1791. In the midst of the French Revolution, unwed mother Marie-Louise
Girardin takes one last look at her baby son before entrusting him to
her friend, the revolutionary Olympe de Gouges. She must escape, and
only the most daring plan will bring her both the anonymity she needs
and the independence to return one day for her son.
Marie-Louise disguises herself as a man and joins a voyage of
exploration employed as a steward on the Recherche, one of two ships
commissioned to journey to the Great Southern Ocean to find the missing
explorer La Perouse.
Protecting her identity throughout, Marie-Louise forms friendships among
the eccentric naturalists. But tensions rise between the royalist
officers and the revolutionaries, and Marie-Louise's position becomes
precarious when she discovers someone on board knows the secrets of her
past. When the expedition docks in Java, chaos erupts as they learn of
King Louis XVI's execution and are imprisoned by the Dutch. Marie-Louise
seems certain to be unmasked. Will she ever return to France and be
reunited with her child?
Inspired by a true story, Into the World is a compelling novel of the
amazing life of Marie-Louise Girardin battling perilous seas, her own
self-doubt, and finding unforeseen loves on a journey to reclaim her
child.
