Items related to Priests Madonna
Synopsis
In 1896, a priest in southern France suddenly gained immense wealth. This much is historically true-but no one knows where the money came from. At his death, the priest's secret was buried with him. But there was a young woman-his housekeeper and lover, Marie DŽnarnaud-who may have known the truth.
Marie DŽnarnaud is only a girl when the charismatic priest BŽrenger first captivates her. As a woman, she becomes his housekeeper and struggles with guilt over their illicit relationship. But as their affection deepens, BŽrenger grows secretive, and Marie has to learn why. What she discovers is a shocking secret that she becomes responsible for concealing.
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About the Author
Amy Hassinger is a graduate of Barnard College and the Iowa Writer's Workshop, where she studied with Marilynne Robinson and Frank Conroy. She teaches in the University of Nebraska's MFA in Creative Writing.
From Publishers Weekly
A historical romance that mixes literary heft and pop-fiction indulgence, Hassinger's ambitious second novel (following Nina: Adolescence) makes for a busy, derivative read. Marie Dernanaud, raised a religious skeptic, is immediately attracted to Bérenger Saunière, the devout, charismatic priest who takes over the parish of her small town, Rennes-le-Château, in the 1890s. While hiding their dangerous affection for each other behind arguments over religion and revolution, Marie, who narrates, and Bérenger oversee their church's renovation, which turns up some curious artifacts: a map, a book and an ancient stone carving that might hold a Da Vinci–esque code. (Wearyingly, the stuff does in fact have its origins with the Knights Templar.) With the help of the enigmatic mayor's wife, Madame Simone Laporte, Marie tries to piece together the mystery of the church, but Bérenger has confessed that he's being fed a steady diet of cash by a powerful financier who wants access to whatever they find—including possible proof of a bloodline (here's Simone's interest) descended from Jesus and Mary Magdalene. Hassinger believably conveys Bérenger's transformation from gentle clergyman to angry, corrupt doubter, and mixes in some tantalizing ancient doings in Judea, but all the competing interests sap the dynamism from Marie, who never achieves a distinct voice.
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- PublisherTurnaround
- ISBN 10 039915387X
- ISBN 13 9780399153877
- BindingPaperback
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