Skip to main content

About the Book

About the Book

Where the Light Falls: A Novel of the French Revolution

A rich and sweeping novel of courage, duty, sacrifice and love set during the French Revolution from New York Times bestselling author Allison Pataki and her brother Owen Pataki

Three years after the storming of the Bastille, the streets of Paris are roiling with revolution. The citizens of France are enlivened by the ideals of liberty, equality and fraternity. The monarchy of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette has been dismantled --- with the help of the guillotine --- and a new nation is rising in its place. Jean-Luc, an idealistic young lawyer, moves his wife and their infant son from a comfortable life in Marseille to Paris, in the hopes of joining the cause. André, the son of a denounced nobleman, has evaded execution by joining the new French army. Sophie, a young aristocratic widow, embarks on her own fight for independence against her powerful, vindictive uncle. 

As chaos threatens to undo the progress of the Revolution and the demand for justice breeds instability and paranoia, the lives of these compatriots become inextricably linked. Jean-Luc, André and Sophie find themselves in a world where survival seems increasingly less likely --- for themselves and, indeed, for the nation.

Featuring cameos from legendary figures such as Robespierre, Louis XVI and Thomas-Alexandre Dumas, WHERE THE LIGHT FALLS is an epic and engrossing novel, moving from the streets and courtrooms of Paris to Napoleon’s epic march across the burning sands of Egypt. With vivid detail and imagery, the Patakis capture the hearts and minds of the citizens of France fighting for truth above all, and for their belief in a cause greater than themselves.

Audiobook available, read by Bruce Mann

Where the Light Falls: A Novel of the French Revolution
by Allison Pataki and Owen Pataki

  • Publication Date: April 3, 2018
  • Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction
  • Paperback: 384 pages
  • Publisher: Dial Press Trade Paperback
  • ISBN-10: 0399591702
  • ISBN-13: 9780399591709