To Crown with Liberty (Chrism Press 2024), by Karen Ullo, takes readers into a whirling journey of intrigue, love, and loss intertwined with the events stemming from the effects of the French Revolution.
Throughout this captivating tale, Alix de Morainville, a former lady-in-waiting to Marie Antoniette, seeks to flee the Reign of Terror but finds her past catching up with her present life in the New World. She is not alone. Her down-to-earth husband, Joseph Carpentier, flees into the rough lands of colonial Louisiana with her:
He was not the kind of dreamer who, if he could not touch the stars, would try to pull them closer. He was the kind of man who turns away and does his best to content himself with earth.
The novel is an exquisite tale that interlaces Joseph Carpentier and Alix de Morainville Carpentier’s journey through the swamp of Attakapas, while recollecting their past life in France. The social barriers that had once restrained their lives are now shattered, but there is no guarantee life will be easier in the wild territory of Louisiana.
The dual setting of To Crown with Liberty presents a story of a young woman, distraught by the destruction and cruelty of the Reign of Terror, with an underlying desire for atonement and forgiveness from those in her past and in her present world. The heart of the story rests on the themes of friendship, forgiveness and acceptance.
Through the untamed swamps of Louisiana, Alix reignites memories of her life in France and comes to terms with her position as a woman in this wild colony, far from the wickedness of the new French regime. Alix spends much of the story hiding from the revelations of her past actions, but ultimately, she comprehends the stakes from running away from friendship and love. The forgiveness that Alix seeks is beyond friendships, but most of all, she must learn to forgive herself. She must understand that her sacrificial love for family and friends was of far greater worth than what she envisioned. She recalls the death of her father and her first husband at the hands of the new French regime and its long-term effects upon her soul, her future marriage, and her search for acceptance in the New World. Ullo offers a unique perspective into the affairs leading up to the French Revolution and the destructive aftermath of such enforced progressive ideologies.
Ullo’s lyrical prose paints a vivid picture of hardship and love among the atrocities of the Reign of Terror. At its core, To Crown with Liberty is a story of sacrificial love that seeks to ennoble the human heart and its search for acceptance in a world of hate and ignorance. Ullo reminds readers that even through the most difficult and hardened circumstances, love and friendship can provoke a soul to cope with loss and regret. Ultimately, the heart has no bounds to love, and it is through difficult circumstances that people can adjust and amend their fallen nature towards growth in virtue, love, and acceptance.
Karen Ullo
Karen Ullo is the award-winning author of Jennifer the Damned, Cinder Allia, and To Crown with Liberty, and the Editorial Director of Chrism Press. She holds a MFA in screenwriting from the University of Southern California and served for more than three years as managing editor of the Catholic literary journal Dappled Things. She has been featured as a speaker at venues across the country including The Louisiana Book Festival, The Catholic Writers Guild Conferences (both live and online), the Trying to Say God conference at Notre Dame University, and Doxacon in Washington, D.C. She is also a classically trained soprano and retired music director. She lives in Louisiana with her husband and two sons. You can find her on the web at karenullo.com.
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