Jacqueline de Belleville — a series by
Rachael Jane
The adventures and misadventures of Jacqueline de Belleville during the era of the French revolution and the Napoleonic Wars (1789-1815). Orphaned and penniless, Jackie has a body men are willing to die for, and a few get their wish. Life isn't kind to Jackie, but she is a survivor whose intelligent mind and friendly disposition more than makes up for a constant lack of money.
This six part series of short stories (approximately 10,000 words each) is inspired by L.A.Meyer's ‘Bloody Jack’ books. A few of the characters in this story are (very) loosely based on L.A.Meyer’s characters. However the plot, setting and most of the characters are my own creation.
An epilogue "Jacqueline's Legacy" added in 2024.
The opening story in the Jacqueline de Belleville series about the adventures and misadventures of a resourceful young woman during the French revolution and Napoleonic wars (1789-1815). Blessed with a body men are willing to die for, some of whom get their wish, Jackie's intelligence and bravery make up for her constant lack of cash. Now Jackie looks back on her life so far after fleeing France in a hurry. She has plenty of time to do so now that she's locked in a sheik's harem.
Jacqueline recalls her adventures in early 1808 which lead her to cease her life as a ship's boy. Perhaps it's as well as she's 18 years old and only a blind man could fail to notice that she's a woman. In the course of her travels she helps desperate people, and rescues damsels in distress. But it comes at a high price to Jacqueline which even some much needed sexual relief can't recompense.
Summer 1809. Jacqueline de Belleville arrives in Spain on a mission to rescue her sister Julieta from the unwanted attentions of the French army. Trapped behind enemy lines with only randy Spanish guerilla fighters for company, the two sisters must sing and dance, and otherwise entertain, both their friends and their enemies as they try to escape.
Spring 1810 sees Jacqueline crossing the south of France in search of her father's ancestral home. On her way she meets randy artists, a sex starved bargee, and a man willing to offer a ride for a ride. Finally she encounters a legend in her own lifetime and Jacqueline learns more about her origins.
April 1808. Jacqueline must adapt to life as a plantation slave on the island of Martinique in the Caribbean. The Ladybird plantation has unusual owners, meaning that there's no shortage of opportunities for sex along with the hard work demanded of her and the other slaves. While she's there a special surprise awaits Jacqueline which changes the direction of her life.
1817. Jacqueline and the other 31 young women captives held at Wadi Halaf settle into the demands of harem life while negotiations are held for payment of their ransoms. But both sides of the negotiations are suspicious of the other, and the intermediaries are no more trustworthy. It's a recipe for trouble which could see the young women spend the rest of their lives as harem slaves entertaining their lusty overlords.
Twenty-one year old Andrea makes a startling discovery. She learns that she is adopted, and that she was actually born to a woman called Jacqueline. But why were her birth records falsified, and why is her normally fearless adoptive mother afraid that Jacqueline may one day return? Andrea and her friends embark on a series of amorous adventures to find out the truth. Set in the 1830s on the island of Martinique in the Caribbean, this story is an epilogue to the Jacqueline de Belleville series.
