Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood (1996)

1859. Grace Marks, sentenced to life imprisonment, slowly turns in circles in the yard of a Canadian penitentiary. At the age of 16, Grace was accused of two horrible murders. No one ever knew if she was guilty, innocent or crazy. At her trial, after giving three versions of the facts, Grace walled herself up in silence: amnesia or dissimulation?

Doctor Simon Jordan, a promising young specialist in mental illness, wants to discover the truth. He obtains permission to visit Grace, to make her speak at length. Grace talks about her Irish childhood, the agony of her mother on the boat that takes them to Canada, her domestic jobs, the death of her only friend; a crafty little maid...

Alias Grace is an historical fiction, winner of the Canadian "Giller Prize" and was shortlisted for the "Booker Prize".

Author: Margaret Atwood was born in November 18, 1939 in Ottawa. She grew up in northern Quebec, Ontario and Toronto. She has lived in many other cities, including Boston, Vancouver, Edinburgh, Berlin and London, and travelled a lot. She has published over forty books, including novels, poetry and literary criticism. She lives in Toronto with novelist Graham Gibson and their daughter Eleanor Jess.

My thoughts: I read the French translation in the 90s. This is without a doubt my favourite book, a magnificent book. The beauty of Alias Grace lies not within the plot, which is mysterious and based on a true story, nor within the voices of the characters, but within the artistry that Atwood has demonstrated, the true craft of a writer.

The celebrated murderess, young Grace Marks, was a real person in Canada in 1843. She was arrested, along with a man named James McDermott, accused of murdering their employer, Thomas Kinnear, and his pregnant housekeeper-mistress Nancy Montgomery. Grace told three different versions of the murders throughout the trial and was sentenced to life in prison, while McDermott hung. Grace was a loner, she had nobody. Doctor Simon Jordan makes it his mission to lead Grace through her life leading up to the day of the murders. Little by little he started to like her and feel compassion for her, and "saved" her in all the ways a person can be saved.