Victoria Mas Boeken

In 1885 Paris, the Salpetriere asylum becomes a spectacle as Dr. Charcot captivates society with his hypnotism displays on women labeled mad or hysterical. These women are often merely inconvenient figures—unwanted wives, grieving mothers, or rebellious daughters. The highlight of the year is The Mad Women’s Ball, where the elite come to gawk at the patients, who, for one night, don finery and experience a fleeting sense of hope. Genevieve, a senior nurse, has turned to science after the death of her sister, rejecting religion and placing her faith in Dr. Charcot. However, her perspective shifts when she encounters Eugenie, a 19-year-old from a bourgeois family, confined in the asylum for claiming to see spirits. Inspired by the controversial work, The Book of Spirits, Genevieve becomes determined to help Eugenie escape the asylum and the constraints of their gender. Together, they embark on a quest for belief and freedom, challenging the societal norms that bind them. This poignant tale shines a light on the struggles of women in a repressive world, promising to resonate with readers and critics alike.

Sometimes the truth lies in the things you cannot see. In 1830 a young novice called Catherine Labouré was granted a vision of the Virgin Mary. Nearly 200 years later, Sister Anne is also waiting for a sign. Which is why she accepts a mission to go to a tiny community on an island just off the coast of Brittany. Her only companion there is a sceptical, chain-smoking older nun who just wants to be left in peace. On the island she meets Hugo, the son of a devout family who prefers to look for the meaning of life amid the stars; Madenn, a grandmother whose daughter was killed in a crash and who finds meaning in routine; Isaac, Madenn's grandson, an otherworldly teenager who doesn't fit in but who befriends Hugo, and Julia, a sickly child. If anyone needs a miracle, it is her. But it is not Sister Anne who receives a vision. Instead it is Isaac who is found on a promontary, transfixed, unable to utter more than the words 'I see'. The event soon becomes headline news and the world descends on the small island, opening old wounds and unleashing a chain of events none of them could have foreseen.