Diana Norman, The Sparks Fly Upward

The Sparks Fly Upward

Diana Norman

Berkley, September 2006, $15.00

ISBN: 0425211584

The Reign of Terror has engulfed France, with the festive activity being the beheading of the aristocracy by Madame Guillotine; in England, though horrified by what is going on across the Channel, the Ton continues partying with no fear of their inferiors rising up. In that London atmosphere where Lord Andrew Ffoulkes hosts waltzes, Philipa feels alone with no one loving her. Her dad died two years ago, and her mother Makepeace Hedley mourns her late spouse, yet firmly believes she and her daughter must do useful things to help people at the cost of showing no affection towards Philippa. When the man Philipa loves marries someone else, the heartbroken young lady decides to settle on a marriage of convenience to a kind person that she knows she will never love.

However, everything changes when Philipa learns her friend, the Marquis de Condorcet, has been arrested in Paris and his sisters are in hiding. Determined to heed her mother's advice to get involved, Philippa obtains a forged passport for the Marquis and arranges to get him to England. However, first she must get him out of the Bastille, which means she must journey to France where a date with Madame Guillotine awaits her if she is caught.

More a historical novel than a late nineteenth century romance, though a romantic subplot enhances the thriller, THE SPARKS FLY UPWARD is a vivid acute look at A Tale of Two Cities during the French revolution through the eyes of a lonely young woman caught in both worlds. The storyline is filled with non-stop action, yet it is the cast, especially the intrepid forlorn heroine who captures the reader's attention, as she risks her life for a friend while observing how immune the locals have become towards the public deaths. Fans will appreciate Philipa's saga that echoes the Scarlet Pimpernel.