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Marina Kemp biography

Author Biography  | Interview  | Books by this Author  | Read-Alikes

Marina Kemp

Marina Kemp

Marina Kemp Biography

Marina Kemp was born in London, where she lives now with her husband and daughter. She studied Classics at Oxford University, and Creative Writing at Goldsmiths. Marguerite is her first novel.



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Interview

Marina Kemp explains her writing process and the inspiration behind her haunting debut novel Marguerite.

Describe Marguerite in a few sentences.

Marguerite is a story about the gulf between the face we show the world and the secrets we keep hidden—and what happens when those two things collide.

Marguerite is a young woman who arrives in a small village in France, to work as a live-in nurse for a cruel old man. In her grief and secrecy, she is sleep-walking through her youth. This starts to change when she meets Henri, a local farmer living with his own secrets, constantly in hiding from his true self; between them there's a chance for connection and acceptance. But so many things call that into jeopardy; not just the characters around them—because this is a very small and claustrophobic village, in which everyone is watching each other, desperate for the next great drama to unfold—but the web of secrets in which they each find themselves enmeshed.

Setting is so important in Marguerite. Not only does it set the pace, but it also mirrors the characters. Why did you choose Saint-Sulpice as the setting?

My mother lives much of the year in France, amongst silvery olive groves just outside a small village much like Saint-Sulpice. I started writing Marguerite when I was out there with her, and as a setting ...

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Books by this Author

Books by Marina Kemp at BookBrowse
Marguerite jacket
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Read-Alikes

All the books below are recommended as read-alikes for Marina Kemp but some maybe more relevant to you than others depending on which books by the author you have read and enjoyed. So look for the suggested read-alikes by title linked on the right.
How we choose read-alikes

  • Ellen   Cooney

    Ellen Cooney

    Ellen Cooney is the author of nine previous novels, including The Mountaintop School for Dogs and Other Second Chances. Her stories have appeared in the New Yorker, Ontario Review, New England Review, and many other journals,... (more)

    If you enjoyed:
    Marguerite

    Try:
    One Night Two Souls Went Walking
    by Ellen Cooney

  • Eve Chase

    Eve Chase

    Eve Chase is the pseudonym of a journalist who has worked extensively across the British press. She lives in Oxford, England with her husband and three children. (more)

    If you enjoyed:
    Marguerite

    Try:
    Black Rabbit Hall
    by Eve Chase

We recommend 6 similar authors

View all 6 Read-Alikes

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