.

I haven’t heard of this story before, so I was intrigued. I love learning about French history during the 17th and 18th centuries. Since I’m not familiar with this story, I’m not sure how much was true and what was fiction.

Normally I don’t like books heavy on description and exposition. I love dialogue more. But I really enjoyed this book! I loved Julie’s character. She was mysterious and intriguing, but gave all the details. Her narration and commentary were fascinating! She had a wild ride of a life. There was a lot that happened to her in a year’s time! She got married, ran away with a lover, dueled, killed people, became a nun and became an opera singer. The craziness kept coming!

Overall I loved the book! There were some things I didn’t care for, but it was a thrilling story. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys French history and strong heroines.