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The Virgin Blue

tracy chevalier

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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.

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1,1997
Places
denmark, france, gabon, 

This edition

Format
304 pages, Paperback
Published
June 24, 2003 by Penguin Publishing Group
ISBN
9780452284449
ASIN
0452284449
Language
English

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About the author

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tracy chevalier

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Born:
19 October 1962 in Washington, DC. Youngest of 3 children. Father was a photographer for The Washington Post.

Childhood:
Nerdy. Spent a lot of time lying on my bed reading. Favorite authors back then: Laura Ingalls Wilder, Madeleine L'Engle, Zilpha Keatley Snyder, Joan Aiken, Susan Cooper, Lloyd Alexander. Book I would have taken to a desert island: Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery.

Education:
BA in English, Oberlin College, Ohio, 1984. No one was surprised that I went there; I was made for such a progressive, liberal place.

MA in creative writing, University of East Anglia, Norwich, England, 1994. There's a lot of debate about whether or not you can be taught to write. Why doesn't anyone ask that of professional singers, painters, dancers? That year forced me to write all the time and take it seriously.

Geography:
Moved to London after graduating from Oberlin in 1984. I had studied for a semester in London and thought it was a great place, so came over for fun, expecting to go back to the US after 6 months to get serious. I'm still in London, and still not entirely serious. Even have dual citizenship – though I keep the American accent intact.

Family:
1 English husband + 1 English son.

Career:
Before writing, was a reference book editor, working on encyclopedias about writers. (Yup, still nerdy.) Learned how to research and how to make sentences better. Eventually I wanted to fix my own sentences rather than others', so I quit and did the MA.

Writing:
Talked a lot about becoming a writer as a kid, but actual pen to paper contact was minimal. Started writing short stories in my 20s, then began first novel, The Virgin Blue, during the MA year. With Girl With a Pearl Earring (written in 1998), I became a full-time writer.

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Community Reviews

Rating(4 / 5.0, 100 votes)
5 stars
34(34%)
4 stars
28(28%)
3 stars
38(38%)
2 stars
0(0%)
1 stars
0(0%)
100 reviews All reviews
Profile Image for Kimberly .
RogueAngelX
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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I really liked this novel. The overlapping stories are fascinating, exciting, and propel a sense of reality that sometimes other fiction can not accomplish. I believe that Tracy Chevalier is a talented writer (story teller) because of her characters, subjects, and environments, in which she places those characters. After watching a short video with her being interviewed about her newest book, "Remarkable Creatures," I realize how her creative mind works and what inspires her. She is very attentive to details and lets them fester before initiating her whole story. She may have lots of ideas for a story, but then they all meld together to make something wonderful, like this book. I wanted to go to Poland after reading this book and research/search about my Polish family history - like Ella does in France, in this story. The results of Ella's search seem very lucky and satisfying, which I like in stories of this nature. I'm starting to realize that Chevalier is possibly one of my favorites writers. This is the second book of hers that I've read; I've got more to read. The first of course was "Girl with a Pearl Earring" which I also gave four stars. I can never put her books down and feel so anxious to continue reading them through out the day.
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g1l
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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I always enjoy a good French setting and this book conveys the challenges of living in France as an outsider. The book runs in two stories; the story of Isabelle and her challenges of living in a time when the Huguenots were persecuted by the Catholics and Ella Turner who tracks down these relatives and connections from the time. I found her story slightly more interesting as she battles with marriage difficulties.
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ShockingX
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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XVI secolo, in Francia: tutto il villaggio conosce Isabelle du Moulin come La Rossa, una ragazza dai capelli color rame, ma l'arrivo dei calvinisti – adepti al fanatismo della Riforma- renderanno il nomignolo di Isabelle sinonimo di stregoneria. Dopo le persecuzioni seguite alla Notte di massacro di San Bartolomeo, incinta, prenderà la via della fuga con il compagno – il giovane Tournier- trovando asilo in un remoto villaggio svizzero, che le riserverà tuttavia un futuro cupo e pieno di sofferenze.

Un destino, quello della giovane Isabelle, che verrà riportato alla luce –secoli dopo- da Ella Turner, l'americana perseguitata da uno strano sogno in cui le appare una veste azzurra e che la porta a trasferirsi nel Sud della Francia. Un istinto che la porterà a risolvere il mistero celato tra le Cévennes, le isolate montagne dove ebbero origine i Tournier (Turner).

L'aspetto storico, l'interesse per la ricerca e il sacrificio si intrecciano nell'opera prima dell' autrice Tracy Chevalier che si avvale dell'arguto concetto di alternanza di una trama storica assimilata e interseca con la nostra contemporaneità (vedi Isabelle e poi Ms. Ella).

L'aspetto di prevalenza, nonché di maggiore interesse, è infatti una storia che vive in due momenti diversi nella storia, seppur nella medesima area geografica. Tale peculiarità non appesantisce una trama che anzi si ritrova snellita da uno stile così vario e avvincente (dopotutto tra le vicende di Isabelle e Ella sono passati secoli, con la diversificazione di usi e costumi che ne consegue).

Una lettura facile dalla narrazione fluente, anche se non raggiunge il livello degli altri romanzi dell'autrice, garantisce senza dubbio un intrattenimento piacevole. 4 stelline - -
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facu6789
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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A fascinating book that got me hooked after only a few pages. It was compelling, I wanted to learn what happened to Isabelle and her family, but also about Ella and her journey in France. Her new home.
Thevswitching between then and now I think was well done, it felt like Ella was taking the same path Ella was.

Liked this book like I did the others I read by her.
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mr_blob__
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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This audiobook was very entertaining, but I love reading my ebook readers definitely more! I enjoy listening to Virgin Blue, but will read it next year!
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StickyTar
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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Read for a book club discussion.

Historical parts were engaging, however the contemporary sections - riddleded with bad writing, flimsy plot and cardboard characters - ruined the overall impression for me.
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KremS
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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Unfortunatley, not a favorite of mine from this author. I usually really enjoy reading her books but this one, while it started out strong, just came together too quickly at the end and I was left very confused. It was also a bit heavy on the romance for my tastes. The early storyline was interesting and I enjoyed learning about French history but the second storyline was not engaging and felt a bit too false, it didn't really ring true for me.
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Stargurll02
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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This book started out very good but by the end I was quite frustrated. There are two stories: one in the 16th century and one modern but they are within the same family. The 16th century story was more interesting but got cut short whereas I feel that the modern story got over-developed and I ended up disliking the main character.
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