Her Own Revolution: An Engrossing Expression of Feminine Courage

The book ‘Her Own Revolution’ is about a woman Genevieve from 18th-century France who forges a dangerous path to save hundreds from the French Royalists. Alongside danger, Borchert describes the struggles of women seeking independence and equality. Genevieve was only able to attend university disguised as a man, and while studying she met Henri, to whom she was attracted since he treated her more as an equal.

Genevieve is a precocious and daring young protagonist who refuses to bow to the gender norms of the time, hiding her gender in order to seek out her education. Terrified at being found out, she has a single person to confide in, Henri, but his political and philosophical views drive him out of France, and across the ocean, and she is left to fight her fierce battle alone.

Her father is a staunch supporter of Royalists to the guillotine. Genevieve’s hard-won position working with her father grants her more power than many women of her age. Learning to fluently speak the language of deception, and tap the implicit power that feminine wiles provide, she maneuvers the dangerous landscape of the French Revolution with grace, courage, and sheer audacity.

An empowering and dramatic story of romance in deeply troubled times, Her Own Revolution by Debra Borchert is an authentic period novel with a fearless female lead. From the novel’s bold opening line to the heartwarming final proposal, this book is carefully crafted by a master of relationships and emotional tension, for a tightly written, heart-pounding twister of a tale.