Adélaïde

Painter of the Revolution

In a world where women are seen but rarely heard, Adélaïde Labille-Guiard refuses to be silenced.

The daughter of Parisian shopkeepers, Adélaïde dreams not of marriage or titles but of earning a place among the masters of French art. With Queen Marie Antoinette on the throne and a spirit of change in the air, anything seems possible. But as revolution brews and powerful forces conspire to deny her success, Adélaïde faces an impossible choice: protect her life—or fight for a legacy that will outlast her.

Inspired by the true story of one of the first women admitted to the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture, Adélaïde: Painter of the Revolution is a sweeping, evocative portrait of ambition, courage, and resilience in the face of history’s fiercest storm.

Coming January 2026

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"Strube’s engaging prose also captures the intricate subtleties of fine art, from the mixing of paints and preparation of canvases to the portrayal of light and texture with extraordinary realism. Rich with historical detail and helmed by a formidable female protagonist."

—Kirkus Reviews

"Adélaïde will capture your heart until you turn the last page and beyond."

—Laura L. Engel, author of You’ll Forget This Ever Happened–Secrets, Shame, and Adoption in the 1960s

"Enthralling and beautifully written ... a novel readers will not be able to put down."

—Laura C. Rader, award-winning author of Hatfield 1677

"Using brushstrokes as vivid as Adélaïde’s own, Strube illuminates the journey of a woman determined to make use of her talents and live on her own terms. A tale you won’t soon forget!"

—Alyssa Palombo, author of The Most Beautiful Woman in Florence

"Highly recommended. A stunning read that I couldn’t put down."

—Jill G. Hall, author of On a Sundown Sea: A Novel of Madame Tingley and the Origins of Lomaland

Meet Janell Strube

Novelist. Memoirist. Poet. Explorer.

Janell Strube makes a mean barbecue sauce. She’s also a world traveler, a baker, and a bicyclist. But when she writes, her identity as an adoptee often steers her attention to topics of alienation, erased history, and displacement.

In 2024, a personal essay of hers was published in the anthology Adoption and Suicidality. Her work has also appeared in Shaking the Tree: brazen. short. memoir and A Year in Ink. Her short memoir, “Taking my Blonde Daughter to a Black Lives Matter Rally,” was selected for the 2020 San Diego Memoir Showcase, an annual live storytelling event.

While much of her writing is personal, she enjoys the freedom that comes with crafting fiction. Her desire to learn about forgotten female artists who shaped the French revolutionary period motivated her to write Adélaïde: Painter of the Revolution.

When not crunching numbers as a tax executive for a hotel chain, she can be found hanging out with Shiloh the Wheaten and plotting her second book.

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Upcoming Author Events

11th Annual Memoir Showcase

The International Memoir Writers Association presents the 11th Annual Memoir Showcase featuring a poetry reading by Janell Strube.

November 14, 2025
@ 6:00 p.m.
Garfield Theater, La Jolla

$33

Buy Your Ticket

Join Janell Strube & Friends

A discussion on women in history for Women’s History Month

March 21, 2026
@11:00 a.m.
Brooks Theatre, Oceanside

FREE

I write—way out there—on broad themes, the universe, the environment, wandering stars, the connection we have to all living things, and I write—up close, deep and personal—on trees cut from their roots, the human struggle, alienation, adoption, and racism, but always through the lens of someone walking this earth at human speed, looking for the divine in all of us.

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Janell posts poetry, blogs, travel stories, and original recipes on her Substack account. Get on her list.