A Sheaf of Bluebells

"A Sheaf of Bluebells" by Baroness Emmuska Orczy is a historical fiction set in France following the revolution and under Napoleon's rule, depicting the return of exiled aristocrats negotiating a society transformed by upheaval. The story centers on families like the Mortains and Coursons as they navigate political intrigue, social change, and personal identity. Key characters, including Madame la Marquise de Mortain and her son Laurent, are caught in a web of scheming and conflict as they try to reclaim their place in a France forever altered, with their loyalties tested against the backdrop of grand estates and imperial agendas. The novel captures the tension between the old world and the new, as Napoleon and his minister, Fouché, decide the fate of these returning émigrés, setting the stage for drama, romance, and the struggle to preserve tradition in a revolutionary era.