This review first appeared on my blog: http://www.knittingandsundries.com/2011/04/egalley-wednesday-april-20-2011.html

In real life, Emilie du Chatelet, married to one man, long-time mistress and friend of Voltaire, gave birth to Stanislas Adelaide (Lili), child of yet another of her affairs, at the age of 43 and died 6 days later from a sudden illness. Lili died before her second birthday.

This novel is a fictionalized account of Lili's life had she lived, growing up with her godmother Julie de Bercy, who was in the house when Emilie died, pregnant with her own daughter Delphine. Her father pays a living stipend, but never visits, and her progress is monitored by her father's sister-in-law, Baronne Lomont, a strict adherent to society's protocols.

Lili is loyal, questing, and intelligent in an age when female intelligence and knowledge is still an affront to a proper society - a society where only the working class, not nobles, pay taxes, and she is shielded from the knowledge of her true parentage and her mother's scandalous life.

Lili's scientific mind and refusal to simply "be satisfied with being ordinary" are at the center of this novel. In her search to find her mother's story, she finds herself as well.

QUOTE: "I've tried to explain to her that her intelligence was charming on a girl, but not in a young lady. I've told her more than once that no man of quality will choose to marry someone whose head is buried in a book all day and every time she insists she'd rather have the book than the man" ( )

Because I really enjoy feminine literature and historical fiction, choosing to read and review Finding Emilie by Laurel Corona was a no-brainer for me.

The two young, main characters are quite endearing and the pre-French Revolution/Age of Enlightenment settings and situations are vividly described. I also thought the premise of the book was very intriguing -- who wouldn’t want to imagine an exciting life for a young lady known to have existed, but no one really knows anything about?

Friendship, romance and self-discovery are a few of the themes explored in Finding Emilie. Although Ms. Corona can be wordy with her writing and the story is sometimes confusing, there are no obvious grammatical errors and the syntax flows nicely.

The Meadowlark and Tom stories written by Lili included at the end of the book were a nice touch, though a few illustrations by Delphine would have made it better.

(Received complimentary copy for review purposes only.) ( )

FINDING EMILIE by Laurel Corona is an interesting historical novel set in 1749 France. It is based on real French people such as Voltaire,LaBarre,Saint_Lambert and Marquins de Chatelet,Emilie,a female mathematician who is not only scandalous but who was also brilliant.This story is se during the French Enlightenment and the pre French Revolution. It is a complicated story with multiple facet plots including the story of Emilie du Chatelet and her daughter,Lili. Emilie deads right after Lili is born,so Lili is sent to live with a friend of her mother's,but Emilie's husband's sister-in-law is in charge of Lili.
Lili's life if full of surprises,mysterious journeys in search of the truth about her mother and her own happiness. In the end she finds she has a lot in common with her mother.She also find a father who is not her father.A father who does't want her,
friendships that last a life time,love enduring and happiness. Along the way she learns more about her self and her mother. This is the story of self discovery,tensions of the times,dangerous path between the need to conform,the desire of one's destiny and the journey of one's heart. If you enjoy a good historical novel with facts on historical people,historical times and a great story than you will enjoy this one. Oh,did I forget to mention romance along the way. This book was received for the purpose of review from the publisher and details can be found at Gallery Books,a division of Simon and Schuster,Inc. and My Book Addiction and More. ( )