BOOK REVIEW: Milady by Laura L. Sullivan @berkleypub #milady #lauralsullivan #bookreview

“We all know history was written by men, and they so often get things wrong.”

I always love a good reversal of classic stories, where the villain becomes the central character, and the hero’s faults are exposed. A story that makes you think about why the villain acted the way they did. Maybe not forgiving them, but sympathizing.

In Laura L Sullivan’s Milady, we see the story of Clarice (aka Milady de Winter), a spy, villainess, and antagonist of the classic book, The Three Musketeers. I have read Dumas’s The Three Musketeers, and if I’m honest (though it has admittedly been a long time since I read it), I always found Milady de Winter to be an interesting character, and one who was treated poorly by D’Artagnan in the first place. Lest we forget when he pretended to be someone else and had sexual relations with her under the cloak of darkness. That type of behavior would not be tolerated in 2019, but of course it was a different time back then.

“Morals are only consequences in disguise.”

I had a friend growing up who had cats named after D’Artagnan, the three musketeers, and Milady. True to the book, Milady the cat was a stunning creature. But I digress…

Early in the book, Milady is a bit naïve. Growing up with her mother, only to then be taken by her father to the royal palace, Milady soon sheds her naivety. Betrayal has a way of forcing a young woman to harden, afterall. I found it incredibly fascinating to see Milady shed the innocence of a sheltered upbringing. Through a series of events in the book, Milady becomes the spy and assassin we know from The Three Musketeers.

Sullivan’s Milady is a wonderfully complex character. Still flawed, still cunning, still a bit vengeful. But I hope readers also sympathize with her. It is hard to imagine the life this woman led and at the time. Women certainly were used and seen as less than, so I cheered her on when her cleverness and boldness allowed the men to finally understand that she is stronger than they believed. That a woman is capable of getting on over on them is an important lesson, despite her ultimate fate.

I found the focus on Milady’s life prior to the events in The Three Musketeers to be wonderful. Sullivan rounded out her character and fantasized how this brave, flawed, and diabolical woman became the person she was. At times the writing was so elegant that I had to reread the sentences.

It is also apparent that Sullivan spent considerable time researching and plotting this book, and to great effect. I thought it was brilliant that Sullivan didn’t change who Milady was, but she did tell you more about her. Milady wasn’t necessarily a nice character, but she was sympathetic. And she’s also fascinating! Much more so than the four males it took to bring The Three Musketeers to notoriety. (I’m exaggerating, I actually do love the original story as well, but I’m making a point here about the male-female dynamic and characterizations)

Fans of this reimagining of a classic story will enjoy this one! It’s a fascinating historical fiction novel, filled with all sorts of scandal, spies, treason, murder, and secrets. And Milady de Winter is certainly a woman who can carry a book!

Thank you to Berkley for my copy. Opinions are my own.