By Rachel Wade
Kester Grant reimagines an alternative outcome from Les Miserables in this enthralling trilogy.
Kester Grant reimagines an alternative outcome from Les Miserables in this enthralling trilogy.
It’s 1828 in Paris, but the revolution failed. Poverty, starvation and repression remains wreathing throughout the city. The streets are bleak and ominous, the people struggling to live through the hour. Yet a criminal underworld, the nine different guilds, possess a more savage hunger. Those within these guilds are the Wretched, who in all produce the Court Of Miracles - living by their own set of rules.
Eponine Thenardier (Nina), the cunning protagonist, makes her presence known as ‘La Chatte Noir’ within the Guild of Thieves. After having her sister, Azelma, sold to the Guild Of Flesh (functioned for wickedly unspeakable acts with women) Nina accumulates all she has to get her back. Yet she has made an enemy in the Guild of Flesh’s leader: Lord Kaplan. Nina meets Ettie, a young innocent beauty, and forms a strong sisterhood with her. In the midst of venomous tension within the Guilds, Lord Kaplan sets Ettie as his new target. To protect Ettie and simultaneously save her sister, Nina cultivates perilous methods which are written in a fast-paced and intriguing way - along with witty and humorous elements.
The Court of Miracles reimagines Les Miserables, with Kester Grant stating that ‘EPONINE DESERVED SO MUCH MORE!’ in her acknowledgements - which many fans of the musical strongly agree with. Despite having never been a musical fan myself, I was able to enjoy the book without any knowledge of the characters in Les Miserables. The Court of Miracles was a strong page-turner and its addictiveness was one of the reasons I survived the majority of lockdown.
Exploring the different natures of each guild was something executed very well, and I especially loved the daunting portrayal of the Guild of Assassins. Its leader, Lady Charlotte Corday, quickly became a personal favourite character. She was rumoured to have come to her position by murdering the previous Lord in a crowded room without going anywhere near him - if that’s not awesome, then I don’t know what is. This book is filled to the brim with interesting and likeable characters, including the mysterious Montparnasse (the Master of Knives) and Lord Orso from the Guild of Beggars, who I just want to give a hug.
As a whole, the book is extraordinarily written, with enough detail and insight into the inner workings of the different guilds and the opposition to the royal family for the reader to become heavily immersed in this world - no matter how direful the setting may be. Though some may say there were many missed opportunities for romantic relationships to be more deeply formed within the story, I feel as though it was not as necessary. The book tells Nina’s strong determination to protect those who mean the most to her - specifically her sister, Azelma and her friend Ettie. The prioritisation of these sisterly relationships is essential for Grant to prioritise as this is only the first book in the trilogy. Any romantic scenes in this book, for instance when Ettie childishly romanticises any time she sees Nina talk to a boy who is mildly interested in her, is written in a humorous and comedic way - it’s almost ironic in contrast to the depressing nature of the world around them.
This book can be enjoyable for almost anyone who has ever read and fallen in love with Young Adult fantasy fiction, or even historical/period books. It deals with complex issues and sensitive topics in a mature manner, and has the potential to be the blueprint for powerful female protagonists. This has definitely become a personal favourite book of mine, and I’m very eagerly anticipating the next book in the trilogy to be released.
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#Books #CourtOfMiracles #KesterGrant #YA #HistoricalFiction #Revolution #France #Paris #LesMiserables
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