Most little girls dream of marrying their Prince Charming and having the happy ever after, but what if the fables we’ve been told don’t tell the whole story?

Born the illegitimate daughter of a seamstress in Denmark’s mid-1800s, Louise Rasmussen rises to become a noted ballerina with the Royal Danish ballet, but getting pregnant with her own illegitimate child dashes her every hope and dream, forcing her to start a new life. Falling in love with Crowned Prince Frederik of Denmark should have made her life easier, but fate is fickle.

Despite severe opposition from the nobility, Frederik weds Louise, the newly titled Countess Danner, soon after he is crowned King. Deeply in love, the two must fight to find some semblance of happiness in an environment that refuses to bend, and amid pending war and social turmoil, Louise and Frederik discover what is most important. Many claim she was a gold-digger, yet toward the end of her life, she creates Danner House, a home for unwed mothers and orphans, which still exists today.

Review:

Insightful, atmospheric, and extremely fascinating!

This story is set in Denmark in the mid-1800s and tells the story of Louise Rasmussen, an illegitimate ballerina who not only had a relationship and a son with Carl Berling, the paper heir, but also went on to fall in love with and marry Prince Frederik of Denmark.

The prose is smooth and clear. The characters are intriguing, progressive, and complex. And the plot unfolds chronologically with just the perfect amount of fact, fiction, narration, dialogue, surprises, and emotion to keep you eagerly flipping the pages.

Louise Rasmussen was a strong, determined women ahead of her time. Her perseverance, intelligence and compassion allowed her to endure a life filled with humiliation, rejection, opposition, poverty, and societal disdain while still loving to her heart’s content and establishing a legacy for women in need, The Danner House, that still stands and operates today.

This book is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

Amazon UK, Amazon US, Amazon Canada, Chapters/Indigo