Innocence

by Pierre Magnan, Patricia Clancy (Translator)

June 1945. The war is over. As dawn breaks across the hills of Provence, 15-year-old Pierrot stumbles across the body of Capitaine Patrocle, a local hero of the Resistance, who has been murdered. In his wallet, Pierrot finds a letter, which he conceals beneath his cap. It provides the key to the dramatic events that lie at the heart of this haunting story—and ultimately leads to the boy’s introduction to the beautiful Madame Henry and the mysteries of love. French author Pierre Magnan has written more than 25 novels, including The Murdered House, which was short-listed for the CWA Historical Dagger Award.

Genres: France, Crime

246 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Pierre Magnan was a bestselling French author of detective novels steeped in the sights and sounds of his beloved Provence; to readers, his sleuth, Commissaire Laviolette, was as indelibly linked to the land of lavender as Colin Dexter’s Inspector Morse was to the colleges of Oxford.

Magnan’s autumnal years were prolific; he wrote more than 30 books and saw his novels adapted for French television and cinema. He was never afraid to experiment and shifted easily to non-fiction, writing, amongst other publications, a gentle portrait of Giono (Pour Saluer Giono, 1990), a study of Provençal novels (Les Romans de ma Provence, 1998) and two volumes of memoirs. In The Essence of Provence (1998) he followed the story of L’Occitane from roadside soap stand to globally known brand. “La Provence was present in all his books,” noted Marie-Laure Goumet, his editor at Robert Laffont.

Reviews

[Alan Pottinger · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bit disappointed with this one as I normally love this authors work but this somehow went nowhere, he was far too preoccupied with sexual content and I was left wondering if I'd missed something along the way - Magnan is without a doubt a great wordsmith and conjures up rural France beautifully but I wanted more story and less carnal activity.

[Jean Moynahan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked Magnan's DEATH IN THE TRUFFLE WOOD--the MURDERED HOUSE, not so much. INNOCENCE, however, I loved. Complex, tragic, profound, and beautifully written, the novel also evokes (as do the other two) rural Provence in a way that only someone who lived there for 90-plus years can (as Magnan did). A memorable book.

[Joan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A poor young man with a secret and a passion for more. It cost him his innocence and changed his life.. Very unsettling at times. He is targeted by an olden woman who wants to know the secret. She's unscrupulous, she takes her time, woos him and gets her wish. He then discovers the truth and it brings him no joy but many years later he keeps his promise and writes about her life and the truth of what happened.