Page 20 - Panama City Living Magazine September-October 2019

UPCOMING
RIBBONS OF SCARLET
NEW HISTORICAL NOVEL
Eliza Knight Heather Webb Kate Quinn
“Ribbons of Scarlet: A Novel of the French Revolution’s Women” (HarperCollins Publishers, Octo- ber 2019) is a beautifully written novel about the power of women to start a revolution—and change the world.
The novel brings to life in a single inter- woven narrative seven of the real-life heroines who both shaped the French Revolution and worked to resist it. The characters include Sophie de Condorcet, a liberal aristocrat and philosopher who questions the king’s right to rule; Louise Reine Audu, an impoverished fruit seller who leads the original women’s march; Princess Elizabeth, who learns to stand up for herself and her brother, King Louis XVI; Manon Roland, a leading politician’s brilliant wife who tries to write her way out of the es- calating violence of the revolution; Pauline Leon, a pike-wielding chocolatier who grows disillusioned with the direction of the revolu- tionary women; Charlotte Corday, a moderate thinker bent on assassinating the radical Jean-
Paul Marat; and Emilie de Saint-Amaranthe, a beautiful courtesan’s daughter and the unlikely heroine whose actions helped usher in the fi- nal days of the Reign of Terror.
The women are not content to remain in their traditional roles but persist in raising their voices, ending the monarchy, and changing women’s place in politics and society ever after. “Ribbons of Scarlet” illuminates the hopes, desires, and destinies of princesses and peas- ants, harlots and wives, fanatics and philos- ophers, during one of the most tumultuous and transformative events in history—the French Revolution. While the novel takes place over 200 years ago, it resonates with today’s women, who are still resisting, marching, and demanding freedom, equality, and change. It is timely with the upcoming centenary of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution (ratified 1920), which granted women the right to vote. French women laid the groundwork for wom- en’s suffrage movements.
The six authors of “Ribbons of Scarlet” are colleagues, co-authors, and fast friends. Each maintains a successful individual career as his- torical novelists and has published books that
Stephanie Dray
can be found on the bestseller list of the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA To- day. Six women, six stories. One sisterhood, one novel.
The authors are: Kate Quinn “The Huntress,” “The Alice Network,” Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie “America’s First Daughter," "My Dear Hamilton;” Sophie Perinot “Medicis Daughter,” Heather Webb “Meet Me in Monaco,” and Eli- za Knight “My Lady Viper.”
Admission: $40/person (tables can be reserved for groups of
8 to 10) includes a copy of the book “Ribbons of Scarlet.” Author Stephanie Dray will be signing books.
For reservations, contact Becky Kelly (850) 770-2151 or Michelle Roberson (850) 770-2150, or send an email to events@pc.fsu.edu.
Location: FSU Panama City Campus, 4750 Collegiate Drive, Panama City, FL 32405
Laura Kamoie Sophie Perinot
20 • September–October 2019 • www.PanamaCityLiving.com