Ribbons of Scarlet by Kate Quinn, Sophie Perinot, Laura Kamoie, Heather Webb, Stephanie Dray, & Eliza Knight

The authors of Ribbons of Scarlet were having a book tour event near me, so I listened to it in a burst, as soon as it was released. It was riveting. My initial misgivings about an anthology-style book that swapped characters in a multi-perspective were utterly invalidated. I'd been afraid I wouldn't connect as well with the characters, but I actually sobbed on-and-on during the heartrending ending of the book! Emotionally invested while reaping the benefits of hearing about the revolution from all sides. Bravo to these authors!

I am thrilled at this concept of presenting all sides, as it’s the nature of things to empathize with your main characters—of becoming biased in favor of a protagonist’s side. Even though most of these protagonists tended towards the revolutionary side, we had the chance to be truly sympathetic to even the royals. Hurrah for fair treatment, and I hope this is a growing trend in historical fiction.
I did attend the author talk, and it was super! I loved what Sophie Perinot had to say about how history isn’t linear and how she can think of many ways women had it better in 1254 (her first book’s setting) than in later periods of history. I especially appreciated her telling us that the ‘modern sensibilities’ of the women of their book are indeed authentic. The novel did start off a bit unexpectedly with regards to the mores of the time. I’m sure the authors were excited to reveal some of the more ‘modern’ perspectives of that time period (1790’s, French Revolution), but I’d have preferred if they’d eased into it some. Any of the other characters would have suited this purpose more readily than Stephanie Dray’s Sophie de Grouchy…for all that she was fascinating and often admirable, and Dray seemed to capture her well.
Sophie Perinot took on the task of representing the royalist perspective—while at the talk assuring us that she is absolutely not a royalist! She wrote her section in 1st person present tense, in contrast to the rest of the book. While I love present tense, I was surprised by this inconsistency, and even more so that I didn’t notice this shift until after hearing the audiobook, only when flipping through the book. Perhaps it's on-purpose, a way of setting the princess aside from the revolutionaries, reminiscent of royals speaking in first-person plural. Obviously it didn’t bother me too much.
Kate Quinn was so charming and adorable! She left me starry-eyed. When I was at the bookstand, looking at her book The Huntress, she strolled by and tapped her finger on it. “That one’s rubbish,” she quipped. Totally made me laugh—and what an amazing thing to happen, the author popping by to tease while you’re perusing her book! She didn’t even let on she was the author. I haven’t read The Huntress yet, but her previous book, The Alice Network, is amazing, and her section of Ribbons had me going back to look at her writing style, specifically, to see just how she’d managed to grip me as she did! [I liked it so much that I immediately began listening to The Alice Network when I finished Ribbons.]
Laura Kamoie wrote the desperately sad section at the end that made me cry so much, which is perhaps why she also struck me as the most empathetic of the authors. I had the chance to briefly speak with her twice, to my delight. I attribute this to my red scarf, so if you do attend an author event, consider dressing in-theme—I’m guessing my scarf caught their eye!
ALL of the authors were so articulate, passionate, and informed. Eliza Knight discussed her section on the infamous Charlotte Cordray, which was perhaps the most fascinating for its shock value.
Heather Webb may have had the most challenging job—to make us empathetic towards one of the most radical, less-educated characters.
Anyhow, there was something quite exciting about all the authors being there as a group, so many fabulous scribblers at once!
I bought a paper copy of Ribbons of Scarlet, even though I already had it on Kindle AND audiobook. Sigh! I did it just for their autographs. The duplicate expense (not so much of an expense…) and the four hours of driving (more of an issue…) were totally worth it for me, though I went home thinking how exhausting it must be for them, having to talk in front of everyone and then go and lecture again later that day—plus packing their luggage and checking in new places and all. I’m happy they came fairly near me, though, and I hope they are still having fun with their tour! What amazing company they must be for each other!