From the glittering ballrooms of 17th Century England to the dangerous intrigues of the French court, Laura L. Sullivan brings an unlikely heroine to the page, turning on its head everything we’ve been told about The Three Musketeers and their ultimate rival. I’ve gone by many names, though you most likely know me as Milady de Winter: Villainess. Seductress. A secondary player in someone else’s … in someone else’s tale.
It’s finally time I tell my own story. The truth isn’t tidy or convenient, but it’s certainly more interesting.
Before you cast judgment, let me start at the beginning, and you shall learn how an innocent girl from the countryside became the most feared woman in all of Europe.
Because we all know history was written by men, and they so often get things wrong.
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A woman’s place is no longer in the subplot and Milady de Winter is a 17th century heroine destined for the 21st century. With bold, witty writing, and a narrative that rips along, Laura L. Sullivan crafts a compelling novel for a character deserving of her own story. I loved it!
As sharp and merciless as a Musketeer’s blade, Milady is the historical adventure I’ve been waiting for, one that will leave you gasping to the very last page. Adventuress, assassin, and provocatrix, Milady de Winter is an unforgettable heroine, more than a match for any adversary. This is the story Dumas should have told.
This thoroughly enjoyable and intense historical fiction is action-packed with intrigue, betrayal, spies, assassins, the Musketeers, and one determined woman who doesn’t simply want to go to the royal court, she wants to change the world.
Milady by Laura L. Sullivan is one of those books that the reader has a hard time putting down. I like many others have watched the Three Musketeer movies. I always thought that they were awesome, three friends going around and taking care of the bad guys. I don’t remember anything about a woman assassin who takes on the Musketeers.
As the story goes one, it starts in 1628 In Paris. The first sentence “The things a woman has to do to make her way in this world” Clarice, a young widow finds herself in a whorehouse as part of a house of prostitutes run by Mrs.Fox. Thus starts the story of the life of Milady de Winter. We learn in alternating chapters the beginning of Milady’s spy life. Spying for Cardinal Richelieu puts her in danger over and over. How did she become the most feared female assassin? What was her role with The Three Musketeers? She was taken from her father for his own gains. Sent to a woman who teaches her the things she needs to know to become a successful assassin for the Cardinal.
Written beautifully, in different times of her life, her loves and hopes and also her losses. It is a historical adventure of a strong, beautiful woman who is fearless and who was treated badly by D’Artagnan. This story is told in two different timelines, 10 years apart, with her doing things that were more often than not dangerous. The book is true to the time. Very well researched. The only thing I can say is that the author has made The Three Musketeers to be villainous and all-around bad boys. I remember them to be more for the downtrodden and very romantic. Didn’t find that here. Does it matter? Not to me. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it!
I had no idea who Milady was. I have not read The Three Musketeers and I am not at all familiar with who Milady de Winter was or what her story was. That being said I picked up this story excited to learn all that I could about this girl who was young and naive living with her mother until her father comes for her and has other plans for the path her life will be taking.
Milady is an interesting story. It takes a young girl and turns her into a feared and dangerous woman. The paths she takes, the people she meets, and the things she does are scary, amazing, and sometimes deadly. I enjoyed meeting the diverse characters with their different social status’, different levels of education, and different upbringings. There was an interesting mix of cultures and I was amazed at how easily Milady was able to find her place in each one.
This is a fun historical fiction story. I recommend picking up your own copy and learning more about the woman who many men fear and many men loved.
There’s nothing more satisfying than a riveting tale with a swash-buckling, cunning female spy at its center. Milady is a worthy addition to the canon of The Three Musketeers, told with well-paced, elegant prose and a keen eye for historical detail. I couldn’t put the book down!
“In the tide of great affairs, it is not the many who make the crucial choices, but the individual. Mobs do not decide the fate of the world, or even armies. It is always one man – or woman – often unknown to history, working in secret, dedicated to a greater good, who shifts the tides.”
How amazing is that sentence? I swear I could have highlighted about 3/4 of this book, it is filled with so many great lines!
I’ve got one word for this book and for Milady….badass!
I was immediately charmed by the writing style and de Winter’s voice. The opening scene…whooo…what a doozy that was! Going into this novel I didn’t know much at all about Milady de Winter, and the only thing I’ve watched about the Three Musketeers was from that movie The Man in the Iron Mask (don’t judge, I was a 90s kid…haha), so I jumped at the chance to read this one.
If you want to know how a naive and innocent young woman becomes the most feared assassin in France who spies for the infamous Cardinal Richelieu, you have to pick this book up!
Scheming, spying, court machinations, betrayal, love, and adventure are all masterfully combined in this exciting read! I would seriously love to see this adapted as a movie. I think Milady is the heroine we all need right now 🙂
“My name – my title, rather, for no one knows who I truly am, and even in Paris I have many guises – is whispered in the dark and furtively as some speak of the devil, as if to breathe my name would conjure me up in the flesh. And oh, what flesh! My beauty is part of my legend. Deadly beauty.”
I absolutely loved Milady and am anxiously awaiting the next release from Laura L. Sullivan!
A devious, delectable historical spy confection in which an icing of lavish court intrigue slyly masks heady doses of ripe feminism and lethal social commentary. Milady snared me in its web from the first pages and I’ll be first in line for the film premiere.
Linda’s Book Obsession Review “Milady” by Laura L. Sullivan, Berkley, Penguin Random House, July 2, 2019
Laura L. Sullivan, Author of “MILADY” has written a unique, intense, captivating, bewitching, and exciting adventure. The Genres for this novel are Fiction and Historical Fiction. The timeline for this story is the seventeenth century. The author describes her characters as good and evil, loyal and betraying, complex and complicated. Laura L. Sullivan has provided what could be the truth of Milady de Winter and is the opposite version of “The Three Musketeers” by Dumas. What if Milady were to tell the story as she sees it?
In the seventeenth century, women were not treated equally in any way to men. As the author retells the story, Milady is either a heroine or anti-heroine in a hostile and complex time and place. Milady has had only the best training from her mother to be able to protect herself in any way that she can. At times Milady is a victim or a villain. What do you think?
There are secrets, spies, kidnappings, murders, treason, and twists and turns. This is an edgy and intense adventure filled with danger and excitement. I highly recommend this unusual story.
Okay, so I have a new favorite book!! No joke, MIlady is absolutely one of my new favorite works of historical fiction. This is one of those rare finds that I know I will read over and over throughout my life and recommend to everyone! Now that I’ve made myself sound like a creepy-stalker fan I’ll justify my words. Milady de Winter has been the epitome of the evil-harlot villainess since Alexandre Dumas birthed her into the harsh, male-run world of The Three Musketeers almost two centuries ago. In that time we’ve all celebrated the Musketeers for their selfless heroism, laughed off their debauchery as boys being boys and celebrated with them after they take down (supposed) villains like Milady de Winter. But is Milady so bad? We must remember history is written by the victors. Laura Sullivan corrects that with Milady by telling her story. She is a product of her world. She is what the men in her life made her to be. After all, in the 17th century being a strong, independent woman, who doesn’t need a man to protect her, is a dangerous thing in itself. And that’s just who Milady de Winter is. In other words: she rocks! We also find out the Musketeers themselves aren’t quite the honorable men history has made them. This is the other side of The Three Musketeers story. One of love, betrayal, scheming and survival. I hope that Laura Sullivan will continue to write novels for adults (this is her first in that arena) that tell the stories of infamous female characters because she has a knack for it. I won this book in a giveaway and I’m so glad I did.
If you’ve ever read The Three Musketeers, you know who Milady is – but this isn’t that book. This is a new take on the character, from her start and rising through the ranks as a spy to showing her view on the Musketeers, the Cardinal, and d’Artagnan.
Written from her point of view, it’s an interesting read and shows a different side of the story that you may or may not agree with… but it’s a good read that tips the usual story on it’s head and makes you think more about the original story and how things might have happened differently!
“Milady” is a swashbuckling historical spy thriller set in England and France. It’s replete with court intrigue, murder and Musketeers. Perfect for anyone seeking adventure and escape.
What a great character, Milady, she’s the woman who caused all the problems for The Three Musketeers. Her background is tragic, so it’s difficult not to feel for her even when she does horrible things.
I enjoyed this book so much. If you like strong female characters, you need to red this.
Milady is the nemesis of the Three Musketeers. Once, she was just Clarice happily learning life by her mother’s side. Then, one day her father came and took her away to the English Court. Here starts her trials and turbulence. Through love, betrayal, loss, and redemption, she becomes a strong woman.
An adventure story packed with love, betrayal, loss, redemption, scheming and spying, this is a must read. I look forward to reading more from Laura Sullivan.