ISABELLE CHAVY
Best-selling author, also published by Pocket
Fiction-Literary
ISABELLE CHAVY
TERRA INCOGNITA
An orphaned peasant girl, Jeanne Barret is fortunate enough to be
introduced to botany by an apothecary in Dijon, where she meets the
famous naturalist Philibert Commerson. He is soon commissioned to
take part in an expedition led by Antoine de Bougainville. This is an
achievement he cannot imagine experiencing without Jeanne.
1752. Jeanne Barret is an orphaned peasant girl from the Morvan region of France, who is lucky enough to be introduced to botany by an apothecary in Dijon, where she works as a housekeeper. It is there that she meets the famous naturalist Philibert Commerson. As a young widower, he urgently needs a nanny for his newborn son.
Jeanne, clever and sharp, quickly becomes his secretary, his most trusted confidante and, ultimately, his lover. A love they cannot live out in the open. When Jeanne becomes pregnant, the couple move to Paris.
There, Commerson rubs shoulders with the scientific elite of the time. He is soon asked to take part in a round the-world expedition led by Antoine de Bougainville. An achievement he cannot imagine experiencing without Jeanne. As women are not allowed on board, she decides to dress as a man, and pass herself off as his valet.
The journey ahead will be difficult and perilous for everyone, but especially for Jeanne…
Rights sold
France Loisirs (Club)
THE AUTHOR
Isabelle Chavy
Isabelle Chavy was born in 1974. After studying modern literature at the Sorbonne University, she became a school teacher. She now lives in Niort with her husband and their three children. She is the author of 4 best-selling books, L’orpheline de Saint-Aubin (The Orphan of Saint-Aubin, 2015), Le choix d’une vie (The Choice of a Lifetime, 2018), Le secret d’Alix (Alix’s Secret, 2021) and Les dames de la Villandière (Ladies of the Villandière, 2021).
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