Marguerite arrives in Saint-Sulpice from Paris and meets Brigitte at the train station. Marguerite is twenty-four years old and she is about to start work as the live-in nurse for Jerome, an elderly and cantankerous man who lives alone and has been unwell for some time. Brigitte lives locally and is married to Henri, the village’s handsome hero, and the couple oversee the activity at Jerome’s large house and gardens, Rossignol (French for ‘Nightingale’).
Marguerite’s arrival in the quiet village in the Languedoc causes a stir. People gossip. They want to know who she is and they hungrily latch on to the smallest details of her life, however true or reliable the source. She soon meets Suki, a beautiful and enchanting woman from Iran who says she feels like an outsider in the village too. She offers Marguerite friendship, but Marguerite is reluctant to accept, happier to keep her distance from everybody. But – why?
Life with Jerome is difficult. He is angry and frequently takes out his frustrations on his new nurse, calling her ‘pathetic’ and stupid. His three grown-up sons come to visit, although it is clear that they are all wrapped up in their own lives and show no compassion towards their father. They are, however, interested in Marguerite. They find out that she is from a wealthy family in Paris. Why, then, is she working here? Before we find the answer to that question, she meets Henri properly, and falls in love with him. But can he love her?
Much like everyone in this novel, Marguerite has secrets. Her sister, Cassandre, was also very unwell, in hospital, and needed constant care. She blames herself for her sister’s illness and it is clear that Marguerite is punishing herself for what happened to Cassandre.
It is a beautifully written story, so rich with the promise of escapist literature, taking us elsewhere swiftly: ‘The water was a roar. The forest had opened into a clearing and sheer rock face, the water green and fast, falling straight down into a series of pools.’ Lovely! Deeply evocative of another place, and time. I thoroughly enjoyed ‘Nightingale’ and I know you will too.
Nightingale by Marina Kemp was published by Fourth Estate. I was very grateful to receive my PDF copy from the publisher to review.
