is this a typo and did they mean louis xvii? and if they did, THEN THIS IS AN ALTERNATE HISTORY IN WHICH LOUIS-CHARLES A.K.A. MY FAVE IS ALIVE?????????? AND THE KING???????????? I think it was just automatic because in Les Mis, Thénardier’s Patron Minette (who are actually hilarious) are a gang of burglars and they wear masks when they go and do their burglaries, so it’s all very theatrical. So it was automatic in my mind that Nina, before she even joined the Miracle Court, would be helping her father do burglaries. But I think as the story grew, I never once questioned that she shouldn’t be in the Thieves Guild as it kind of made sense. Nina’s not very bloodthirsty – she fights but she doesn’t enjoy fighting. She’s not a killer at all. Nina doesn’t actually have the stomach. She would do anything to protect someone and to survive, but I don’t think she has the stomach for some of the Guilds’ nastier works. Being written in the first person, the novel has a close focus on Nina. How did you go about creating the character? De la Reynie’s task was to create a force that would both protect and preserve the more beautiful portions of the city while inhibiting the growth of the unpopular slums known collectively as the Court of Miracles. De la Reynie held the office from 1667 to 1697. During his time in office, he held a very modern view of law enforcement and developed police units and tactics that influenced the development of current police forces. In addition to that, I didn't have a good hold over time in this story. When it started, Nina was very, very young, but at the end, she's not. I got in with the book but my pitch was ‘ Les Mis meets The Jungle Book’and everyone who hears that pitch gets really confused. They’re like ‘does Valjean grow up with wolves?’. It was just hilarious so eventually, my publisher was like ‘I think we’re going to go with something a little bit different because putting The Jungle Book on was confusing!’. How much research did you do ahead of writing the book?

I don't know what I expected going into this, but it wasn't this. While the synopsis referenced la Revolution Française being unsuccessful, I still thought that it'd be a Les Misérables retelling from how it was pitched. That's not really what this was. Rather, it was an alternate historical book with multiple inaccuracies. I didn't find it particularly compelling either way, nor did it bring something revolutionary or original to the YA genre. I don’t find the Thieves Guild that exciting because there’s so much literature written about thieves so I think it’s kind of old hat. Everyone loves the Assassins Guild, but I personally like the Guild Of Letters. I’m clearly a Guild Of Letters member. In the first book, we talk a lot about them being auditors and accountants but they’re more than that. They’re spies. There’s a member from the Guild Of Letters in every level of society – they’re forgers (and all the white-collar crime) and spies. You’ll find out in Book Two [of The Court Of Miracles] that they have massive underground libraries full of information about everything and everyone. So they are librarians as well. So clearly the Guild Of Letters is the best! Why did you decide to have Nina be part of the Guild Of Thieves? Cour des Miracles was the French word, meaning Court of Miracles, for the network of slums throughout Paris. The best known of the slums laid between the rue (street) de Caire and the rue Réamur and was called the Grand Court of Miracles, or simply Grand Court. However, thanks to the careful documentation of the slums by French historian Henri Sauval, we now know that far more than the Grand Court existed and, in reality, the Court of Miracles was an extensive network of slums that ran through Paris in its entirety. Well, Marius [from Les Mis] is just the worst character, he’s bad enough in the musical, but he’s 100 times worse in the original written text. He’s the worst. There’s an entire chapter where he weeps on a tree and holds Cosette’s foot. I’m not even making that up. He’s not even a revolutionary like they show in the musical. He’s not a revolutionary, he’s a Napoleonist and he just kind of wanders into the fight because he’s like ‘oh my girlfriend’s gone’ that’s it. He’s just the worst and he was kind of standing in the way of this epic tale about these two girls [I was writing] – one brought up by criminals, the other kind of thrown into this criminal world. He was present in the first draft of the book when I sold it to the publishing house and I just struggled every time I had to write a scene with him. All the scenes with Marius and Enjolras St. Juste (it was Marius originally as well as St. Juste, and St. Juste was just a secondary character) and I was saying to my husband ‘if only I could write this scene with just St. Juste it would be 3 million times better’.Overall, I think this book is really pulling out the epic highs and lows of YA fantasy. There’s a lot going on here that I really liked. The vibes perhaps surpass almost anything else; when leaning into atmosphere, Court of Miracles gets it right. At its finer moments, I was reminded of The Gilded Wolves. The bond between Nina and Ettie is sweet and easy to get invested in. I enjoyed the writing of Tomasis, who’s often hard to pin down in a compelling way. Primarily, though, the appeal of this book is in Nina. Nina’s schemes are often really strong and well thought out, and her inner monologue is compelling enough that it’s hard not to root for her. She is genuinely so much fun, the ideal girlboss, and I loved watching her schemes come together. Although Nina seems extremely bold, I think it was more that she had nothing to lose. Ettie was literally her only connection in the entire world. Disney Characters introduced in Kingdom Hearts χ: Mad Hatter • March Hare • Razoul • Royal Guards • Maurice • Gaston The Court of Miracles is the place where the Roma (Gypsies) and the criminal element meet in safety without reprisal or contempt. Phoebus, after being stripped of his rank and branded a heretic by Judge Frollo, decides to help Quasimodo to find Esmeralda. At the peak of Louis XIV’s reign, over 10% of the population of Paris was destitute and lived in slums. Due to several harsh winters and Louis XIV’s continuous waging of war, the cost of bread was exorbitantly high and amounted to over 60% of a household’s wages in a year. Despite these conditions, 5% of France’s entire income was dedicated to maintaining Louis XIV’s lavish palace of Versailles in the center of Paris.

It took some time for Sauval’s writings on the Court to be widely recognized. It was unpopular and little published soon after printing, as the details were considered salacious and seditious. However, about a half-century after its creation, the historical accounts began to receive greater attention and respect as a historical and anthropological work. I received this complimentary ARC from the publisher, courtesy of NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review. After her abusive father sells her older sister to the Master of Flesh, known as the Tiger, Nina desperately wants to save her, but never gets the opportunity.I know, it’s amazing I mean obviously it’s my debut so for me it’s like “ahhh, best day of my life!”. Where did the idea for the novel first come from? Her vow will take her from the city’s dark underbelly, through a dawning revolution, to the very heart of the glittering court of Louis XVII, where she must make an impossible choice between guild, blood, betrayal and war. So those two things collided in my mind. I had this vision that just came to me of Eponine hanging off the side of a building – it was night time, it was a storm. She was exhausted and drenched to the bone. She had searched every window of the whole city of Paris every night relentlessly looking for the sister, the adopted sister who had been taken from her. https://versaillesgossip.wordpress.com/2011/03/11/the-court-of-miracles-and-the-court-of-versailles/

So I don’t know anything to do with Les Mis (which this book is said to be inspired by)- the book is very long and I do not enjoy musicals. Saying that, the book did provide me with an excellent french underworld setting where eOriginal: Quasimodo • Esmeralda • Claude Frollo • Phoebus • Victor, Hugo, and Laverne • Djali • Clopin • Archdeacon • Achilles • Brutish and Oafish Guards • Frollo's Soldiers • Old Prisoner • Quasimodo's Mother • Quasimodo's Father • Snowball

Perhaps my greatest frustration was the forced romantic interest between St. Juste (Enjolras) and Nina. Everybody comments on it. EVERYBODY. And it's so shoved in the reader's face. Ettie constantly brings up how handsome St. Juste is and how he's in love with Nina, and how they'd be so cute together, but they don't have any chemistry??? I also think it's worth mentioning that Enjolras, who St. Juste is based off of, is very commonly read as gay. I don't want to discredit other interpretations, but combined with genderbending Javert for a past relationship with Valjean, it leaves a very bad taste in my mouth. It is 2020. Let gay people exist?? it wasn't bad, it's just okay, and somehow that's worse. if it was bad i could take the piss out of it with wild glee. but i can't. Original Worlds: Destiny Islands • Traverse Town • Radiant Garden/Hollow Bastion • Disney Castle/Disney Town/Timeless River • Dive to the Heart • End of the World • Realm of Darkness • Twilight Town/ Mysterious Tower • The World That Never Was • Castle That Never Was • Land of Departure/Castle Oblivion • Keyblade Graveyard • Daybreak Town/Scala ad CaelumDesde el principio nos prometen que The Court of Miracles seguirá una historia súper emocionante en un París reimaginado en el que la Revolución Francesa fracasó y ahora quienes realmente llevan las riendas de la ciudad son nueve gremios criminales. Sí, la realeza existe, pero son los adornos de un palacio y poco más. Además, nos presentan a Nina, una chica que estará dispuesta a absolutamente todo con tal de salvar a su hermana de las garras de uno de los hombres más peligrosos de los gremios. Our small-group adventures are inspired by our Atlas of the world's most fascinating places, the stories behind them, and the people who bring them to life.