A fifteenth-century portrait painter, grieving the untimely death of his unrequited love, takes refuge at the monastery at Mont Saint-Michel, an island off the coast of France. He haunts the halls until the monks assign him the task of copying manuscripts – though he is illiterate. His work heals him and grows the monastery's library into a beautiful city of books, all under the shadow of the invention of the printing press.
Dominique Fortier is an editor and translator living in Montreal. She is the author of five books, including On the Proper Use of Stars and Wonder.
Rhonda Mullins is an award-winning translator and writer living in Montreal, Quebec.
A rich portrait of the beauty of words – painted by a 15th-century illiterate scribe.
‘[Fortier’s] sensuous prose, rendered with perfect smoothness by Mullins, is always a pleasure in itself, and she lets the historical parallels and affinities… emerge organically. The result is a seductive love letter to reading, to books, and to the creative impulse.’
—Montreal Gazette
