Odette Rising

A Novel

By: Julianne Edwards

“Moving and fiercely clever. . . a triumph of storytelling.”
—Clare Leslie Hall, New York Times bestselling author of Broken Country

A mesmerizing coming-of-age story of an extraordinary young woman in turn-of-the-century France as she rises to find a life she’d never dreamed possible

She had always felt that she must stay in the shadows, that if she asked for little, she could not feel loss. But here was life and joy.

It’s 1896 in Sèvres, France and, from her bedroom window, Odette Huré watches a funeral procession carry her father’s coffin away. She is twenty-one and she has not left the house for ten years.

Odette has long spent her days reading and soothing herself with food. With the sudden death of her father, the walls she has built around herself begin to crumble. Forced into society, she discovers she is responsible for her father’s considerable fortune and his celebrated stockings factory—renowned for its exquisite designs that adorn the slender ankles of Parisian femmes célèbres.

Now Odette must try and navigate the world she has hidden from for so long. In doing so, she will excavate the secrets left behind by her father and in turn, accept the shocking truth of her own identity. With the help of an unorthodox found family, she will discover all that she is capable of. Odette is a heroine for the ages—complex and flawed, but compelling and full of warmth—and we share her joy as she begins to soar.

Critic reviews

Advance praise for Odette Rising:

“I adored this moving and fiercely clever novel about a young reclusive woman’s rebirth into 19th century Parisian society. Absorbing, stirring and vividly drawn, Odette Rising is a triumph of storytelling.”
—Clare Leslie Hall, New York Times bestselling author of Broken Country

“Odette Rising reads like a subverted fairytale, steeped in wonder and daring, while gently upending traditional notions of beauty and propriety along the way. Edwards writes with compassion and insight, guiding her characters toward wholeness, while never demanding they conform. Masterful.”
—Florence Knapp, New York Times bestselling author of The Names