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The Natural History of Love

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The Natural History of Love

By: Caroline Petit
Narrated by: Abbe Holmes, Rupert Degas
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About this listen

For fans of Elizabeth Gilbert's The Signature of All Things, The Natural History of Love is based upon the true story of 19th-century French explorer, naturalist and diplomat the Count de Castelnau and his lover Madame Fonçeca; a sweeping historical narrative set in the wilds of Brazil, salons of Paris and the early days of Melbourne's settlement.

When Melbourne lawyer Nathan Smithson takes on the case of mad, wealthy Edward Fonçeca's inheritance trial against his ruthless brother in 1902, he must unearth long-buried family secrets to have any chance of winning.

Brazil, 1852: François, the Count de Castelnau and French Consul to Bahia falls dangerously ill on a naturalist expedition and is delivered by a Tupi Indian to the Fonçeca household.

Carolina Fonçeca is 16 years old and longing to leave the confines of her family's remote Brazilian sugar plantation. With a head full of Balzac and dreams of Parisian life, she is instantly beguiled by the middle-aged Frenchman. What Carolina doesn't know is that François has a wife and son back in France. Desperate for a new life, she makes a decision that will haunt her forever.

©2022 Caroline Petit (P)2022 W F Howes Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction France

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Interesting Premise

I was brought in by the fact that the characters in this book were based on real life people but couldn’t get past the icky feelings it evoked as the characters talked about their slaves and as the love story between an older man ad a teenage girl evolved. Maybe that was the point but it was too unpleasant and I had to stop reading

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