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Summer 1902.... On a perched tree, Melanie was
watching the ball given by her illustrious
neighbor. The branch broke. Melanie fell at the
feet of a handsome marquis.... She was fifteen
years old. Her heart was beating for the first
time. The Marquis married her. When, after the
party, they reach their wagon-cabin of the
Mediterranean-Express, she thought they were
boarding for Kythera... It was not so. The
Marquis spent "their" wedding night with a
Spanish dancer... Melanie would like to die of
shock. She wants to throw herself off the train
when she is rescued by a very seductive
enigmatic painter... It is the beginning of
incredible adventures during which she will
discover love, foil ignominious plots and
attract the attention of a king... Passion,
tears, emotion... The first volume of a great
saga....
« In the hushed atmosphere of the turn of the
century,
with the
silhouettes
of the
deposed
Empress, the
Boni de
Castellane
and Sarah
Bernhardt
gliding
majestically
by, Juliette
Benzoni
unfurls the
successive
veils of her
novel of
initiation
with ease.
Even when
the police
intrigue
intertwines
with the
emotions of
La Jene
Mariée, it
is always
with grace..
»
~ Laurence Vida ~ [ Le
Figaro]
►The
comments in
the edition France Loisirs
La Jeune Mariée
A
fascinating
storyline:
«Albine is the kind of person whose beauty
dazzles
those around
her.
Narcissistic,
vain and
mischievous,
she seems
oblivious to
the
beautiful
woman who
lies dormant
in Mélanie,
her
fifteen-year-old
daughter...
The rivalry
between
mother and
daughter
provides a
passionate
backdrop for
this novel,
which blends
love and
betrayal. »
~ Chance ! ~
Literature
of escape
«
Anyone
who loves a
good getaway
will
certainly
appreciate
the first
volume of
this
triology
entitled Les
Dames du
Méditerranée-Express...
Juliette
Benzoni
keeps up the
suspense
right to the
end, and
believe me,
we can't
wait to find
out what
fate awaits
the slim and
pretty
Mélanie, a
tigress with
good
intentions,
capable of
any trick in
the book to
escape the
net in which
she has
found
herself
caught
unwillingly. »
~ Famille Magazine
~
In this
marvellous
volume from
France
Loisirs, an
exclusive
illustrated
dossier on
the work,
Juliette
Benzoni
gives us the
background
to the
creation of
these three
different
stories.
It's packed
with
information
and fun, and
the author
also talks
about her
own
experience.
Please
follow the
link to the
page created
for the
occasion
►►here
(text still
in French)
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Alexandra loved to travel. Her husband hated
them. She wasn't a woman to beg. Then, one fine
day in 1904, the beautiful American embarked on
a luxury liner and headed for France. She had
decided that this journey would be a delight.
She wanted to perfect her culture, rob the
couturiers, shine at balls and receptions, flirt
"American style" without giving anything to the
gentlemen too pressing...
But she didn't know that France is the land of
love and that fate was going to put in its path
the most beautiful man that the earth had ever
carried....
To Jean des Cars, who awakened my passion for
great trains, I dedicate Les Dames du
Méditterannée-Express with friendship and
gratitude...ℐℬ
♣
Jean des
Cars
is a
French historian, journalist and writer
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Because of her love, Orchidée, the little
Manchu princess, had forgotten China and the
Empress Ts'eu-hi whom she betrayed to marry
Edward. But, suddenly, she receives a terrible
letter...
Ts'eu-hi ordered her to return to China after
stealing a brooch in Paris that belonged to the
imperial family.
Heartbroken, Orchidée steals the jewel. But the
nightmare continues. The next day, Edward is
murdered. And it is her whom the servants are
accusing!
Devastated, Orchidée flees. Direction Marseille,
then.... On board the Mediterranean Express, she
finally meets the providential man who might be
able to help her...
►Quote
in this Novel :
«
You can't walk looking at the stars with a stone
in your shoe »
~Lao Tseu ~
♣
The next
publications in this series :
The France Loisirs edtions in 1991
The editions of Pocket 2001 [The
series was previously published by Pocket 1992,
1993, 1997)
♣ The Integrale (all three books) by Pocket
in 2013 & 2016
♣The saga was
also translated in the Countries :
Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia,
Ukraine and Russia.
The editions of Hungary, Slovenia and Russia
The Slovakia and Ukraine editions. In the case
of Slovakia, I couldn't resist downloading two
of the three covers because I love the fact that
you can read the names of trains and shipping
lines.
Dame Juliette
takes the train...
(2016)
Juliette Benzoni, who passed
away eight months ago, loved trains. Her heroes,
at least those of the 20th century, liked to use
this means of transport for rest, meditation
and... crime. In this series of crime novels,
the original edition of which was published
twenty-five years ago, she has chosen to set the
action directly on the Méditerranée Express, the
Côte d'Azur train so loved by Gabrielle Chanel.
There are three of them. They don't know it, but
a character unites them. They come from France,
the United States and China and find themselves
at the heart of a drama that, as always with
Benzoni, combines history, money, crime, jewels
and wild love affairs. Between the fate of the
Manchu princess, that of the proud American or
the adventures of the young bride, all you have
to do is choose your favourite heroine.
Personally, I have a soft spot for the niece of
Tseu-Hi - that's how the author spells her white
jade medallion, her tumultuous love affairs, her
bloody rivals and her Marco Polo-like travels.
But the other two are just as endearing.
One of the most romantic series by the queen
of historical fiction finally published in a
single volume.
~ article by Vincent Meylan 2016 ~ [ Point
de Vue]
TRIBUTE
THE TIME OF A JOURNEY...
Published in 1990 and 1991, this saga is one of
the jewels in the oeuvre of the late Juliette
Benzoni !
THE LADIES OF THE ORIENT - EXPRESS, VOLUME 1 TO
3 THE YOUNG BRIDE, THE PROUD AMERICAN, PRINCESS
MANCHOU
The amorous adventures of fifteen-year-old
Mélanie, from the evening in the summer of 1905
when, venturing in her nightdress into the
garden of her aristocratic neighbour who was
giving a ball, she fell by chance into the arms
of the Marquis de Varennes...
Alexandra loves travelling. Her husband hates
them. So, one day in 1904, the beautiful
American embarked alone on a liner and set sail
for France, determined to have fun. But little
did she know that France was the land of love
and that fate was about to throw her in the path
of the most handsome man the world had ever
known. Orchidée, the little Manchu princess, had
forgotten all about China and her empress, who
told her to go home. Heading for Marseille,
then... on board the Mediterranean-Express, she
finally meets the providential man.
~ Article by L'Actu Littéraire
2016 ~
►As you can read in the article
above, the series was reissued in 2016 by the
Club, with the same original covers from
Juillard 1991. The difference is that we no
longer see the editiors Juillard's name...
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