Merchants of Virtue: A Historical Fiction Novel

The Huguenot Chronicles, Book 1

By: Paul C.R. Monk

Narrated by: David Pickering

Length: 5 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's summary

France, 1685. Jeanne is the wife of a wealthy merchant, but now she risks losing everything. Louis XIV’s soldiers will stop at nothing to forcibly convert the country’s Huguenot "heretics" to the "true" faith. The men ransack Jeanne’s belongings and threaten to take her children.

One by one, Jeanne watches her neighbors cave under the constant harassment. She and her husband resolve to keep their faith, but Jeanne wonders if the punishment for their defiance is more than she can bear....

If Jeanne can’t find a way to evade the soldiers’ clutches, her family will face a fate worse than poverty and imprisonment. They may never see each other again....

Merchants of Virtue is the first book in the Huguenot Chronicles, a trilogy of historical fiction novels. If you like fast-paced adventure, rich layers of historical detail, and inspirational stories based on true events, then you’ll love Paul C.R. Monk’s stirring novel.

Get Merchants of Virtue to immerse yourself in a dangerous world today!

©2017, 2018, 2019 Paul C.R. Monk (P)2019 Paul C.R. Monk

Wonderful Historical Drama - Highly Recommend

I received this book for free. I am voluntarily leaving this review and all opinions expressed herein are mine.

This is the first three books in The Huguenot Connection Trilog series. It is a standalone story with no cliffhanger ending but it is a bit of an abrupt encing but it could be viewed as the start of the next story in the series.

Here, the story takes place in France during the reign of King Louis XIV. The King, a Catholic, has decided that all of his people must be Catholic and swear an oath to that effect. The aristocratic Huguenots [Protestants] were pursued to change their religious affiliations in order to continue to thrive in society. Soldiers were ordered to move into the Huguenot households and take over - selling their belongings, eating their food and at times - raping/assaulting the women. This story centers on one family who struggles to maintain their religious freedom and to keep their family together.

I love historical fiction books where real people, known facts and educated presumptions are deftly woven into a fictionalized plot with added fictionalized characters. And, I enjoyed this story, which allowed me to learn quite a bit of historical information from that time period. This is a heartbreaking yet compelling tale. I absolutely loved it and highly recommend it. I look forward to continuing the saga.

The narrator did a wonderful job conveying the period, the different characters/accents and bringing the story to life.

I love the historical period this story took place

I found it very pleasant listening to the Narrator. And the Author had just the right pace in his writing. One of my Aunts was a genealogist and she traced our way back to the Huguenot's of France. That family escaped to England in 55 or so gallon barrels that were supposed to contain fish. And yes, they made their way to America too. They went to Jamestown and over the years, the generations migrated to northern Minnesota. Anyway, back to the book. I very much do recommend this book, and I will be getting the follow-up books as well. Now for the obligatory: "I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review."

Merchants of Virtue

A moving tale of a family’s experiences with religious persecution. The author is very thorough and detailed in his descriptions of what it was like for families struggling to stay true to their faith.

The narration by David Pickering was very well done.

I look forward to the continuation of this storyline in the next book.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and I have voluntarily left this review.

Loyalisa30

Paul C.R. Monk did a great job with the Merchants of Virtue: A Historical Fiction Novel. This story of the atrocities families endured to be able to practice their religious preference was vividly told in a way that allowed one to empathize with their situation. The endurance of the mistreatments suffered by those who refused to abjure truly demonstrates trust and faith in the Lord. David Pickering did a fantastic job of narrating and really brought the story to life.

Humor helps swallow the pill of tragedy.

I loved the narrators ability to portray the tragedy of the events with irony and humor in his voice so you don’t get pulled down into the hopelessness of their persecution. Writing is great. I have learned a lot about the Huguenots from this book, and I am ready to start the next story in the series right now.

Eye Opening History

Sometimes difficult to keep the characters straight,due to the French names. Nevertheless, ac good story.

Bad Historial Fiction - Great Narration

Great subject, good possibilities but the way it was written was total dime-store pulp. Don't waste your time. But - Kudos to the narrator who did a great job with absolute pap.