Wow…
Three little letters of exasperation – a pithy and complete assessment of Susanne Dunlap’s historical fiction EMILIE’S VOICE. They form the simple word that came in breaths of awe and wonder for me at the conclusion of this remarkable work of literature.
I could honestly react in no other way. Here was a sad story of an innocent Parisian girl, truly blessed by God with a gift of song, juxtaposed against King Louis XIV whom people viewed as ordained by God to lead the French people – a calling permitting him all sorts of liberty to indulge himself as he pleased. Emilie Jolicoeur’s gift rests akin to Solomon’s gift of being blessed with extraordinary wisdom; but it is the injustice of Louis’ pompous court, extrapolating a mandate from God, that threatens to destroy what authentic treasure of the sublime is kept in such a pure, idyllic jar.
‘No! It can’t end this way. Madame de Maintenon is wrong. The king is not just!’ I cried as pages evaporated before me with no signs of a ‘happy ending’ summing up what I had read.
Then, I got it.
I read the final sentences to this tale’s final chapter, having been held riveted to every page, and I got it. King Louis XIV didn’t get it. Madame de Maintenon, the widow Scarron didn’t get it. Monsieur Jean-Baptiste Lully didn’t get it. Monsieur le Comte de St. Paul certainly didn’t get it; and clearly, there will be those who read EMILIE’S VOICE who likewise miss this absolute triumph of the human spirit over all rule and authority -- even a king of Louis XIV’s stature. But it is, nevertheless, there; and it brought a smile to my beleaguered countenance, birthing joy into my heart.
I have been privileged to review books for only a short time; and over that time, many great stories have passed before my eyes. EMILIE’S VOICE is the first of all these marvelous works where I honestly felt a need to leap atop the highest plane available and shout! Victory does arise from the soil of defeat. For those who carry the eyes to see and the ears to hear, the earthen grind of human suffering is not the end! YES!!
How appropriate the epilogue occurs on Easter morn.
Now, as for the story itself: Emilie Joliceur is a young girl living in the modest sections of Paris with her father Marcel (a luthier struggling as a maker of the yet-to-be-popular violin) and her mother Madeleine. One day, Emilie sings for her father as he plays a violin prepared for the young composer Marc-Antoine Charpentier.
To Marcel’s surprise, not to mention Emilie’s own, a voice matching, if not surpassing the rich texture of the violin’s pure tone emanates from herself and spreads into the ambience of the humble workshop. (Dunlap creates the stirring sound of Emilie’s voice within this brief moment of discovery, providing a reader with something to hear through the remaining fragrant pages of the book) Charpentier hears this; lessons for Emilie immediately begin; Emilie debuts at the Hotel de Guise, where Charpentier works; and an astonished crowd of Paris’ uppercrust and affluent learn of France’s newest musical treasure.
One of those in attendance is Monsieur de St. Paul, the godson to the lady of the house Mademoiselle de Guise. He has been called upon by Madame de Maintenon, the instructor of the king’s children and a pious woman of religious faith, to come up with a solution to the prurient influence upon the king by Madame de Montespan, the king’s official mistress.
Her prominence at Versailles, along with Louis’ well-known loose ways involving women, has threatened a denial of Holy Communion – a reality Madame de Maintenon cannot bear to see played out. As “God’s chosen representative to lead the people of France”, such a thing must never happen.
When St. Paul hears Emilie sing at his godmother’s house, he believes she is the one, with her angelic voice, to offer the more compelling attraction to the king’s insatiable longings than Madame de Montespan. Yet, after he transports Emilie into Madame de Maintenon’s hands at Versailles, and Emilie begins her new lessons with Monsieur Lully, the court composer, there are questions as to exactly what the widow Scarron has in mind.
Versailles showcases French pomposity; Emilie, her parents, and Monsieur Charpentier show the French spirit; the music that is such an integral part of their lives delivers the romanticism of France one grows up almost mythically believing. It is a sterling suffusion of the two cultural realities. How is it possible to present both the myth and the reality within the context of the same tale? Susan Dunlap adeptly manages, creating this piece of the written word that resounds with the human voice, Emilie Joliceur’s voice, a happy heart to all who open their own heart to hear.
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