Usually when choosing books I spend hours in the library or bookstore, going over each shelf, reading blurbs and trying to find something new and interesting. However sometimes, I walk up to a shelf and a book almost jumps in to my hands, even if I’m not sure why, I feel compelled to take it home with me. It is the latter type of the discovery which turns up the most special finds, of which Annette Vallon by James Tipton is one.

Annette Vallon is a historical novel based on the life of a French Woman who survived the Revolution and shared a romance with the English poet William Wordsworth. The book covers her life in its entirity and paints an image of a beautiful, brave and very loving character that I can not help but completely admire. Whether dancing in the ballrooms of pre-revolutionary France, defying her Mother by loving a foreigner, raising his child on her own, outwitting the tyrants who failed to run her country or rescuing prisoners and hiding outlaws, she is a fascinating character and her story quite incredible. As with many historical novels based on the life of a little-known figure, I am sure the author took much liscence and filled in the gaps himself. However, the message still comes through so clearly you can’t help but feel touched by how she managed to survive the Terror of the French Revolution and still believe in love and beauty and the joys of every day life.

I can not express to you how beautiful I found this book, so I shall leave you with a small excerpt I found particularly special.

‘The third task is, the poet must teach. He is either teacher, or nothing. And to teach anything worthwhile, one must know the language of the heart’
‘I thought only children and lovers knew that?’
‘The poet is a child, or sees with the child’s eyes, and he is always in love.’
‘With what, Monsieur? For surely you do not mean the poet is a libertine.’
‘With his life, with woods, with mountains.’
‘What about people - does he love them?’
‘He see’s the ones whom other’s don’t see, the beggar under the bridge, the orphan in the doorway, the widow by the window.’