Queen of exiles A novel

The Queen of Black historical fiction is back, following Sister Mother Warrior (2022) with another novel exploring the life of a powerful but often overlooked Black woman, Queen Marie-Louise Coidavid of Haiti. After a short tenure as the queen of the only free Black nation in the Western hemisphere, Louise and her daughters are forced into exile when her husband, King Henry I, is overthrown and dies by his own hand. They escape to Europe where, through her resilience and grace, Louise is able to recoup much of her husband's lost fortune and establish her family as prominent members of European royal society. The best fictional dilemmas are the ones in which both parties are in the right and the wrong, and the conflict surrounding the establishment of Haiti as a kingdom is a dramatic example. As King Henry fights for Haiti's acceptance as a legitimate nation, does he do it at the expense of the African heritage that defines its people? Riley brings well-deserved vitality to the story of an incredible woman and a unique newborn nation.

The uneven latest from Riley (Island Queen) follows Queen Marie-Louise Christophe from early 1800s Haiti and the opulent, often ostentatious rule of her husband, King Henry Christophe, to a life of exile in Europe. After fleeing the island with her daughters and a few loyal attendants in the wake of the king's death and a subsequent uprising, Marie-Louise finds her footing as a powerful Black woman touring new lands: "Whether exiled or on the throne, I am a queen." Though the undertow of sorrow at all she's lost is always churning, she never succumbs to its grasp. Instead, she draws strength from her memories of the beauty of the Haitian people and the complicated love of her troubled husband, a veteran of the Haitian revolution traumatized by enslavement and war. Marie-Louise eventually settles in Italy, where she is driven to achieve the status and recognition that Henry so desperately craved. The nonlinear time jumps can be confusing, and there's a bit too much anachronistic language ("It was me and my man, against the world"), though Riley's extensive research and textured approach, which incorporates copies of real newspaper clippings from Europe before and after Marie-Louise's exile, plainly show how Haiti and its people of color were repeatedly undermined by imperial powers. Despite some bumps along the way, Riley does justice to a queen and her people. Agent: Sarah Younger, Nancy Yost Literary Agency. (July)

Haiti's only queen gets the royal treatment in this novel of race, revolution, and female resistance. Like Netflix's glittering take on the Bridgerton novels, this provocative story spotlights Black aristocrats navigating the class system and color lines during the Regency era. Riley, who also wrote about indomitable women and the Haitian Revolution in Sister Mother Warrior (2022), applies her talent for creating compelling, history-inspired characters to the story of Marie-Louise Christophe, crowned queen of Haiti in 1810 following the Haitian Revolution. For 10 years, she and her husband, King Henry I, rule the Northern Hemisphere's only free Black nation until their kingdom is overthrown and Henry commits suicide. Marie-Louise and her two daughters take the family jewels and flee to England, where they hope to live in comfort as royal refugees. Against the backdrop of Haiti's tumultuous history and the growing global disgust with slavery, Riley unfurls Marie-Louise's story in a languid and captivating style as the exiled queen reclaims her family's vast fortune, tirelessly protects her daughters, and champions her husband's legacy. In flashback chapters set in Haiti, Riley contrasts Henry's obsession with power and wealth with Marie-Louise's sensible focus on doing what's best for the Haitian people. In exile in England and on the European continent, Riley's engaging characters pull us into the world of privileged royals, their stately homes, breathtaking wealth, and, deliciously, their romances and illicit affairs. Acutely aware of the challenges facing a Black queen, Riley deftly builds a portrait of a proud woman who commits her life to showing the world "that it was possible to be royal, Black, and have a happily-ever-after life." Fans of Regency romances and stories of strong Black women will find Haiti's Queen Marie-Louise irresistible. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.