A young woman and her lover are marooned on an island in a deeply moving novel of love, faith and survival, for readers of Ariel Lawhon and Anthony Doerr’s All The Light We Cannot See
In sixteenth-century France, as the heiress to an aristocratic fortune, Marguerite is destined for a life of privilege. Then she is orphaned, and her enigmatic and volatile guardian squanders her inheritance and insists she accompany him on an expedition to the new French colonies of North America. Isolated and afraid, Marguerite befriends her guardian’s servant and the two develop an intense attraction. But when their relationship is discovered, they are brutally punished, abandoned on a small island with no hope for rescue.
From a childhood dressed in gowns and laced pearls in her hair, Marguerite finds herself at the mercy of nature. As the weather turns, blanketing the island in ice, she discovers a faith she had never before needed…
Inspired by the real life of a sixteenth-century heroine, Isola tells the timeless story of a woman fighting for survival.
“What a gift this novel is: vast, lush, feminist, and brilliantly crafted. Allegra Goodman is one of our finest writers.”—Ann Napolitano, New York Times bestselling author of Hello Beautiful
‘A shocking story, made all the more stunning by the fact that it has its roots in true history’ Jodi Picoult
‘This made me cry on an airplane but it was worth it! A luscious, rich and moving novel, a beautiful, careful and profound book about survival and hope’ Alice Winn, bestselling author of In Memoriam
‘An extraordinary book that reads like a thriller, written with the care of the most delicate psychological and historical fiction’ Vogue ‘Best Books of 2025’
Allegra Goodman is the author of six novels, including Intuition, which was longlisted for the Orange Prize in 2009. Her short fiction has appeared in the New Yorker and the Sunday Times, and her essays and reviews have appeared in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, New Republic, Washington Post and Boston Globe. She is the recipient of a Whiting Award and a fellowship from the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study.
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