Inspired by true events, Isola, embellished in fiction by gifted author, Allegra Goodman, chronicles the odyssey of an invincible, historic figure, a pampered, French-Renaissance woman accused of betraying her guardian, Jean François de la Roque de Roberval. Exercising his privilege as her “protector,” Roberval spitefully marooned Marguerite on an uninhabited rocky Island, somewhere along the Gulf of St. Lawrence, present day Quebec, Canada. A castaway, Marguerite was exposed to the brutality of nature, abandoned in the wilderness to die. She not only survives but, when presented to the court of Queen of Navarre, the King’s sister, Marguerite holds proof of her grit …the claw of the bear she shot to sustain her life.

Heiress to a fortune, surrounded by privilege and opulence, Marguerite de la Roque, an aristocratic lady in 16th century France was raised with devotion to scripture and compliance without complaint. Orphaned at age 9, Marguerite grew into a beautiful young woman guided with council from Damienne, her devout nurse and confidante. As befits gentlewomen with a substantial dowry and noble origin, Marguerite occupied her days with needlework, music and prayer. She took pride arranging pearls in her hair, admiring herself in the “looking glass.” Dressed in majestic brocade gowns, day-dreaming of an arranged marriage–a choice only granted to her appointed guardian, Roberval.

Roberval was an explorer commanding a ship charting new lands for the King. Arrogant, sinister, a religious zealot, Roberval squandered Marguerite’s inheritance to pay for failed investments and gambling debts. Stripped of her dowry and estate Marguerite became a prisoner at Roberval’s mercy. Marguerite and Damienne were forced to sail with Roberval into uncharted territory on a dangerous expedition. On board a crew with rough colonists, Marguerite was terrified. She had “never touched a man.” However, neither did the men dare approach her. Any contact with Marguerite was an act of treason, punishable by death. Roberval’s secretary Auguste Dupre took that risk. Their romance on the ship sealed their fate.

Roberval’s fury turned into jealous rage when he discovered the two lovers. In June 1542, after a ceremonial dedication to consecrate the newfound colony Terra Nueva Franca (New France) Roberval directed his sardonic gaze on Marguerite, August and the innocent Damienne. He cold bloodedly decreed, “I will leave you on the island together.” All three were exiled onto an Isola, one of the remote islands surrounding the jagged waterway. Allowing them a few provisions--- four guns, gunpowder, a box of salted fish, a knife and a lump of soap-- the small group were banished into a bleak wilderness to perish.

And indeed Auguste, Damienne and a baby boy succumbed to the harsh conditions on the island. But as history shows, Marguerite, who had never before had to start a fire, nor pluck dead birds, nor gather berries, use a knife, carry water, wash clothes, confront wolves, nor face starvation, bitterly cold winters, or hunt bears she quickly learned what it takes to hold on to life. Now her story is remarkably recorded in history and Goodman’s compelling historical novel, Isola.