Allegra Goodman’s Isola is a breathtaking novel of survival, resilience, and love, inspired by the real-life story of Marguerite de la Rocque. Marguerite, a young French noblewoman orphaned at three and at the mercy of her ruthless guardian, captivated me from the moment I met her. Her journey—from privilege to abandonment on a remote island—unfolds in vivid, gripping prose. Marguerite’s transformation makes this novel shine. Once pampered and naïve, she is thrust into an unforgiving world where nature becomes both her adversary and her teacher. Her love for Auguste, her guardian’s secretary, is passionate and defiant, but their affair seals their fate. Betrayed and marooned in the harsh Canadian wilderness, […]