Jolly English noblefolk rescue French fleeing-aristocracy from the bloody French Revolution. Hapless heroine follows her cooly competent husband around. Oh jeez, there I go judging a book from back in the day by today's standards. And yet, wow, the heroine starts this story pretty darned craven. At the time, this book was probably pretty progressive: wow, a woman having adventures unaccompanied by her husband (albeit her "adventures" were... well, she was basically trying to catch up to him). Meanwhile, this book gives a window back to a simpler time, when people thought that the aristocracy might ever be useful and that royalty weren't just parasites. The writer seems very bothered by the whole idea of revolution, not just the violence, but the whole idea—and assumes that the reader will be as well. Back then, that was probably more likely.