All This and Heaven Too

Rachel Field's novel is based on the true story of Field's great-aunt, Henriette Deluzy-Desportes, a French governess who fell in love with the Duc de Praslin, her employer. When Praslin's wife was murdered, Henriette was implicated. The real-life scandal contributed to the political turmoil before the French Revolution of 1848 which deposed France's Louis Philippe I. Excerpt: «Although I never knew you in life, as a child I often cracked butternuts on your tombstone. There were other more impressive monuments in our family lot, but yours for some unaccountable reason became my favorite in that group erected to the glory of God and the memory of departed relatives.»