[close]
Agnes Morel was abandoned at birth, raised by nuns, raped at fourteen, and forced by the nuns to give up her infant son at age 15. Vickers unfolds Agnes’s story slowly, retreating into her youthful upbringing by the nuns, and then jumping forward twenty years; expertly piecing together the mystery and tragedy that seems to follow Agnes.
In the present day, Agnes has discovered peace and solace in the village of Chartres. Contentedly cleaning the grand gothic cathedral Agnes also works as a housekeeper for many of the town’s characters, until a vicious rumor threatens her peaceful, uncomplicated life. Vickers has a commanding voice and her characters are complex beings set amid the charming French landscape of Chartres.
Recommended for readers who enjoyed Muriel Barbery’s “The Elegance of the Hedgehog”.
