Silence of stone : a novel of Marguerite de Roberval

Based on historical records, Silence of Stone recounts the story of Marguerite de Roberval, a young French noblewoman. During a colonising expedition to New France in 1542, she falls in love with a soldier. Jean-François de Roberval, commander of the expedition and Marguerite’s guardian, is so outraged at the disgrace she has brought upon the name Roberval that he abandons her, her lover, and a servant on the Isle of Demons, a small island in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Marguerite survives, spending nearly a year entirely alone. More than two years after her abandonment, she retu s to France, rescued from the island by a Breton fishing ship. In Silence of Stone, Marguerite at 36 is an entirely different woman from the 18-year old abandoned on the Isle of Demons, so much so that she speaks of her younger self as “she.” Sixteen years after her retu to France, relentlessly questioned by King François II’s geographer, André Thevet, Marguerite reluctantly recounts her life on the island. Based on historical records, Silence of Stone recounts the story of Marguerite de Roberval, a young French noblewoman. During a colonizing expedition to New France in 1542, she falls in love with a soldier. Jean-Franois de Roberval, the commander of the expedition and Marguerites guardian, is so outraged at the disgrace she has brought upon the Roberval name that he abandons her, her lover, and a servant on the Isle of Demons, a small island in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Marguerite survives, spending nearly a year entirely alone. More than two years after her abandonment, she returns to France, rescued from the island by a Breton fishing ship. In Silence of Stone, Marguerite at thirty-six is an entirely different woman from the eighteen-year-old abandoned on the Isle of Demons, so much so that she speaks of her younger self as she. Sixteen years after her return to France, relentlessly questioned by King Franois IIs geographer, Andr Thevet, Marguerite reluctantly recounts her life on the island. Things no longer look the same for 45-year-old Emmanuel ("M") Taggart. Thinking he has a bad case of the flu, M leaves the office to embark on a road of self-discovery. Although the doctors find nothing medically wrong, M becomes convinced that he is suffering from an undiagnosed terminal disease, a brain tumour perhaps. During his brief period of "illness," Emmanuel is increasingly peevish, irritable, mean, selfish, and nearly impossible for his long-suffering wife, Emily, to withstand. Moreover, M runs into Juhan Lipp, an old man for whom he immediately feels a unique and filial attachment. Juhan seems to have acquired the wisdom that M is lacking. Lovesongs of Emmanuel Taggart is a comedy, focusing upon the antics and perceptions of an ordinary person as he finally comes to terms with his own humanity.