Brides for Louisiana

A ship with " brides" for the settlers is sent from France to the emerging colonies in America; they are inmates of the penitentiary and orphanage. The novel depicts a month-long voyage at sea and the subsequent fates of three heroines: Genevieve, Petronille and Charlotte. For all three, the journey to America is an opportunity to escape the barracks regime, but their mission in the New World is clearly defined: to get married and have children. Will they be able to carve out at least some space for their own ideas about life?