Name: Belle Epoque
ISBN: 9780385741460

Elizabeth Ross

In a book inspired by a short story written by Emile Zola, 16-year-old Maude Pichon, a plain, impoverished girl in Belle Époque Paris, is hired by Countess Dubern to make her headstrong daughter, Isabelle, look more beautiful by comparison, but soon Maude is enmeshed in a tangle of love, friendship and deception.

Belle Epoque

Laura

There are three types of YA historical fiction. The first type is the relatively straightforward and serious type, usually dealing with WWII or racism or both in some way. Ruta Sepetys and Elizabeth Wein are probably the two most popular authors of this type. The second type is the fantasy novels that people accidentally shelf as historical fiction because they take place in past (this includes alternative history and time travel novels though I admit that they have more of an excuse). This type appears to be the norm these days (just take a look at the 2018 YA "historical fiction" releases), with authors like Libba Bray and Kirsten White. And then, there's the fun, fluffy guilty pleasure historical fiction novels. Anna Godbersen and Katherine Longshore are two writers I associate with this category.

I'll give you three guesses as to which type this book falls under.

I read this book knowing that it would be something along the same lines as The Luxe, maybe Bright Young Things if I was lucky, which admittedly I never am but still. This wouldn't be high brow literature but instead a juicy, Gossip Girl-esque look into the Belle Epoque, one of my favorite eras in history. 

And still, I was disappointed by the amount of historical fiction tropes. The heroine running from the arranged marriage. The wealthy girl trapped in a gilded cage, whose only desire is to study science and eschew marriage and fashion. The bohemian (and usually socialist, strange) journalist/poet/artist/musician love interest. The endless amounts of frivolous wealthy girls. I usually take issue with these tropes not only because of how tired and played out and pandery they are but also because how almost offensive they seem. I dislike the dismissing of an interest in fashion and beauty as being superficial and frivolous because it is indeed possible to love fashion and not be an idiot. I also disliked how this book seemed to deride social skills in favor of general intelligence, something I often see in YA literature and something I disagree with. And I say that as someone who is (or at least considers herself to be) fairly intelligent yet who is a fish out of water when it comes to socializing. In fact, in a lot of ways I found the Countess to be smarter than Isabelle because she had her society figured out, she knew her place in it and she knew her life would be easier if she was able to change her place in it. I also thought she really just wanted what all mothers want for their children- a better life than they had. 

I also thought some elements were too old fashioned for the time period. Ross made the Belle Epoque, which was roughly around the same time as the turn of the century, seem like it was the Elizabethan days. By the time of the Belle Epoque, the idea of romance marriages had become a thing and arranged marriages, especially a young girl to an older men, were out of fashion because when you are a peasant, does it really matter who your children marry? I mean, sure, there were some exceptions like in Jewish communities with matchmakers and some other more old fashioned countries, but this is France we're talking about, they've always been the (socially, at least) liberal beacon of Europe. And I wasn't entirely sold on the narrative because it felt too modern, though maybe because I was subconsciously comparing it to The Luxe- say what you will about that series, but Godbersen did endeavor to write those books in a style reminiscent of the time they took place and was even successful. One phrase sticks out to me- when Maude describes her experience at the agency as being like the "new girl in school" something that seemed very modern and made me think Ross isn't even trying. 

Continue reading this review on my blog here: https://bookwormbasics.blogspot.com/2...