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The Bee and the Orange Tree

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The Bee and the Orange Tree

By: Melissa Ashley
Narrated by: Anna Bentinck
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From the bestselling author of The Birdman's Wife.

1699. The salons of Paris are bursting with the creative energy of fierce, independent-minded women. But outside those doors, the patriarchal forces of Louis XIV and the Catholic Church are moving to curb their freedoms. In this battle for equality, Baroness Marie Catherine D’Aulnoy invents a powerful weapon: ‘fairy tales’. When Marie Catherine’s daughter, Angelina, arrives in Paris she is swept up in the glamour and sensuality of the city, where a woman may live outside the confines of the church or marriage. But when close friend Nicola Tiquet is arrested, accused of conspiring to murder her abusive husband, illusions are shattered and dark secrets revealed as all three women learn how far they will go to preserve their liberty.

Restoring a remarkable woman to her rightful place in history, and revealing the dissent hidden beneath the whimsical surfaces of Marie Catherine’s fairy tales, this is a deeply absorbing portrait of a time, a place, and the subversive power of the imagination.©2019 Melissa Ashley (P)2019 W. F. Howes Ltd Fiction Historical Fiction Marriage
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I enjoyed the beautiful writing. The detail was equisite. I enjoyed the twists and turns.

A fabulous novel.

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I was absolutely enthralled from beginning to end. Highly recommend! Loved the story and the narrator

A great listen

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I found the book disjointed, confusing, and hard to engage with. The book was nearly finished before it became clear what the title was about. The story line was not enjoyable, and I'm still unclear about what was the point of the whole story. Seriously dissatisfying.

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In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.