La grande marée

by Marie Gevers

Pour Gabrielle, coincée entre la boutique de ses sœurs et son tout nouveau diplôme d’institutrice, la grande marée de l’Escaut qui menace les digues du village correspond à sa découverte de l’amour. Réfugiée dans une ferme en compagnie de Raymond, jeune commis-voyageur, de Simone, serveuse au Boma, et de la famille de celle-ci, Gabrielle éprouve la douleur d’aimer un homme, Raymond, que sa sœur doit épouser…

La violence de la nature n’a d’égale que la force des sentiments amoureux…

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1936

About the author

Marie Gevers (30 December 1883 – 9 March 1975) was a Belgian novelist.

She was born in Edegem, near Antwerp. Educated by her mother, she had a special interest in literature. Very early in life, she composed bucolic poetry, encouraged by Verhaeren. Married in 1908 to Jan Frans Willems and mother of Paul Willems, she dedicated her entire life to her family. In fact, one of the distinctive traits of her poetry was the love of her origins and familial roots.

In 1917 her first anthology, Missenbourg, was published. Later, around 1930, she began to focus on writing in prose: Madame Orpha ou la sérénade de mai (1933), Guldentop (1934) and La ligne de vie (1937) continue this constant interest in the little people and life in Antwerp. Marie Gevers was the first woman to be elected to the "Académie Royale de Langue et de Littérature Françaises de Belgique" (Royal Academy of French Language and Literature in Belgium) in 1938. In 1960, she was awarded the grand quinquennial Prize for French Literature. She died on 9 March 1975.

(from Wikipedia)

Marie Gevers était une romancière flamande qui écrivait en français.

Marie Gevers dans la Wikipédia française


Marie Gevers was een Vlaamse schrijfster die vooral in het Frans publiceerde.

Marie Gevers in de Nederlandstalige Wikipedia

Marie Gevers bij "Schrijversgewijs"


Marie Gevers was a Flemish writer who wrote in French.

Marie Gevers in the English Wikipedia

Reviews

[Pascale · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the gems in the Gevers canon. The story is told from the point of view of Gabrielle, who is easily the most interesting heroine of the 5 novels I've read by this author. Gabrielle is the youngest of 3 sisters in the poorest branch of a prosperous family. Having grudgingly completed a degree to become a school-teacher, she isn't interested in pursuing a career but only dreams of love. At the beginning of the novel, a flood caused by the equinox tide enables her to spend an unforgettable night on the roof of a farm with a young salesman who is also an amateur photographer. When she is told that Raymond is engaged to her sister Véronique, she's already decided he is the man of her life. However, in this universe nobody disregards material considerations, and both young people weigh their options carefully. Illegitimacy and inheritances play a huge role in Gevers's fiction. The characters's ability to own anything remotely beautiful or simply to afford a moment's rest once in a while is tied very precisely to how much they have. Her more memorable characters, like Gabrielle, are those whose visceral respect for money is counterbalanced by a spontaneous yearning for beauty, truth and love. As in her other books, Gevers shines by her unsentimental compassion for her characters and her lyrical evocation of nature.