‘As you say, Commander, Europe is dying,’ she replied steadily. The Catholics slaughtered every last member of my family, save my grandmother and I. France is lost to us, and Amsterdam, though it was the birthplace of my great-great-grandfather Piet Reydon – and the city that gave refuge to earlier generations of my family – that city is not my home. Huguenots are less welcome there than once we were. I want to live for the future, not mourn the past’
Page 82
In a nutshell
The fourth and final book in the Joubert family chronicles the Huguenot diaspora. A story that has taken readers from sixteenth-century France to the Cape of Good Hope in the nineteenth-century by way of Amsterdam and the Canary Islands. Each book – The Burning Chamber, The City of Tears, The Ghost Ship and now The Map of Bones – is inspired by one of the four elements – fire, water, earth and air. The Map of Bones completes the story through two Joubert women. Suzanne Joubert, a Hugeneut refugee arrives at the Cape of Good Hope in search of her cousin – the notorious she-captain and pirate commander Lousie Reydon-Joubert we met in The Ghost Ship. Two hundred years later in 1862, Isabelle Lepard, a descendant of Louise and Suzanne, travels to Franschoek intent on putting the women in her family back into the history books. A journey that becomes more dangerous as the truth is revealed.
Book Club Notes
Feige read the first two books in this series and I, the last two. You don’t actually have to read them all (or in order) to enjoy and get each book. That being said, I do think it’s time we swapped out and read the books we didn’t. Kate Mosse’s books and especially this series underscores the importance of words and the not so small fact that unless women’s stories are recorded alongside men’s in historical records it cannot be called history. The Map of Bones is the story of strong women, living in a man’s world who refuse to let that stop them from living their true lives. It’s spell-binding, filled with adventure and a book you won’t be able to put down – for all 459 pages.
Read If
You’ve read any of the other books in this series or love historical fiction that focuses on women’s history.
Rating
Writing – 10/10
Character Development – 9/10
Plot Twist – 9/10
Shareability – 10/10
The Nitty Gritty
Published by: Pan Macmillan
Genre: Fiction, Historical
ISBN: 978-1035042166
Pages: 459
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A note on our book ratings
Storyline: How good is the storyline? Is it believable and complex or does it make you shake your head in its ridiculousness?
Writing: How well written is the book? Do you find yourself wowed by the writing or unimpressed?
Character Development: Do the characters evolve and grow through the book and are they multi-dimensional?
Plot Twist: Were you able to predict the end, or did the author give you some surprises along the way to keep you on your toes?
Shareability: How likely are you to share the book?
