{"title":"Vanessa Riley","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"queen-of-exiles-a-novel","title":"Queen of Exiles: A Novel of a True Black Regency Queen","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e“You may not know Marie-Louise Christophe but once you have met her, you won’t forget her. Vanessa Riley’s historical novel feels timely and relevant, commemorating a time when Black women were queens.” —Jodi Picoult, #1 \u003cem\u003eNew York Times \u003c\/em\u003ebestselling author\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAcclaimed historical novelist Vanessa Riley is back with another novel based on the life of an extraordinary Black woman from history: Haiti’s Queen Marie-Louise Christophe, who escaped a coup in Haiti to set up her own royal court in Italy during the Regency era, where she became a popular member of royal European society. \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe Queen of Exiles is Marie-Louise Christophe, wife and then widow of Henry I, who ruled over the newly liberated Kingdom of Hayti in the wake of the brutal Haitian Revolution.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn 1810 Louise is crowned queen as her husband begins his reign over the first and only free Black nation in the Western Hemisphere. But despite their newfound freedom, Haitians still struggle under mountains of debt to France and indifference from former allies in Britain and the new United States. Louise desperately tries to steer the country’s political course as King Henry descends into a mire of mental illness.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn 1820, King Henry is overthrown and dies by his own hand. Louise and her daughters manage to flee to Europe with their smuggled jewels. In exile, the resilient Louise redefines her role, recovering the fortune that Henry had lost and establishing herself as an equal to the kings of European nations. With newspapers and gossip tracking their every movement, Louise and her daughters tour Europe like other royals, complete with glittering balls and princes with marriage proposals. As they find their footing—and acceptance—they discover more about themselves, their Blackness, and the opportunities they can grasp in a European and male-dominated world.  \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eQueen of Exiles \u003c\/em\u003eis the tale of a remarkable Black woman of history—a canny and bold survivor who chooses the fire and ideals of political struggle, and then is forced to rebuild her life on her own terms, forever a queen.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\"A sweeping look at the political, social, and romantic intrigue surrounding Haiti’s first and only queen. Riley’s depiction is richly imagined and wholly original.\" — Fiona Davis, \u003cem\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/em\u003e bestselling author of \u003cem\u003eThe Magnolia Palace\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e\"Queen of Exiles\u003c\/em\u003e is the riveting account of Marie-Louise Christophe, Haiti's first and only Queen. Bold, ambitious, historically sound and beautifully told.\"--Sadeqa Johnson, \u003cem\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/em\u003e bestselling author of \u003cem\u003eThe House of Eve\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Vanessa Riley","offers":[{"title":"Trade Paperback","offer_id":53497111740707,"sku":"9780063271005","price":15.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0930\/2258\/5123\/files\/9780063270992.jpg?v=1741141836"},{"product_id":"island-queen-a-novel","title":"Island Queen: A Novel","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e“Riveting and transformative…evocative and immersive...by turns vibrant and bold and wise…discovering Dorothy’s story is a singular pleasure.”—\u003cem\u003eNew York Times \u003c\/em\u003e(Editors’ Choice)\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA remarkable, sweeping historical novel based on the incredible true-life story of Dorothy Kirwan Thomas, a free woman of color who rose from slavery to become one of the wealthiest and most powerful landowners in the colonial West Indies. \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBorn into slavery on the tiny Caribbean island of Montserrat, Doll bought her freedom—and that of her sister and her mother—from her Irish planter father and built a legacy of wealth and power as an entrepreneur, merchant, hotelier, and planter that extended from the marketplaces and sugar plantations of Dominica and Barbados to a glittering luxury hotel in Demerara on the South American continent.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eVanessa Riley’s novel brings Doll to vivid life as she rises above the harsh realities of slavery and colonialism by working the system and leveraging the competing attentions of the men in her life: a restless shipping merchant, Joseph Thomas; a wealthy planter hiding a secret, John Coseveldt Cells; and a roguish naval captain who will later become King William IV of England.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFrom the bustling port cities of the West Indies to the forbidding drawing rooms of London’s elite, \u003cem\u003eIsland Queen \u003c\/em\u003eis a sweeping epic of an adventurer and a survivor who answered to no one but herself as she rose to power and autonomy against all odds, defying rigid eighteenth-century morality and the oppression of women as well as people of color. It is an unforgettable portrait of a true larger-than-life woman who made her mark on history.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Vanessa Riley","offers":[{"title":"Trade Paperback","offer_id":53159296827683,"sku":"9780063002852","price":13.59,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0930\/2258\/5123\/files\/9780063002852.jpg?v=1741177166"}],"url":"https:\/\/epicreads.com\/collections\/vanessa-riley.oembed","provider":"Epic Reads","version":"1.0","type":"link"}