Synopses & Reviews
The first novel never before published in the United States by the critically acclaimed author of the
New York Times bestsellers
Girl with a Pearl Earring and
Falling Angels.
Meet Ella Turner and Isabelle du Moulin two women born centuries apart, yet bound by a fateful family legacy. When Ella and her husband move to a small town in France, Ella hopes to brush up on her French, qualify to practice as a midwife, and start a family of her own. Village life turns out to be less idyllic than she expected, however, and a peculiar dream of the color blue propels her on a quest to uncover her family's French ancestry. As the novel unfolds alternating between Ella's story and that of Isabelle du Moulin four hundred years earlier a common thread emerges that unexpectedly links the two women. Part detective story, part historical fiction, The Virgin Blue is a novel of passion and intrigue that compels readers to the very last page.
Review
"A rich and quirky Chinese puzzle of sorts....A modest work of some skill, told with a minimum of melodrama and some good local color." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"Chevalier's clunky first novel....[T]he heavy-handed plot...relies on jarring coincidences as it swerves unsteadily from past to present." Publishers Weekly
Review
"Where Chevalier shines is in her clean prose and her descriptions of rural French and Swiss life, then and now." Michael Harris, The Los Angeles Times
Review
"Tracy Chevalier's first novel is a triumph. Excellent." Time Out (London)
Review
"Such an achievement for a serious writer that you feel it deserves an award." The Independent (London)
Review
"A beautifully crafted story shot with vivid colors." The Times (London)
Synopsis
Meet Ella Turner and Isabelle du Moulin—two women born centuries apart, yet bound by a fateful family legacy. When Ella and her husband move to a small town in France, Ella hopes to brush up on her French, qualify to practice as a midwife, and start a family of her own. Village life turns out to be less idyllic than she expected, however, and a peculiar dream of the color blue propels her on a quest to uncover her familys French ancestry. As the novel unfolds—alternating between Ellas story and that of Isabelle du Moulin four hundred years earlier—a common thread emerges that unexpectedly links the two women. Part detective story, part historical fiction, The Virgin Blue is a novel of passion and intrigue that compels readers to the very last page.
About the Author
Tracy Chevalier was born and raised in Washington, D.C. She earned her BA at Oberlin College in Ohio and holds a graduate degree in creative writing from the University of East Anglia.