The Fugitive Colours
by Nancy Bilyeau
Lume Books
Pub Date: May 12

I completely fell under the sway of Nancy Bilyeau's The Fugitive Colours, sequel to the highly regarded The Blue.

Genevieve, a silk designer in Georgian England (London, 1764), finds that men not only control the arts market, but every aspect of society. She struggles financially and is thrilled when she receives an unexpected invitation from a famed artist.

Yet it comes with a price, she finds, as cut-throat competitors threaten artists' livelihoods and lives. Adding to the treachery are spies who want control over England. A beautifully written historical thriller that can be read as a standalone but makes readers like me want to go back and read The Blue immediately. Highly recommended!

Thanks to Nancy Bilyeau, Lume Books, and NetGalley for the ARC. Opinions are mine.

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Hard book to.put down!! Loved all the action...it was non stop. Very well.written and researched in my.opinion. it was a bad time for a woman to be free to do the work of her dreams but Genevieve persevered. Loved this story and highly recommend this book.

I started into the series with this book, but I had no problems of getting all the needed information. Some things from the first book were repeated, so the reader could understand the complexity of the characters and in some case the information was simply not necessary.
I found the story very interesting with likeable characters. As I am quite interested in history, this book showed me new aspects of the Seven-Years-war aftermath, not known from the history books. So it is valuable to me.

The highly anticipated follow-up to the sweeping historical thriller The Blue. Great writing, great characters and a great storyline. Time to clear your schedule for the afternoon, coffee pot on and phone turned off - you won’t want to put this one down. This was a compelling and thoroughly enjoyable read from start to finish with a great storyline!

Unfortunately, I did not finish this book. I read the first four chapters, but there was too much exposition for me, and I struggled to engage with any of the characters. It feels like an impeccably researched novel, but one that wears this research a little too heavily.

I have read all but one of Nancy's books, so I am well versed on her writing. Fugitive Colours is the next in a series with The Blue being the first. This is an interesting book, continuing the storyline of Genevieve Sturbridge, a Huguenot who lives in Spitalfields. Spitalfields in the late 1700's was a home to silk weavers, and other artists. Genevieve is trying to keep her silk business going but her past seems to be ready to haunt her, she gets involved with people that she is not sure to who she can trust. If she makes a mistake, she could be ruined. There are ruthless people, including the person who offers her wealth in the world of art.

Does she dare take the offer? Risk her chances of a better world? This was a time that was ruled pretty much by men, and they controlled everything from the arts, sciences to law and politics. One wrong move or even a comment could ruin her. It also involves her husband, a science man, her son, her household staff and the two people who work with her. There are spies that could ruin her and all she worked for.

Fugitive Colors are colors that are temporary, exposed to things such as sun, temperature, humidity can change the pigmentation to a color. Why is it important in this book? Well, go get your copy and read for yourself.

Like I said, I have read all but one of Nancy's books, that will change, and I will be reading the one I missed. Her work is perfect, thoroughly researched and a thought put to paper with such a talent, that is hard to find. I love her works, can't you tell? I give this book five stars and I hope that there is another in this series or the Spafford series. One can hope! Thanks, Nancy, for the opportunity to read another one of your books!

My thanks to Nancy Bilyeau, Lume Books and Net Galley for the ARC of THE FUGITIVE COLOURS.
A wonderful, immersive story that kept me turning the page. This is the kind of writing I love. The era is one of my favourites, and I loved the story and the premise. Historical fiction at its very best! Recommended.

What an absolutely beautiful book which delves into the murky world of C18th artists and the multifarious activities they are involved in. It's fascinating to learn more about how art and natural sciences overlapped and I felt immersed in a world of carriages shuttling between grand houses and dodgy goings on down dark alleyways. I'd not read the earlier book in the series The Blue, and this didn't detract from my enjoyment of this book. I'll definitely read it soon, as I enjoyed The Fugitive Colours so much! Thank you NetGalley!

I liked this story very much. The plot was interesting and unusual, well planned and executed. I felt immersed in 18th Century London life and loved the setting of the art world, paintings and artists. I do feel that that I would have been better off reading the first book Blue before this as some of this story relates to earlier events but the author does a fine job in filling in background detail without it becoming too arduous. (In fact it whets my appetite for getting the earlier book!). Real life characters and events blend in seamlessly with the fiction incorporating well researched historical detail. Genevieve is an intelligent, talented and very likeable heroine desperately trying to balance family life with running her own silk design business but it seems that her life is never going to be straightforward or easy. I very much enjoyed the artistic detail of the work involved in perfecting her designs and the relationship she had with her two assistants, Jean and Caroline. The story kept me on my toes, and while several threads jostled for attention all was eventually resolved in a satisfactory and somewhat unexpected conclusion. I look forward to the next stage in Genevieve's eventful life!

The Fugitive Colours is a sequel to Blue, a fascinating glimpse into the world of colour and porcelain painting in France before the revolution. I would highly recommend reading the first book as the background is important to fully understand the events taking place in the second book.

We are transported to 1764 England, where Genevieve Sturbridge is mistress of her own silk design workshop. A talented painter in her own right, she employs two other painters who help her produce designs that are more beautiful and original that any other designer at the time.

London is dirty, the air is foul and walking the streets is dangerous. Earning enough to support her household is becoming increasingly difficult. She has still not fully recovered from her traumatic experiences in France and she becomes alarmed when a serious of encounters with characters from her past begin to threaten the peace she has worked so hard for. Her experience as a former spy are crucial to her investigation of events unfolding around her as she feels her control slipping away, both with her work and her household.

Beautifully descriptive with believable characters, this is another one of those absorbing stories that will keep you up late at night.

First, my appreciation to LUME Publishing for providing me with the opportunity to read the ARC of The Fugitive Colors and the further opportunity to post this review!

The gift of quality historical fiction is that the author not only entertains but educates us, taking us into the intimate world of characters often foreign to our twenty-first century minds. Against the backdrop of the Huguenot community in London’s Spitalfields and its silk weavers, Nancy Bilyeau has again skillfully done this, bringing us into a ‘sense of place and time’ in THE FUGITIVE COLORS.
The story picks up from where we left Genevieve Planché several years before in THE BLUE, now drawing us into the complex world of 1764 London following Britain’s defeat of the French after seven years of war. Despite it being a world where men control the arts, science, philosophy and---women, Genevieve is fueled by her passion and determination to become a recognized artist, triggering unexpected consequences for her family and those she loves.
The story slowly builds, teasing us as multi layers with twists and turns involving covetous greed, spies, forbidden investigation into the occult, blackmail and murder are deftly exposed with Genevieve firmly in the center of the tapestry. One more time, Nancy Bilyeau’s trademark, superb historical research brings her characters and their history alive for us, making THE FUGITIVE COLORS hard to put down until the last page is read.

When I read Nancy Bilyear's The Blue, I felt dropped into a world I didn't much know about -- the world of painting fine china and how important the color blue was as enterprising entrepreneurs and countries fought for domination. By contrast, The Fugitive Colours was a world that I had encountered, however slightly. The world of Covent Garden and harlots and the backstabbing ton. And art, an art world that needs fresh, new colors.

Here Genevieve is now married--but is she happily married? Its hard to say, especially as her husband is pursuing other endeavors in order to offer support for thier family. Lucky for Genevieve, she knows how to run a business herself; at least, she has the wits and grit to make an effort of it. If only the rest of her world would cooperate. And, if only trouble wouldn't come knocking at her door.

The Fugitive Colours offers the same type of page turning intrigue as readers experienced in The Blue, but with even more interaction with London's dark and bright world of the 1760s. Also, now that so many of us have seen HARLOTS, we may have more visual idea of what that world looks like. I certainly enjoyed the comparison in my mind while reading this book and considering the many persons revolving around Genevieve and her hazardous world.

Thank you to the publisher for offering an arc in exchange for an honest review.

As good and enchanting as The Blue! I’m glad to read more about Genevieve and to see her and Thomas end together with a connection to both Darwin and Wedgwood!

I wish I had read The Blue first, but I’ll rectify that quickly…and you have the chance to do just that if you’re reading this. Regardless, this was a well told story and I was immediately invested in Genevieve’s story. Lots of action and games from the era are played out in this book. It also makes you realize just how lucky we women are these days in achieving our goals.

A great read that will transport you back in time and make it hard to put the book down.

I have read a lot of this author's novels and was delighted to get a sequel to 'The Blue'. The author continues the story of Genevieve and the tale was so gripping I just couldn't put it down until I had finished it. The main character has set up a reasonably successful business in London, although she longs to be an artist, and it seems when Joshua Reynolds invites her to an art exhibition and a meal that her ambition is about to be realised. But in the eighteenth century, the age of Louis XV, women did not generally achieve such an ambition, with exceptions, and she does not know whether she will be one of these exceptions. Then follows a tale full of twists and turns none of which I can reveal without spoiling the book. Politics are involved, and espionage and crime. It is highly recommended for those who love exciting historical novels.