Merchants of Virtue (The Huguenot Chronicles #1) by Paul C.R. Monk

Merchants of Virtue (The Huguenot Chronicles #1) Reviews

• 
  Clif Hostetler

  This novel is the first of a trilogy about the plight of Huguenots in France after being banished in 1685. This was a time of persecution under king
  Louis XIV who revoked all Protestant rights in his
  Edict of Fontainebleau as well as sending
  dragonnades into Protestant communities to force conversion of the population.
  
  The Huguenots had previously lived in relative peaceful coexistence with the majority Catholics since the 16th century under the rights of the 1598
  Edict of Nantes. They had constituted 7 to 10% of the population of France in spite of the 1572
  St. Bartholomew's Day massacre.
  
  This book references the recent installation of the King James II of England—who had Roman Catholic sympathies—as an impetus to Louis XIV toward taking this action. It was understood that England would not try to intervene to protect the Protestants of France. Louis XIV probably thought England would soon be Catholic, and he wanted to shown them how to do it.
  
  The family followed by this novel are well-to-do merchants living in a Huguenot enclave, Montauban. Emissaries of the King move into town and confiscated the property of any Huguenot refusing to abjure. Most of the population abjured, but the main characters of this story refuse and consequently become destitute. The husband of the family is taken into custody and subject to banishment while his wife manages to flee as refugee to Geneva Switzerland. Unfortunately, the flight to Geneva had to be done clandestinely, and she was forced to leave her children behind.
  
  In Geneva she had to deal with resentment of the native population in Geneva toward the influx of refugees from France who are driving up the cost of shelter and creating completion for established artisan guilds. This book ends with her teenaged son able to join her in Geneva, but two of her children remain in France.
  
  I was attracted to the story in this book because my own ancestors faced similar eviction from Alsace. However the 1685 Edict of Fontainebleau was not applied in Alsace because it wasn’t under full French control at that time. My ancestors were forced out of Alsace in 1712 after French control was fully secured. Unlike the rich bourgeois Huguenots described in this book, my ancestors were rural peasants who happen to be Anabaptists and part of the community led by
  Jakob Ammann.
• 
  Carlos Mock

  Merchants of Virtue (The Huguenot Connection Book 1) by Paul C.R. Monk
  
  Jeanne Delpech de Castanet and her family are French Protestant or Huguenots living in a Huguenot enclave, Montauban. It is 1685 and a Catholic king, James II rules England. This gives permission to Louis XIV, James' cousin, to invalidate the Edict of Nantes - which ended the religious wars of France and gave Protestants a right to freely worship in the country. As the edict is being replaced with the Edict of Fountainbleue - making Catholicism the only religion allowed in France, a set of persecutions are implemented by the king and the Church, forcing Huguenots to chose between their faith or their livelihoods.
  
  Jeanne and her husband, Jacob, refuse to convert and are forced into numerous tortures and humiliations. The book tells us the trials and suffering that they must endure.
  
  Narrated from a universal point of view, in British English, the book is definitively part one of a trilogy. It does not stand alone, simply because it's brought to an abrupt end. Never understood why writers would break up a perfect story in the middle of the plot. Especially when the book was so short I read it all at once.
  
  Characters are flat and other than their beliefs, you know almost nothing about them. They are but a name on a page. It's hard to really care for them when you know so little about them.
  
  Even though it was a very easy read, I would not recommend it or, for that matter, the series.
• 
  Ginger Pollard

  This is a good historical book about the time of King James II. The King wanted the people to all be Catholic. This made for a hard time for the Huguenots. It tells of their struggles to practice their own religious beliefs. It's a book that you have to pay close attention or you will get lost. I look forward to reading book two in the series.
• 
  Ƹ̴Ӂ̴Ʒ Jenn Ƹ̴Ӂ̴Ʒ Schu

  2.5 stars
• 
  Loretta

  A compelling story about the persecution of the Huguenots. It made me wonder whether I would have shown the same courage.
• 
  Jennifer (JC-S)

  ‘The King’s intention is to eradicate all forms of religion, except Catholicism, naturally.’
  
  The novel opens in France, on 19 August 1685, with Jeanne Delpech de Castanet enjoying a visit with her sister Suzanne. Jeanne and her family are Huguenots, her husband Jacob is a wealthy merchant. Their lives are about to change.
  
  First, a little background. Huguenot was the name given, in the early part of the 16th century, to French Protestants who followed the teachings of John Calvin. Although the Edict of Nantes guaranteed substantial religious, political and military autonomy in 1598, Huguenot rebellions in the 1620s led to the abolition of their political and military privileges. By 1685, under the rule of Louis XIV, persecution of Protestantism had increased. On 22 October 1685, Louis XIV issued the Edict of Fontainebleau which effectively ended the legal recognition of Protestantism in France and forced the Huguenots to either convert or flee France in a wave of violent dragonnades.
  
  What will Jeanne and Jacob do? Abjuring their faith is not seen as an option by Jeanne and Jacob although several of their neighbours and family members convert to Catholicism. Jeanne, Jacob and their family are subjected to hardship, and are separated. This novel is the first of a trilogy which tells their story.
  
  ‘What was to become of him and his sisters in this world gone mad?’
  
  I enjoyed reading this novel, although I have one minor quibble. I’m not yet convinced that ‘boobs’ was in use as a word for breasts in the 17th century. I’m happy to be proved wrong. Boobs aside, I quickly became caught up in the story and want to know what will happen to Jeanne, Jacob and their children. While I was broadly aware of the plight of the Huguenots in 17th century France, this novel has made me think about how the persecution might have been experienced at an individual, family level. It’s a powerful story, fast-moving and well written. I’d recommend this novel to anyone interested in historical fiction set during this turbulent period in French history.
  
  I’m looking forward to the next two novels.
  
  Jennifer Cameron-Smith
  
• 
  Laura

  I received this book for free. I am voluntarily leaving this review and all opinions expressed herein are mine.
  
  This is the first three books in The Huguenot Connection Trilog series. It is a standalone story with no cliffhanger ending but it is a bit of an abrupt encing but it could be viewed as the start of the next story in the series.
  
  Here, the story takes place in France during the reign of King Louis XIV. The King, a Catholic, has decided that all of his people must be Catholic and swear an oath to that effect. The aristocratic Huguenots [Protestants] were pursued to change their religious affiliations in order to continue to thrive in society. Soldiers were ordered to move into the Huguenot households and take over - selling their belongings, eating their food and at times - raping/assaulting the women. This story centers on one family who struggles to maintain their religious freedom and to keep their family together.
  
  I love historical fiction books where real people, known facts and educated presumptions are deftly woven into a fictionalized plot with added fictionalized characters. And, I enjoyed this story, which allowed me to learn quite a bit of historical information from that time period. This is a heartbreaking yet compelling tale. I absolutely loved it and highly recommend it. I look forward to continuing the saga.
  
  I listened to this book - the narrator did a wonderful job conveying the period, the different characters/accents and bringing the story to life.
• 
  Beth Gibson

  I enjoyed this book much more than I expected to. Often times stories set in this era are slow-paced and too much like a medieval soap opera. Set in historical context of religious persecution, I can see many parallels in modern times. It also touches on something that I personally find disagreement with -- and that is religious conversion. I don't agree with it, especially when one faction over another makes promises about how you can get to heaven when they really know no such thing. This book fired that spark for me and I find myself cheering for the Depeche family to stick to their guns and seek freedom from oppression. This is, after all, what America was founded on. At the same time, I don't understand how you sacrifice your whole family to belong to the church you want to. After all in this situation both were Christian religions. They are just different methods of worship. This is also a comment on modern times, an attitude I just don't understand. And one that will continue to put people at odds with one another. The ending was a bit abrupt -- I expected a bit more closure, even though I knew going in there would be a part 2. Generally these type of stories are written a bit more to be read as stand alone. Looking forward to the next installment.
• 
  Dean McIntyre

  MERCHANTS OF VIRTUE by Paul C.R. Monk is the first of a trilogy, THE HUGUENOT CONNECTION. Set in the last quarter of the 17th century, it chronicles the unfortunate circumstances of the Delpeche family in France under the intense and severe repression of King Louis XIV. The king has demanded all Protestants (Huguenots are French followers of John Calvin) give up their faith, convert to Catholicism, and sign and pledge their allegiance to the king. To bring this about, Huguenot citizens are forced to house and feed the king's soldiers, who are intentionally brutal to those who refuse to give in to the king. They eat the food, drink the wine, take over the beds, destroy and burn the furniture for heat, sell off belongings including crops and livestock, and take advantage of female members of the family. And when the families have nothing left, the government, with the Church's blessing, often imprisons family members or sells them into slavery, with families divided and sent to different owners and locations, including America. The book describes these conditions in excruciating detail, and I can't say this is a pleasant read. Nevertheless, there is a good deal of history in the work. It's a quick read, just over 200 pages, and is a stand-alone volume in the trilogy.
• 
  Beverly Laude

  My husband is of French Huguenot descent, so I was interested to learn more about their persecution under the rule of Louis XIV. Even though this fiction, I could definitely feel the horrors that were endured by the Huguenots.
  
  Religious persecution is nothing new and, unfortunately, it is still occurring today. The author does a great job in describing the conditions that were endured and the hardships that the Huguenots suffered because of their faith. Would I have the conviction of my beliefs in the face of these hardships? This book really makes you think about that.
  
  The narrator does a great job and added a lot to my enjoyment of the book. This is the first book in a trilogy, so I was expecting a unresolved ending. The characters were well developed and the descriptions were well written.
  
  Thank you, Mr. Monk, for enlightening me and entertaining me at the same time. I look forward to continuing this wonderful historical saga with the rest of the trilogy. I was given the opportunity to listen to the audiobook version by the author and chose to review it.
• 
  Trish

  Agreeable historical fiction, dealing with a subject less popular in anglophone fiction. Louis XIV’s persecution of the Huguenots, culminating in the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, damaged the economy of France, by targeting some of the most industrious families of the land, skilled craftsmen, professionals and merchants.
  
  The international reputation of France was also diminished, but Louis did not immediately set about mass burning of heretics, preferring to force conversions to Catholicism by billeting rough soldiers, many of whom were mercenaries from outside France on the Calvinists, imposing financial penalties and restricting professional opportunities.
  
  That was just for starters.
• 
  Debbie

  I learned a lot about Louis XIV and 1685, where Protestants were forced to convert to Christianity. As a Catholic, I was bothered about the mindset of the government and the church. Persecution of religion seems to never end, and it was sad to read about this one family who refused to convert to Christianity and kept to their own beliefs. There were so many that were tortured or inconvenienced in such a way that forced them to give in a sign over to the new religion. Many just signed not to be harassed but the ones who kept true to their faith were treated terribly.
• 
  Michael Graves

  not sure if this is the book Im reading. I am on page 534 of 752. Maybe because I have the whole trilogy on my kindle. I am really enjoying it. I am not very familiar with late 17th century goins on, and it is quite shocking to dee how much cruelty and barbarism there was. It is a little melodramatic in its overall plot. If you meet a minor character early in the book, he/she may re emerge later in the book. Like Dickens. Will write update when finished.
• 
  Mary E. Nichols

  Huguenot History
  
  I'm enjoying the unfolding story of this time period. It is new information to me. I like the characters very well and am rooting for them. The one negative I have in the writing is that there are times the vocabulary is crass and seems out of place when considering the narrative is about religious people. In spite of that, I am looking forward to the next volume.
• 
  Sarah

  Fantastic, extensive research went into the writing of this book. Unfortunately, the conversations and descriptions are somewhat stilted, but it moves along fast enough that it can be ignored. There are few fictional books I've found about the Huguenots and the Catholics, this is a fascinating read about a family torn apart by government, and their religious strength that encourages them to hold fast to their beliefs.
  
  3/5 stars.
• 
  Annemarie

  I really enjoyed this read about the struggles of the Protestants in France. I often don't me the mix of languages but in this case the use of French words made perfect sense so I didn't mind. The story is super interesting and at times baffling. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series.
• 
  Megan

  Historical Fiction about Protestant suffrage in France
  This was a good read. It was about the Protestants being forced to convert in France. It told of one's family's trials and sufferings. How they were split apart and the mothers and father's journeys. They went from wealth to poverty. I enjoyed reading this book. I voluntarily reviewed this book after received a free copy.
• 
  Karen Ball

  Trials of a family
  
  It is well written and tells the story of religious persecution in 17th century France. A wealthy family refuses to convert and lose everything. How the family reacts to the situations.
  The characters are torn apart, yet they find ways to overcome the circumstances.
  I loved how the adjusted to their life, always thinking of their family
  Well done.
• 
  Kathy Stevenson

  I didn't know much about the 17th century persecution of Huguenots in Frsnce, but this trilogy showed me how terrible life was for those refusing to convert to Catholicism. This first book introduces us to the family of Jacob and Jeanne and we witness them being bullied, abused, stolen from, and ultimately run out of their home and separated.
• 
  Susan

  Very well written and compelling book, I truly enjoyed reading it. The depth of the characters, the loyalty to religious beliefs and love of family was inspiring. I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historic fiction.
• 
  Gregory Andis

  Based on a true story. Solid historical fiction and story telling, set in an era that is certainly not new to me, but one that I have not spent a great amount of time reading about. I will definitely be looking forward to following the saga in Books 2 and 3 of the series.
• 
  Sadie VanderKodde

  A heartbreaking piece of history that reads more like a history book than a novel. I appreciated the research that went into the book, but was disappointed by the storytelling. I don't think I'll read the next two books in the series.