The Virgin Blue Audiobook By Tracy Chevalier cover art

The Virgin Blue

 Preview

$0.00 for first 30 days

Try for $0.00
Access a growing selection of included Audible Originals, audiobooks, and podcasts.
You will get an email reminder before your trial ends.
Audible Plus auto-renews for $7.95/mo after 30 days. Upgrade or cancel anytime.

The Virgin Blue

By: Tracy Chevalier
Narrated by: Janine Carter, Gigi Marceau Clarke
Try for $0.00

$7.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $21.04

Buy for $21.04

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use, License, and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel
Meet Ella Turner and Isabelle du Moulin, two women born centuries apart, yet bound by a fateful family legacy. When Ella and her husband move to a small town in France, Ella hopes to brush up on her French, qualify to practice as a midwife, and start a family of her own. Village life turns out to be less idyllic than she expected, however, and a peculiar dream of the color blue propels her on a quest to uncover her family's French ancestry. As the novel unfolds - alternating between Ella's story and that of Isabelle du Moulin four hundred years earlier - a common thread emerges that unexpectedly links the two women. Part detective story, part historical fiction, The Virgin Blue is a novel of passion and intrigue that compels readers to the very end.©2002 Tracy Chevalier (P)2003 HighBridge Company Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Metaphysical & Visionary

Critic reviews

"...a triumph. Excellent." (Time Out)
"...it deserves an award." (The Independent)
"...beautifully crafted...shot with vivid colors." (The Times)

All stars
Most relevant  
The setting is France, and the listening was greatly enhanced by the beautiful French accents of the readers of this novel. However, this is a slow-moving story. I love historical fiction, and the older story was much more interesting than the contemporary one. I found myself slogging through those sections and not liking the character nor the reader's petulant-sounding voice. I was impatient for the end, despite interesting plot twists along the way. Chevalier's other novels are far better than this one.

excellent listening, mediocre story

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I loved listening to this book. It would have been difficult to read it (for me) because of the french, but listening to it was like music. This is my favorite Chevalier book so far. I enjoy her descriptive story-telling, makes you feel like you're right there with the characters.

Loved it!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This is not a bad book, but it is not a great choice either. The Girl with a Pearl Earing is a much better read.

Not Great But OK

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I loved this book. The readers were excellent and the story was captivating. Part mystery, part romance, totally satisfying.

Wonderful listen!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I enjoyed the book all the way up to the. Yep. That was what it was like

Good r read bad ending

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Overall, the performance was great, and the story was interesting. The ending was a little predictable

little predictable

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I like all of Chevalier's novels, and this one was no exception. Her style of telling the story from different points of view keeps things moving without being too confusing.

Time-spanning mystery

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The story is interesting and well told. The narration is good. But Ella is insufferable as a main character.

I'm not sure what point of her having a husband was at all. If he's removed from the story practically nothing changes. As is, he only serves to show us how awful Ella is. He's nothing but loving, understanding, and supportive. Even when he doesn't understand. And she's just treats him awfully, lies to him, cheats on him. And overall just behaves irrationally towards him for no real reason.

The story would have played out MUCH better had she been single or recently divorced or Rick was a douchebag, but sadly none of these are the case. So we get a very unlikeable main character in a very interesting story.

Good story, bad protagonist.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This story has a delicate charm which reflects its spiritual essence. While it doesn't wallow in religion and symbolism, it does pay homage to both Catholic idolatry and the Protestant Reformation, as well as the deeper, earthier nature-worship which has inspired women since before time. As ever with Ms. Chevalier, the settings, both present-day and centuries past, are scrupulously researched and painlessly recreated. Ella may not be the most sympathetic character in fiction, and Isabelle's history will pain and appall modern American women, but these are realistic people who conduct themselves in believeable fashion. I would still say that this book is unmistakeably "women's fiction", but don't misunderstand me; it is a very superior novel.

Tracy Chevalier is the able successor to Margaret Atwood. "Virgin Blue" lacks some of the humor of "Fallen Angels", perhaps, but the narrative is brilliantly wrought. And the two women responsible for reading the Audible version of this complicated story are absolutely without equals, and couldn't have done a more superb job.

Intriguing and so-slightly mystical

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A mildly interesting story with very good narration. I learned a bit about the Huguenots, so that was good. The modern story was more interesting to me than the one from the middle ages, which was confusing to me.

Not Her Best

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews