I am finishing the February selection of the 2021 Readers’ Prize with The blood of mirabelles, an original and interesting historical novel on many levels. But not without flaw …
Le sang des plums by Camille de Peretti (Le livre de poche editions)
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We are in the Middle Ages to follow the destiny of two sisters, the daughters of Leo. One, Elénonore, nicknamed the salamander, is going to marry Lord Guillaume dit l’Ours, a widower by trade and without descendants. Éléonore’s mission will be simple: to offer an heir to the throne, in addition to bringing land to her husband so that he becomes the most powerful lord of the Province. Adelaide, known as the bee, is still too young on her side to think about marriage. Without daring to admit it to those around her, the young girl fell in love with medicine, which she learned alongside old Owl in her dispensary. Both will have to stay away from wars and male-orchestrated plots, it is not for women to make decisions and act. But both will not be able to resolve to occupy a place that condemns them to idleness and an insignificant life. Their ardor and their passion will turn to unreason and lead them to brave many prohibitions.
The mother has been waiting for her son for a long time. Impatient to hug him, she will hold him as one takes revenge. She learned that there are only two ways to gain power in this world when you are born female, through the lower abdomen or through the abdomen. Spread your legs to bring in the pendeloche of your lord or spread your legs to expel the child who will protect you. Without a husband and without a son, there is no salvation.
Novel on female emancipation at a time when it may seem totally incongruous, The blood of mirabelles I liked as much by its subject as by its treatment. I know that several of my co-jurors stumbled over style and language. I did not feel the same difficulties entering this novel, on the contrary, I slipped into it with ease and delight as I came across words from Old French as surprising as they were entertaining. The vocabulary of the time was not lacking in imagination: it was sometimes flowery or even gritty, often poetic and always colorful, I smiled several times and even read a few passages aloud to my husband to share some finds rather funny. No need to resort to a dictionary for all that because firstly, these words are no longer there and secondly, they are completely understandable in their context and by their root. This game with the language gave me real intellectual and aesthetic pleasure and allowed me to fully anchor myself in this Middle Ages that I love so much to rediscover since my discovery of Pillars of the earth by Ken Follet.
That said, the latter’s historical novels far exceed this one on one crucial point: the quality of the plot, the rhythm, the revelations and the twists and turns. All in all that makes us capable of following Ken Follet over thousands of pages and asking for more, whereas here I thought I stalled after the first 200 pages. If the story is easy to follow, it is also much too linear and we quickly find the time long. Not enough characters perhaps? Not enough twists for sure. In any case, this is the reason why my opinion is ultimately mixed on this novel yet full of qualities.
THE ESSENTIAL
Cover Le sang des Mirabelles by Camille de Peretti
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The blood of mirabelles
Camille de PERETTI
Editions Calmann-Lévy in GF and The Pocket Book
Released in GF on 03/06/2019 and in pocket on 01/06/2021
360 pages
Genre : historical novel
Characters: Sisters Eleanor and Adelaide, Lord Bear, Duke of Ronces, Tancred, Nightingale, Cathaud, etc.
Reading pleasure: 
Recommendation: Yes
Further reading: the historical saga of Ken Follet: The pillars of the earth, A world without end, A pillar of fire and the prequel Twilight and Dawn, the story of Kate Moss The City of Fire and City of Tears
EDITOR’S SUMMARY
“For two seasons now, old Owl had opened the doors of his dispensary to her and let her leaf through the pages of his books. She had plunged into it with delight, she had devoured everything. A few months and everything had changed; the young girl now knew that the world was not reduced to a spool of thread and a needle. “
In the heart of the Middle Ages, two sisters, Éléonore and Adélaïde, built a unique destiny. Braving convention, one discovers true love while the other secretly indulges in her passion for medicine. But this quest for emancipation is not without danger at a time of silencing women.
A powerful and current historical tale. Because through her duo of heroines, the novelist breaks step by step the chains which, from all time, have gripped women. Flavie Philipon, She.
This novel opens the doors to a captivating Middle Ages. Marie Rogatien, Le Figaro magazine.
STILL NOT CONVINCED?
3 reasons to read The blood of mirabelles
- Because it’s a much easier plot to follow than those of Ken Follet
- Because the work on the language is really to be discovered
- Because the question of the place of women at a time when they were not considered is an original and very interesting approach.
3 reasons not to read The blood of mirabelles
- It lacks suspense and twists
- Everything is treated in a fairly linear way, the major events of the story are not highlighted at all
- To bring this novel closer to a bestiary by giving an animal name to each character seemed to me to be superfluous at times
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