There was a time back in the late 1990s/early 200s, when I loved Tracy Chevalier’s novels. They always felt convincing, whether she was imagining the world of medieval tapestry makers or London suffragettes or the household of the painter Vermeer.
That ability to paint a vivid picture of her chosen period is very much in evidence in The Virgin Blue but otherwise this is a hugely disappointing novel. If it had been my first experience of her writing, I doubt I’d have wanted to read anything further.
The novel has a dual time narrative (boy am I tired of those). It begins in sixteenth century France with Isabelle Tournier, a woman who is marked as different, by both her red hair and her fascination with the Virgin Mary in her rich blue robes. The family into which she married are farmers who are Hugenots — Protestants who follow the teachings of the theologian John Calvin. Persecuted by the Catholic majority because of their religion, and fearing for their safety, Isabelle Tournier and other members of her family flee to Switzerland where they begin a new life.
The other half of the novel features the American born Ella Turner, one of Isabelle’s descendants, and — like her, — a midwife. Ella moves to France with her architect boyfriend when he gets a new job in the area near Toulouse. Their new home is the village of Lisle-sur-Tarn is less than ideal — Ella isn’t qualified to work in France, she can’t speak the language, doesn’t have any friends and can’t get even a smile out of the local shopkeepers. And she starts experiencing strange dreams in which she sees a vivid colour blue and hears lines from a prayer.
Out of boredom Ella begins to dig into her family’s French ancestry, discovering that many of those ancestors lived not a million miles away from her new home. Her quest uncovers disturbing details about her family’s past and some unexpected connections to Isabelle Tournier.
The Virgin Blue suffers because these two strands of the story just don’t work well together. All the sections that deal with the sixteenth century are strong with characters that feel real and interesting perspectives about the harsh life experienced by the Hugenots in Switzerland. If only Tracy Chevalier had developed this story further and made the Tournier family the entire focus, I would have been happy.
But no, we had to endure far too many chapters set in modern times that just didn’t work. They’re unrealistic, rely too much on coincidence and have a completely unnecessary romantic element.
Let’s deal with the unrealistic elements first…
Ella Turner’s ability to learn the French language develops at a remarkable speed — after just a few intense lessons she can pick her way through faded handwriting from centuries past when most students in her position would be delighted if they can string enough words together to ask for directions.
One thing I discovered about my French – when I was mad it came out like a jet stream. ‘There are fat Americans but at least they don’t have huge mouths like the French!’
Good fortune also comes her way in the form of strangers who become willing helpmates in her quest. One happens to know how to get a cranky mayor to open up discarded files. Another is a librarian whose initial scepticism and mild hostility is overcome so completely he ends up doing research for Ella in his own time
And of course, we know what happens don’t we because we’ve read it all so many times before?, Hostility turns into attraction and a will they/won’t they thread to the plot. Really handy that the librarian is an attractive, eligible bachelor who spends his nights at the piano in a jazz club frequented by his arty friends. Such a welcome change from her dull architect boyfriend who spends all his time in the office.
The Virgin Blue was Tracy Chevalier’s first published work. I wonder if she started with the idea of the Hugenots but didn’t feel she could develop this enough to make it into a full length novel, so bumped it up with the modern day strand. And then maybe thought that a novel which is just about searching through dusty records for ancestors’ names was too dull, so added the love interest to give it more spark. Such a shame if that was the case because I did love the initial idea of a story based on the experiences of people persecuted for their faith.
I have to believe the flaws I’ve mentioned were just the result of a lack of experience because the contrast between this and her next book — Girl with a Pearl Earring — is astonishing.
We're all friends here. Come and join the conversation