The Truth Keepers
In January of 1793, the French king loses his head during the country’s revolution. For young Amelia Nicolau, this is just the beginning, as things continue to go downhill over multiple years. Amelia loses her parents, and her brothers convince her things will be better in the New World. But whether it’s Saint-Domingue, where one brother is killed in a slave uprising, or coastal Georgia in America, Amelia’s life is a series of hardships. It certainly doesn’t help when she marries an up-and-coming French businessman, Henri Du Bignon.
With a rather bizarre connection to Amelia, Englishwoman Sarah Aust’s emigration to America has also been fraught with sadness. She loses her husband at an early age and is left with two young children and limited prospects. Henri Du Bignon seems to offer needed assistance, thus opening Pandora’s box to years of heartbreak.
This novel, based around a true story, is essentially two protracted multigenerational family narratives from the perspectives of first Amelia and then Sarah. It is punctuated by occasional dialogue to help ease transitions and give insight into the lives of the multitude of characters, most of whom are family members. The men in general do not come off well, especially Henri, who is so dastardly it seems almost satire. There is passing mention of the French Revolution, the War of 1812 and the American Civil War, but none of those critical events plays a major role. Readers should be prepared for tragic descriptions of deadly diseases endemic at the time, chattel slavery, and family betrayals. The book is replete with emotion and lean on action, suspense or intrigue. The well-done descriptions of coastal Georgia during the time period may be quite interesting for some.
