Isola

Goodman (Sam) delivers an engrossing if overlong account of French noblewoman Marguerite de la Rocque de Roberval (1515–1542), who lived to tell the tale of her solitary exile on an island off the coast of New France. Orphaned by age three, Marguerite and her nurse, Damienne, are placed in the care of Marguerite’s duplicitous cousin, Jean-François. As Marguerite grows up, Jean-François treats her cruelly, cramming her into a corner of the Roberval’s ancestral home to make way for new tenants. He also squanders Marguerite’s inheritance to pay his debts and fund his naval expeditions, and takes Marguerite and Damienne with him on a ship bound for New France. Marguerite, now a young woman, is resourceful but impetuous, and she falls in love with Jean-François’s secretary, Auguste Dupré, during the voyage. After a furious Jean-François catches on to Marguerite and Auguste’s affair, he maroons them on an uninhabited island. Though the story drags in places and the ending is a bit too pat, Goodman brilliantly depicts Marguerite’s courage as she fights to survive the bitter Canadian winter. It’s a rousing portrait of an undaunted woman. Agent: Julie Barer, Book Group. (Feb.)