Kate Braithwaite's debut novel, Charlatan, pulls readers into a tense historical time. Between 1677 and 1682, during the reign of Louis XIV, rumors about macabre goings-on, including poisonings, black magic, and infanticide, reverberated through French society. The murder scandal ensnared even high-ranking members of the royal court.  

Charlatan recounts two alternating stories: that of Athénaïs de Montespan, the king's longtime mistress, who is growing older and falling out of favor; and the crime investigation occurring within the grim Château de Vincennes, the royal fortress where the accused are imprisoned and questioned.

As suspense about Athénaïs' possible involvement in the scheme grows, the two stories collide.  The fortune-teller Catherine Montvoisin, known as La Voisin, had many prominent clients, which eventually leads authorities right to Athénaïs herself. Was she trying to win back the king's affections through love potions, or did she resort to more sinister means?

I hope you'll enjoy reading this interview with the author.  Charlatan, which was was long-listed for the Historical Novel Society & Mslexia New Novel Awards, was published by Fireship Press in September (300pp, $19.99 in paperback or $7.99 ebook).  For readers interested in learning more, visit Kate Braithwaite's website.


I’ve read a number of historical novels set during Louis XIV’s reign – the majority focus on his love life – but yours is the first I’ve read that delves into the Affair of the Poisons. What interests you in this dark time in French history?

I’ve always liked crime fiction – I’ve probably read everything by Agatha Christie, Ian Rankin novel, Minette Walters, Michael Connolly and others – and I studied gothic literature as part of my degree course. I also think, perhaps because I’m Scottish, that I’m drawn to parts of history where people are more superstitious and more inclined to be drawn into believing in witchcraft. When I was ten years old, I played the third witch in Macbeth at school and I loved it. I first came across the Affair of the Poisons in Nancy Mitford’s book about Louis XIV. It was so unexpected and in such contrast to all the baroque beauty of the Versailles world. I immediately wanted to know everything about it.

Charlatan keeps readers guessing about Athénaïs’ level of involvement in and knowledge about La Voisin’s deadly rituals. I won’t give anything away, but did your research shift your original perceptions about her level of complicity at all?

Definitely. I was first drawn to writing about Athénaïs because I was sympathetic to her as a woman. There she was, approaching forty, having had seven children with the King (plus two others with her husband) and having to watch as an eighteen-year-old beauty supplanted her. I wanted her to be innocent of the charges leveled against her, but at the same time I could imagine equally easily that La Voisin’s world might have been very tempting. She was incredibly intelligent and witty as well as a great beauty: yet totally reliant upon the King for her and her children’s future. So I did all the reading and tried to get to know as much as I could about her character. That then led the way for the story in Charlatan.

One aspect I enjoyed the most was the interaction between Athénaïs and her former rival, Louise de la Vallière, who left court and took the veil. How did you develop their changing relationship?

Thank you! That is also one of my favourite parts and although I don’t have any historical source suggesting Athénaïs went to visit Louise in her convent, once I had the idea that she might have done, I had to go with it. Athénaïs may or may not have been guilty of many things, but it is certain that she was a poor friend to Louise de la Valliere. When Louis discarded Louise for Athénaïs, Louise was forced to remain at court for years and pretend their sexual relationship was ongoing as Louis walked through her rooms to reach Athénaïs’ suite. When Charlatan opens, it is Athénaïs who is being discarded by Louis, in favour of Angélique de Fontanges. I wanted to see how Louise would react to that and if two women with so much history between them could have any kind of friendship.

The novel’s organization, alternating between the perspective of Athénaïs at the Sun King’s court (and elsewhere) and the investigation being conducted at the Chateau de Vincennes, kept the pages turning and the suspense level high. How did you conceptualize this structure?

From very early on I knew this had to be a novel told from a range of perspectives. Although my starting point in conceiving the novel was with Athénaïs, I became hugely fascinated with the criminals themselves. The world of seventeenth century fortune-tellers was highly competitive and for some, very lucrative. The whole industry of poisons, love potions and black magic was great fun to research. I was also interested in the investigators – perhaps because of all the police procedurals I have read! I imagine that being the person charged with telling Louis XIV, the most glorious King in Europe, that his long-term mistress had ensnared him for years with love potions and possibly devil worship, was an unenviable position to be in. Also, for much of the time, Athénaïs had no way of knowing what the prisoners in the Chateau de Vincennes were saying about her and so the story needed their direct input. Alternating between the court and the investigation meant I could tell all sides of the story.

I found it fascinating to learn in your afterword about Louis XIV’s attempts to conceal evidence mentioning his former mistress in the 17th century, and the re-emergence of this knowledge and publication of relevant records two centuries later. How did this come about?

In 1709, after both Athénaïs and the chief investigator, Nicholas La Reynie, were dead, Louis XIV asked Jean Sargot, La Reynie’s recording officer, to retrieve all the documentation relating to the affair and in particular to Athénaïs. Louis examined the papers and then he burned them. Any evidence appeared to have been safely destroyed but there were copies, stowed in the prison’s archive. These could easily have been destroyed during the storming of the Bastille in 1789 when rioters and looters plundered the prison, including the archive. After the revolutionary dust had settled what papers remained were bundled up and moved to the Arsenal building: ironically, the place where the trials of the criminals involved in the Affair had taken place a century earlier.

It wasn’t until the mid-nineteenth century that a librarian, François Ravaisson, began to catalogue the Bastille papers kept in the Arsenal. In the 1870’s the newly organized collection was published in a nineteen-volume set called the Archive of the Bastille. Four volumes are devoted to the records of the La Reynie’s investigation and they include interrogations of La Voisin and the shocking accusations made by several people, including La Voisin’s daughter Marie, against the King’s most famous mistress.

During your research, did you come across any interesting tidbits or historical characters that you thought about including in the story but were unable to?

Yes! I wanted to write more about the Mancini sisters. One sister, Olympe, the Comtesse de Soissons, is mentioned in the novel as a potential poisoner of her husband. She was a lover of Louis XIV for a time, as was her sister Marie Mancini. Another sister, Hortense, who was a lover of Charles II. Perhaps they need a novel of their own? Then there was Jean Racine, the poet, who was implicated in the Affair of the Poisons. I would love to have included him. I also would have liked to feature Madame de Brinvilliers, a French poisoner and aristocrat who was executed in Paris in 1676. In a way her crimes set the scene for the revelations of the Affair of the Poisons only a few years later.

And I never managed to work into the novel the way that the whole series of arrests began. The first fortune-teller arrested in 1678 was Marie Bosse (named Martine in the novel). She had worked closely with La Voisin for many years but they had fallen out. Dining at the house of her new partner La Vigeroux, Marie Bosse had too much to drink and boasted to a lawyer she had only just met that the poisoning business was making her rich. That man informed on her, and both La Bosse and La Vigeroux were arrested. Their testimony led to the huge investigation that followed.

Do you have any favorite authors or novels? Has your experience with reading and evaluating historical fiction had influence on your own writing?

Some of my favourite novels are My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier, The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins, A Place of Greater Safety by Hilary Mantel, Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood, Possession by A.S. Byatt and Fingersmith by Sarah Waters. Two favourite historical novels I’ve read this year are Hanging Mary by Susan Higginbotham and Lazaretto by Diane McKinney-Whetstone.

It is often said that writers need to read widely and well, and I think I’ve always done that, but I’ve found that taking the additional step of reviewing books has been invaluable. Before I started reviewing for the Historical Novel Society and Bookbrowse, I would read actively but not really pin down what I liked or did not like in a novel. I’d have an emotional reaction without really asking myself why. Being tasked with producing honest and considered and reviews has made me think long and hard about what works and what doesn’t. Before this experience I struggled as an editor of my own work, but now I feel much more able to find problems in my drafts and read my own work as a reader might.

1.      What is your genre? Is it fiction or nonfiction? I am the author of thirty picture books. Some of them are fiction and some are non-fiction.
2.      What made you want to be a writer? I love reading children’s books, and I wanted to write the kind of books that I wished I could have read when I was a child—spiritual children’s books with answers to life’s deepest questions, presented in a delightfully simple way.
3.      Of all the authors out there, who inspired you most? Anne Frank
4.      What is your writing style? Do you outline? Linearly? By scene? Why? When ideas pop into my head, I jot them down, even if it is in the middle of the night. I keep a pad and pen near my bed for that purpose so I can go back to sleep after writing it down. Then when I have some time, like when I am a passenger in a long car ride or taking a plane trip, I play with the ideas that I have jotted down and see where we can go.
5.      Do you write every day? How much? How long? I probably write something every day, whether it’s editing a piece I once wrote, or communicating about my writing to others.
6.      Do you think reading is as important to writing for an author? Why? I think reading is as important because it opens up the writer’s mind to go in new directions.
7.      What are some of the things you would like to share with budding authors? As soon as I get a rejection, I try to do something with the manuscript, whether that means sending it to a different place or revising it. If I don’t respond quickly, then it will just sit and go nowhere, and I wrote it to get it out into the world.
8.      Do you have any marketing and promotional advice, referrals, tips you would like to share? Email blasts are still very effective when new material is published, but the emails need to be kept short as they are often viewed on phones now.
9.      Do you think conferences are beneficial? If so, what have you learned? Which ones do you frequent? I attended conferences when I began writing professionally and found them very helpful at that time. I think they must have helped me learn how to get my foot into doors.
10.  Where can we find you, your books and when is your next event? All of my books can be found on my Author Amazon Page: http://www.amazon.com/author/spiritualkidsbooks-brachagoetz . These are picture books for Jewish children, but soon I will have spiritual kids’ books for all children (and their parents and teachers) to enjoy as well! My next event that is open to the public (not at a school) is on Sunday, December 12 from 10 to 11:30 am at the Leon Weiner Jewish Library in the Young Israel of Houston in Houston, Texas. I will attach a flyer I just received about this event. Amazon Author Page – Bracha Goetz  David Clarke Blog Talk Radio Interview  Bracha Goetz books/images  Listen to Bracha reading her books  
Represented by Loiacono Literary Agency, Jeanie Loiacono

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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.

1. What is your genre? My novel, The Avignon Legacy is a historical fiction.
2. What made you want to be a writer? I started by writing two movie scripts, after seeing a particularly terrible movie (can’t remember the title). While attending Screenwriter’s Conference and National Film Institute offerings in Los Angeles, I learned producers generally rely on their own screenwriters. I decided to write a novel, hoping to enter the back door that way.
3. Of all the authors out there, who inspired you most? I enjoy action-adventure fiction. I pay special attention to the author’s style. I’ve feasted on Lee Child, Clive Cussler, Tom Clancy, John Sandford, Stuart Woods, Robert B. Parker, Dan Brown and Daniel Silva, to name a few.
4. What is your writing style? Do you outline? Linearly, By scene? Why? It’s probably a mixture of John Sandford and Robert B. Parker. I do outline and also rely on a characters list and chapter, section and subsection summaries, as I go along. My outlines are linear, mostly chronological which includes scenes and notes. I found them very helpful with multi-plots, and their integration in the body of the novel is simplified.
5. Do you write every day? How much? How long? I do try to write every day. The time varies, but no more than three hours at a sitting.
6. Do you think reading is important to writing for an author? Why? Reading is important to me for several reasons: first, it puts me in a mood; second, I get ideas or identify a variance, which would work in my writing; and third, it adds to my written vocabulary.
7. What are some of the things you would like to share with budding authors? Don’t get discouraged and start small. Experiment. Try writing a short synopsis of your concept and then view it from the standpoint of the oft-cited three acts. I started with movie scripts, wrote three novels, penned a two-man play, and even entered a national poetry contest with an original twenty-one-line poem.
8. Do you have any marketing and promotional advice, referrals, tips you would like to share? I wish. Thank goodness for my agent who sends a steady flow of material on the subject to me. As soon as my book is distributed, I’ll hit the dusty trail.
9. Do you think conferences are beneficial? If so, what have you learned? Which ones do you frequent? Conferences and classes are useful when you’re starting out. Find out what the others learned and see if it strikes a chord. After I had written my first novel, I found a terrific novel consultant who critiqued it thoroughly. I grew a thick skin. However, there are excellent publications, Writer’s Digest for one.  
10. Where can we find you, your books, and when is your next event? I reside in Newport Beach, California, working on my fourth novel. I have a great and I’m looking forward to all promotional events. I do have a web site, www.danielclorti.com .   Represented by Loiacono Literary Agency, Jeanie Loiacono http://www.loiaconoliteraryagency.com/authors/daniel-c-lorti/

A facilitator of dreams, Jeanie Loiacono represents over eighty authors. Her forte is mystery, romance, thrillers, historical/military/southern fiction, and all quality fiction/nonfiction. Her passion is to see her authors succeed.

“There is nothing more rewarding than to hold one of my author’s books and know I helped bring it to fruition. I am so blessed and privileged to be able to work with some of the most talented writers in the world.” Jeanie.L@llallc.net  www.loiaconoliteraryagency.com



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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.

1. What is your genre? I write fiction, concentrating on historical mystery.
2. What made you want to be a writer? The desire to tell tales that would fascinate people.
3. Of all the authors out there, who inspired you most? It's a tie between H. P. Lovecraft and Robert Heinlein.
4. What is your writing style? Do you outline? Linearly? By scene? Why? Usually I outline, but quite often I will write by scene. On several occasions, a particular scene or series of scenes have come to me in vivid dreams, and I find myself trying to construct the novel to incorporate those scenes. 
5. Do you write every day? How much? How long? I write two or three hours a day, every other day. Hey, I'm old!
6. Do you think reading is as important to writing for an author? Why? Reading is just as important to a writer, if for no other reason than to get an idea of what his target audiences like to read.
7. What are some of the things you would like to share with budding authors? Don't let rejections get you down, and write in genres that you personally enjoy.
8. Do you have any marketing and promotional advice, referrals, tips you would like to share? Frankly, getting a good agent is the best thing you can do. I sold nothing until I got a brilliant agent!
9. Do you think conferences are beneficial? If so, what have you learned? Which ones do you frequent? They can be beneficial, if for no other reason than meeting fellow authors and exchanging professional information. Left Coast Crime and Bouchercon are good conferences for mystery writers.

A facilitator of dreams, Jeanie Loiacono represents over eighty authors. Her forte is mystery, romance, thrillers, historical/military/southern fiction, and all quality fiction/nonfiction. Her passion is to see her authors succeed.
“There is nothing more rewarding than to hold one of my author’s books and know I helped bring it to fruition. I am so blessed and privileged to be able to work with some of the most talented writers in the world.” Jeanie.L@llallc.net  www.loiaconoliteraryagency.com

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 New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.