Novel
La Comtesse des digues
Not translated into English
Marie Gevers · 1931
Synopsis
On the banks of the Scheldt, at Weert, Suzanne Briat has just lost her father, the dike count, responsible for watching over the river's embankments. She must both take over his post in a trade until then reserved for men and find herself a husband. Over one year, through the seasons and the tides, she watches the waters, while three suitors of different stations each pull her their own way, and love comes to disturb the accord she had found with the river.
Context
First novel by its author, the book appeared in 1931 from Victor Attinger; the Royal Academy sees in it the exaltation of the Scheldt and of a love of water that runs through the whole of her work. Espace Nord, which counts it among its classics, reads it as a novel of apprenticeship about a woman's place in a man's trade. According to the Journal of Dutch Literature, it was translated into German as early as 1936 under the title Die Deichgräfin and received across the Rhine as an authentic picture of Flemish landscapes.
Who it is for
A short novel, written in French; reissued in paperback in the Espace Nord series, with an afterword by Vincent Vancoppenolle.
Prizes and reception
The best-known work of its author; ranked by Espace Nord among its essential titles.
Sources for this page 6
The pages consulted to check this page.