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The Virgin Blue [Paperback]

Tracy Chevalier (Author)
4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
RRP: £7.99
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Book Description

Publication Date: 4 Dec 2006

Perfect for fans of Barbara Erskine, Kate Morton and Sarah Waters, this is historical fiction at its very best.

The compelling story of two women, born four centuries apart, and the ancestral legacy that binds them.

Ella Turner does her best to fit in to the small, close-knit community of Lisle-sur-Tarn. She even changes her name back to Tournier, and knocks the rust off her high school French. But it is all in vain. Isolated and lonely, she is drawn to investigate her Tournier ancestry, which leads to her encounter with the town’s wolfish librarian.

Isabelle du Moulin, known as Le Rousse due to her fiery red hair, is tormented and shunned in the village – suspected of witchcraft and reviled for her association with the Virgin Mary. Falling pregnant, she is forced to marry into the ruling family: the Tourniers. Tormentor becomes husband, and a shocking fate awaits her.

Plagued by the colour blue, Ella is haunted by parallels with the past, and by her recurring dream. Then one morning she wakes up to discover that her hair is turning inexplicably red…

Frequently Bought Together

The Virgin Blue + Falling Angels + Remarkable Creatures
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  • Falling Angels by Tracy Chevalier Paperback £5.59
  • Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier Paperback £5.99

Product details

  • Paperback: 312 pages
  • Publisher: Harper; New Ed edition (4 Dec 2006)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0007241461
  • ISBN-13: 978-0007241460
  • Product Dimensions: 13.1 x 19.3 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 144,182 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Product Description

Review

‘Tracy Chevalier’s first novel is a triumph. Excellent’ Time Out

‘An intriguing and poignant read’ Sunday Express

‘Such an achievement for a serious writer that you feel it deserves an award’ Independent

‘A beautifully crafted story shot with vivid colours’ The Times

From the Publisher

The compelling story of two women, born centuries apart, and the ancestral legacy that binds them. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A book to read and re-read, and to share with friends. 23 Sep 2003
By lady_of_a_day
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This book is exquisite; if you're interested in history, geography, puzzles, religion, people, or even simply in the texture and colour of beautifully written prose, read it.

But be warned: make sure you buy more than one copy. Because when you finish reading, you will want to share it with others - and you will also want to go back to the beginning and read the whole thing again, just in case you missed any of the clues the first time round.

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48 of 51 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars not to be missed by fans 23 Dec 2002
By A. Craig HALL OF FAME TOP 1000 REVIEWER
Format:Paperback
Though oddly reminiscent in plot to Barbara Erskine's best-selling Lady of Hay, Tracy Chevalier's first novel is a pleasure to read. It doesn't quite achieve the heights of Girl with a Pearl Earring, (hence the 4 star rating,) but shares its unforced sympathy for its characters, erotic tension, ability to evoke the past and clarity of style.

Five hundred years ago, a red-haired Huguenot girl, La Rousse, sees her mother, a sage-femme or midwife, killed in the remote Cevenol area of France. Subsequently, she is married, unwillingly, to a bullying husband and forced with others of his faith from their home. She falls in love with an Italian pedlar and is mysteriously protected by a wolf, before her love of a piece of blue cloth brings disaster. When Ella Turner, an American married to Rick, comes to the same area she begins to be haunted by flashes of the colour blue - the colour of the Virgin Mary's robe. She is trying to become pregnant, although her relationship with her husband is increasingly compromised by an attraction to the French librarian, Jean-Paul. With his help, and that of her Swiss relations, Ella uncovers fragments of an ancient crime involving the persecution of the Hugenots and the presence of the mysterious blue of the Virgin's robe...and as she does so, her own hair turns red, like that of her ancestress.

The novel switches between Ella's narrative voice and an account of a past that may or may not be "true". Ella is a highly engaging character - quirky, stubborn, funny, and completely at odds with the provincial French town in which she finds herself. Her growing passion for Jean-Paul is conveyed with an economy that successfully skirts the novelettish, and her professional pride in her work as a midwife gives her a realism that is particularly welcome in a tale of shifting times and perceptions. An excellent and entertaining novel, which will be enjoyed by fans of Alice Hoffman and Rose Tremain.

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39 of 42 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars An evocative novel of today's France and it's history. 4 Aug 2001
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
Ella Turner, Tracy Chevalier's main character, arrives in France from America almost an appendage of her husband for it is his job that they have followed. Gradually, as Ella becomes Ella Tournier and tries to follow the haunting dreams that she has, we see the development of her character into the real Ella Turner/Tournier. This novel is evocative of Chocolat by Joanne Harris, with similar touches of mysticism and the same feel for the characters, landscapes and architecture of France. The characters are many faceted and although there are several clues along the way, with the interwoven chapters about Ella's long ago relatives, the Tournier family, the climax of the book is still both shocking and moving.I felt sorrow and regret for characters from almost 500 years ago as if they were really living today. A fabulous, page turning read and I can't wait to read Girl With a Pearl Earring by the same author.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars The Virgin blue by Tracy Chevalier
As always a brilliant story,interesting facts about the about religius.beliefs and rather sad practises. Read more
Published 28 days ago by Mrs. A. Sherman
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant
I have read all her books except the latest and I recommend you buy any Tracy Chevalier book. They have excellent characters in and very unusual settings. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Julieb
5.0 out of 5 stars Bound by a legacy
There is little I can add to these reviews. Heart-rendingly beautiful. There is a four hundred year gap between Ella Turner aka Tournier and Isabelle du Moulin but they have a... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Jane Baker
5.0 out of 5 stars Absorbing - a great read.
An easy and enjoyable read - a really good tale. Love Tracy's work - very much my favourite writer. Her books are all very different and i love this about her. Read more
Published 4 months ago by ms. kit nader
3.0 out of 5 stars If you like Chevalier, you'll like this one too
A typical Chevalier novel with the historical background, so for fans of a bit of history woven into novels, it's good. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Canscot
2.0 out of 5 stars Predictable and disappointing
I read a few reviews of this book before buying. It looked just like my kind of thing; historical/cathar/Barbara Erskine-esque. What a lasts of time it was. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Poppy Doll
4.0 out of 5 stars Engrossing
This book certainly had me engrossed from the beginning. You couldn't help but want better for Isabelle and wished for her life to improve. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Mrs. A. L. Maddocks
5.0 out of 5 stars I loved this book!
Ella Turner and Isabelle du Moulin are two women born centuries apart, yet bound by a fateful family legacy. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Emma
4.0 out of 5 stars good read
This is an interesting novel and has many hooks to draw the reader in but it lacks realism in places - I found that I was frustrated with some of the characters.
Published 14 months ago by menapian
5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent book
We can't all like the same things - I really didn't like Burning Bright as it didn't read like a TC novel at all. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Naj
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