Chasing Angels

By Sally Zigmond

In 1794, Henriette d’Angeville was born into a French aristocratic family in crisis.

Her grandfather was guillotined and her father imprisoned but later released causing the family to live on their memories in an impoverished château. In 1836, she was the first woman to reach the summit of Mont Blanc – in a bonnet and petticoats!

This novella is a fictional account of her life in which her love of the outdoors and her determination to excel in her climbing endeavours, which made her an object of derision and pity, is examined in a witty and sympathetic portrayal. We see her father, her mother and her younger brother. We see her at school and the circumstances in which she ‘rescued’ her companion, Jeannette, from destitution. We meet the Protestant ladies of Genevan society and the men of Chamonix who accompany her on her expedition.

Starting close to her death, Henriette looks back on her life and her great achievement. Full of humour and love, Chasing Angels tell the story of a truly remarkable woman.

Sally Zigmond began writing fiction with great enthusiasm and some success when she turned forty, and her two sons no longer needed her 24/7. As the years went on, she published a novella, Chasing Angels, and a novel, Hope Against Hope which was long-listed for the RNA Romantic Novel of the Year 2012. She now writes mainly historical fiction. After many years in North Yorkshire, she now lives just over the border in Middlesbrough and is still writing, reviewing and editing.