Banished from France by Louis XIV, once-royal favourite Sylvienne d’Aubert must make the dangerous ocean crossing with a group of young women eager to secure husbands in the French colony of Quebec as Filles du Roi (Daughters of the King).
Sylvienne, however, scarred by an abusive, arranged marriage in France, vows never to wed again. She is determined to one day return to her beloved homeland and to her lover, Etienne.
Clinging to hope that her true love still lives, she must first survive hardships and challenges unique to the Canadian frontier and rebuild her life in a young colony that is at once welcoming and dangerous.
She finds friendship in unexpected places and allies among the Native people, all the while developing a resilience she didn’t know she possessed.
But the king’s reach is long, and Sylvienne’s past haunts her at every turn…
Braving the Dawn by Peggy Joque Williams is published on 15 January, 2026.
This is one of more than 110 historical books published this year, summarised in Historia’s Books to look out for feature.
