Publication Date: January 9, 2024
As 1754 is drawing to a close, tensions between the French and the British on Canada’s Acadian shore are reaching a fever pitch. Seamstress Sylvie Galant and her family–French-speaking Acadians wishing to remain neutral–are caught in the middle, their land positioned between two forts flying rival flags. Amid preparations for the celebration of Noël, the talk is of unrest, coming war, and William Blackburn, the British Army Ranger raising havoc across North America’s borderlands.
As summer takes hold in 1755 and British ships appear on the horizon, Sylvie encounters Blackburn, who warns her of the coming invasion. Rather than participate in the forced removal of the Acadians from their land, he resigns his commission. But that cannot save Sylvie or her kin. Relocated on a ramshackle ship to Virginia, Sylvie struggles to pick up the pieces of her life. When her path crosses once more with William’s, they must work through the complex tangle of their shared, shattered past to navigate the present and forge an enduring future.
Laura Frantz’s The Seamstress of Acadie is a sweeping saga of peacetime and war, loss and heartbreak, love and longing, but ultimately, a story of hope.
Sylvia Galant and her sprawling family live in the breathless beauty of Acadia, but they also live in the shadow of an impending war between the French and the British. The Acadians identify with the French, but the British are becoming increasingly forceful with intentions of taking over the Acadians’ peaceful and picturesque lands.
Sylvie has an idyllic life with loving parents, protective brothers, and a sweet little sister. Their lands, herds, and orchards produce bountifully, and while the northern winters are harsh, the spring charmingly dispels the winter’s frigid hold and awakens a whole new beauty of the landscape.
While the French have always lived peaceably with the Acadians, the British are actively seeking to take their lands—by force if necessary—while subduing their French counterparts in the region. While Sylvie’s brother, Bleu, is aligned with the Resistance to the British takeover, Major William Blackburn is a renowned member of the Rangers Corps aligned with the British.
While a local doctor attempts to court Sylvie, a chance encounter with Major Blackburn is what sets her heart afire, but he is supposed to be the enemy and someone who can’t be trusted. While events swirl out of control around her, Sylvie does her best to work through each tumultuous upheaval that brings heartache, grief, and uncertainty to what had once been her tranquil life.
Whether near or far, even the two constants she seeks to hold onto, Bleu and Major Blackburn (Will), always seem precariously in danger and out of reach. As Sylvie struggles to live through what had once seemed incomprehensible circumstances, will her hope and trust in God rekindle, and will she ultimately find peace, safety, and the burning fire of love she so desperately craves?
The Seamstress of Acadie is a novel broad in scope both in its settings and in the range of emotions it evokes. While the first few chapters were a bit slow to get through with the large amount of French dialogue, the story gradually opens up and carries the reader off with it into unknowns that tear at your heart, bringing tears and smiles along the way. Incredibly poignant worldbuilding and vibrant characters light up each page.
The Seamstress of Acadie is a compelling and wonderfully-told story that sweeps the reader away effortlessly from its heart-pounding start to breathtaking finish.
Bestselling, award-winning author, Laura Frantz, has been writing stories since age seven. She is passionate about all things historical, particularly the 18th-century and her novels often incorporate Scottish themes that reflect her family heritage. She is a direct descendant of George Hume, Wedderburn Castle, Berwickshire, Scotland, who was exiled to the American colonies for his role in the Jacobite Rebellion of 1715, settled in Virginia, and is credited with teaching George Washington surveying in the years 1748-1750. Proud of her heritage, she is also a Daughter of the American Revolution. Though she will always consider Kentucky home, she and her husband live in Washington State.
According to Publishers Weekly, “Frantz has done her historical homework.” With her signature attention to historical detail and emotional depth, she is represented by Janet Kobobel Grant, Literary Agent & Founder, Books & Such Literary Agency of Santa Rosa, California. Foreign language editions include French, Dutch, Spanish, Slovakian, German & Polish.
