The Jewel Thief
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- $8.99
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- $8.99
Publisher Description
A lush, slow-burn romance set in 17th century France, and based on the history of the Hope Diamond--The Glittering Court meets Alex and Eliza.
Her story begins . . . in Paris. The only daughter of the King's crown jeweler, Juliette marvels at the large, deep-blue diamond Louis XIV has commanded her father to make shine like the sun. But Jean Pitau has never cut a diamond quite like this, and shaping it is a risky endeavor. As Jean spirals into depression, Juliette takes it upon herself to cut the stone, and with every misstep, brings her family closer to ruin.
Her story resumes . . . in a cold, dark cell of the Bastille prison. Charged with stealing the King's diamond, Juliette has but one chance to convince him that her motives were pure. If she fails, this night may very well be her last. Though, death wouldn't be her worst fate. Because recording Juliette's confession is René, a court-appointed scribe, and the man she loves. But René holds his own grudge against Juliette, and this is her one and only chance to win back his heart.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Mobley (Bobby Lee Claremont and the Criminal Element) crafts her own Hope Diamond legend, one filled with romance and intrigue. After Juliette Pitau, 16, is arrested for stealing King Louis XIV's Tavernier Violet, a massive blue-tinted diamond, she attempts to avoid execution by recounting the path that forced her into thievery. Mobley shifts from Juliette's bare Bastille cell to richly drawn flashbacks of her life as daughter of the court's esteemed crown jeweler. When her despairing father suggests that the diamond cannot be cut to satisfy the king, Juliette takes matters into her own hands, using strategic allies and cunning to outwit those eager for her family's ruin. Along the way, she meets with a level of tragedy and abuse unmatched by the novel's final happily-ever-after. While the romantic emphasis between Juliette and her confessor, Ren Relieur, can feel overworked ("I can feel his own urgency now pressed against me"), Mobley's account of diamond cutting is fascinating, and her attention to the political and social tensions of the time, particularly the treatment of Jews in 17th-century France, adds a pointed layer of consequence to the novel. Ages 12 up.
