The cathedral city of Chartres was an absolutely beautiful setting for Agnes Morel and her story. Agnes was so much part of the cathedral and the people of Chartres and the book was so descriptive of the town and the cathedral that I felt that I was physically very much there.
Agnes is a simple soul. Misunderstood by some and understood perfectly by others especially those who were kindred spirits - kind, self effacing, very giving and straightforward. Brought up by nuns in a convent, without much affection, she is raped and gives birth to a baby at 15, who is then taken away from her. The trauma of this affects her life and the story goes on from there.
The power of the story also lies in how innocuous gossip, and vicious gossip and embroidering of a story can destroy people so easily. Agnes's life is threatened by one such character who for an inexplicable reason just dislikes Agnes as she resembles someone with whom her husband had a dalliance. From this woman, the cycle begins and how near Agnes comes to being destroyed.
Characterization of all the people in this story was very beautifully done. The descriptiveness was fabulous.
A gift to me from a friend, this is one author I will be looking out for.
Mystica this sounds so good. I do hope Agnes got something really good going for her by the end. Love how the book illustrates the evil impact of gossip.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a story I would enjoy. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a wonderful book!
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