The Schoolteacher of Saint-Michel
Set in 1942, during the Second World War in France, this is a super story, engaging and suspenseful. The novel opens in the present with a mystery presented to Hannah Stone, also a schoolteacher, about her grandmother’s past. Her grandmother, Gigi, left a dying request. She wanted Hannah to take a message to the schoolteacher of Saint-Michel, Lucie Laval, whom she had known during the war.
Hannah sets off to find Lucie and, in the process, seeks to understand the role Gigi played when the Germans occupied France. Hannah also has her own problems, and her quest will give her the opportunity to understand the value of friendship and family.
The reader is soon immersed in the rural society of mid-20th century France, both through the tales of the retired schoolteacher and in Hannah’s present-day recreations of old French recipes in the schoolteacher’s house and garden in the Dordogne. This is a strength of the novel; the food and surroundings are beautifully evoked with luscious imagery, but it is also a story of heartbreak and romance. The two time streams require the reader to get to know lots of characters, but this is well worth the effort, with interesting and strong female characters.
A well-researched story about women’s lives during the Occupation of France. It tells of the women who played their part in resisting the German occupation and is one which will leave the reader full of admiration for their courage as the mystery unfolds.
