Three Rival Sisters

IT IS MOST UNWISE AND FOOLISH TO ENDEAVOUR TO MANIPULATE HUMAN EMOTION FOR ONE'S ENDS'One May morning in 1842 in the village of Domblans, sisters Henriette, Renée and Gabrielle finally have something beyond embroidery to occupy them: the eligible bachelor Monsieur de Vaudrey is to visit their father's chateau. Yet as they compete for his affections, they learn that marriage and happiness do not always go hand in hand.Meanwhile, upon his wife's death, the Comte de Montbarrey finds himself free to marry the woman he loves, but haunted by the possibility that he may have been the Comtesse's killer. How can he atone for an act he does not remember, and for the sins of the idle life to which he was born?Steeped in wit, empathy and social critique, the two stories in this volume show popular late nineteenth-century author Marie-Louise Gagneur to be worthy of renewed attention.



Marie-Louise Gagneur was a French feminist, writer and activist, born in Domblans in 1832. She wrote essays, short stories and more than 20 novels, often focussing on anti-clericalism and issues surrounding the status of women in society. She later called for a reform on divorce laws and challenged the Académie Française to feminise French job titles. Gagneur was appointed a Chevalier of the Légion d'Honneur in 1901 and died in 1902.