Illusionist

Bored and lonely, 15-year-old Hlne decides to pay a visit to her fathers mistress. Within days, she is captivated by Tamara, a Russian migr whose arts of enchantment include lingering kisses, sudden dismissals, and savage, rapturous reunions. As long as she submits to Tamara, Hlne is permitted to stay near her: reading forbidden novels, meeting Tamaras bohemian friends, and learning more refinements of depravity than the gossiping matrons of her provincial French town could imagine existed.Flemish writer Franoise Mallet-Joris was 20 years old in 1951 when her first novel, Le Rempart des Beguines published in English as The Illusionist created a sensation in France. This contemplative, beautifully written book, with its dark undercurrents of desire, has its origins in Madame Bovary and the novels of Colette, and was a precursor to Franoise Sagans similarly themed Bonjour Tristesse.