published 1997; hardback 1997

The Moon and the Sun immerses the reader in 17th-century France, the time of Louis XIV. Court ladies wear the finest fabrics and sculpt their hair to tremendous heights, sometimes housing live birds inside for added decorative effect. Men wear makeup, high heels, and swords. And the sun that the court nobles orbit is the Sun King himself, whose whim, as well as his word, is law.

Into this solar system come the orphaned siblings Marie-Josephe de la Croix and Father Yves de la Croix, who have recently gained the Sun King's favor and now find themselves caught up in the swirl of court politics. Yves, the King's natural philosopher, has done what no one has been able to do for more than 400 years: capture a living sea monster for study. It is Marie-Josephe, however, who makes the most important discovery about the sea monster -- the "monster" is really a close relative of humankind, as evidenced by its physical structure. Further proof is the creature's ability to communicate, though it does so through a sort of mental telepathy that only Marie-Josephe can understand.

Marie-Josephe believes that killing the sea monster for dissection (and eventual dinner), as the King demands, would be a sin of the highest order. But no one flouts the will of one of the most powerful kings in the world, especially not a penniless, unmarried woman whose only source of support is her position as lady's-maid to a court family, and whose brother's success is dependent on the King's good humor.

Marie-Josephe soon finds herself playing a dangerous game as she is courted by the treacherous Chevalier de Lorraine, aided by the King's loyal advisor Count Lucien de Barenton, and noticed by Pope Innocent XII. Though court battles are fought with words, Marie-Josephe finds they are no less deadly for that. A misstep can mean not only swift execution for Marie-Josephe, but everyone she cares about as well.

The Moon and the Sun deftly mixes fantasy and history to form a compelling story that carries some subtle messages about the definition of true humanity.

Review by Sara Lipowitz
Reviewed January 25, 1998

ISBN 0-671-56765-9

See other reviews of The Moon and the Sun at Amazon.com