Jeanne of the Marshes

Oppenheim loves the aristocracy despite not being one of them himself. Though his name couldn't be more Germanic, he chooses French ones for his main characters, making them all seem descended from Normans or Huguenots. He attempts to throw us a curve in this book, disguising the hero as a plain fisiherman, and introducing a secondary heroine as one of the people. Not to worry, though, for she comes from an old family who once owned a great swath of territory.