The Virgin Blue

By: Tracy Chevalier

Narrated by: Janine Carter, Gigi Marceau Clarke

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 end.©2002 Tracy Chevalier (P)2003 HighBridge Company

Critic reviews

"...a triumph. Excellent." (Time Out)
"...it deserves an award." (The Independent)
"...beautifully crafted...shot with vivid colors." (The Times)

excellent listening, mediocre story

The setting is France, and the listening was greatly enhanced by the beautiful French accents of the readers of this novel. However, this is a slow-moving story. I love historical fiction, and the older story was much more interesting than the contemporary one. I found myself slogging through those sections and not liking the character nor the reader's petulant-sounding voice. I was impatient for the end, despite interesting plot twists along the way. Chevalier's other novels are far better than this one.

Not Great But OK

This is not a bad book, but it is not a great choice either. The Girl with a Pearl Earing is a much better read.

Good r read bad ending

I enjoyed the book all the way up to the. Yep. That was what it was like

little predictable

Overall, the performance was great, and the story was interesting. The ending was a little predictable

Time-spanning mystery

I like all of Chevalier's novels, and this one was no exception. Her style of telling the story from different points of view keeps things moving without being too confusing.