Name: Amandine Sylvie Devereux (nee Tremaine)
Age: 19
Nationality: French
Allegiance and why: Amandine is actually quite torn - while she knows the Revolution was inevitable she also has loyalty to her husband. Though she lived the rich life bourgeois people are protesting against, Amandine can see both sides of the story.
Social Status and/or Occupation: From waitress, to wife of a Baron in Paris, then back down to a servant girl/maid assisting her mistress in England.

Brief physical description of your character: When in her finery Amandine is quite striking. She is tall, standing at 5'7 with long hair and a full body. Her best feature is her eyes: while they are a curious blue, they are quite large and full of expression, curved like a cat's. Her posture has always remained elegant despite her less than graceful upbringing. Her red hair is almost always placed in delicate curls, though she does wish it wasn't so bright sometimes. At first Amandine was unsure about her body: she had curves in unexpected places and she wasn't prepared to develop so quickly. She never really gave much thought to her physical appearance before, allowing people to take her as she came but since she rose in society she takes more pride in the way she looks and is far more critical of herself than usual.

Brief description of your characters history, including family: In a nutshell Amandine is a bourgeois girl married into aristocracy, a Baron who has had to flee to England. A French Aristocrat whose family were dessimated by the protesting mob, the Baron took his wife and fled to London where Amandine is now working as a servant. It was a considerable knock to Amandine's lifestyle, having only been married twelve months she was still settling to married life with Olivier.
Born on the 7th March to bourgeois parentage, Amandine's childhood was humble yet happy in her small family abode. Her mother and father were good to her, and she was the only child as they were quite old when they had her. She took a job waiting on people in a local tavern as a young girl to earn some extra money and never really grew out of the job, only moving up when she was sixteen to work in the theatre doing precisely the same sort of service as before. A chance meeting with Olivier Devereux, Baron de Clarisse at the tender age of seventeen, soon changed her life. Though he was eight years older and more worldly-wise, Amandine was enraptured by the Baron the moment she saw him leave his carriage to enter the theatre, having never seen a Nobleman so close before. It was soon clear Olivier thought the same of her, as he stirred controversy for even making pleasantries with the bourgeois girl all evening, let alone showing a romantic interest. Merely three months after their first meeting Olivier had visited the same productions around twelve times, and the two had become good friends. Despite his family's advice he spontaneously requested her hand in marriage as he was about the leave one night. His fortune was not great, his influence was weak, and it was only because of this that the marriage was allowed to go ahead when Amandine promptly accepted his proposal.
Leaving her mother and father behind was not easy for Amandine but they were insistant that she had no duty to them and to live the best life the Baron could possibly give her. Once married, Amandine was quick to relax into the aristocratic way of life. Her daily routine was full of exquisite dresses, perfect etiquette among the Baron's finest friends and soirees by the bucket load. Olivier was always attentive and Amandine was comfortable, if not overly happy with her new life. Something seemed to be missing, but before she could figure out quite what the matter was the Revolution began to rise and she and Olivier were fearing for their life.
Olivier's family were killed within the first few months of the surge in the revolution, whilst the couple were enjoying a break in Normandy. Olivier returned to see his home desecrated and his possessions burnt. Knowing it would only be a matter of time before he joined his relatives, Olivier abandoned his home outside of Paris and took Amandine to port almost immediately after returning.
The two stowaways arrived in rainy England lost, bewildered and devastated. Showing initiative Amandine did not know he had, Olivier managed to maintain their survival by securing them a place as workhands of an estate outside the city. Olivier became the stable hand, Amandine the maid and general servant to the lady of the house when the other girl was off duty.
Amandine is adapting to life in England quite well. Though it's vastly different and the colours are of a greyer nature, the air is brisk and she is finding beauty in the countryside setting of the manor she works in. She does long for France and for news of her family, but while she stays in hiding she is trying to make the best of it despite the many setbacks she's had.

One or two plots which you would like to play out in the community: I'd really like to explore her relationship with her husband, so maybe if he came into play it might be interesting for them to try and maintain their relationship.
I'd also like a sort of love rival somewhere. Because Amandine was married so young she's never actually been in love - she loves her husband dearly but he wasn't her natural choice. She was just lucky he was so nice and giving, but with her being stuck in reality it'd be nice for her to get a gritty, real life love story. As usual. Maybe even Olivier is having the same problem?

For now though they're the only things I can come up with out of play, unless you have any other ideas!

Your photo-credit: Kate Winslet