The Maid's Request

Description

The beautiful story of an enigmatic relationship between a sixteenth century Italian painter and his servant.At the behest of the French king the artist has journeyed from Italy to lead his school of students in the design and construction of a chateau in the Loire Valley. Despite the fact that master and servant seldom talk, each is acutely aware of the other's presence and routine. He gives her presents; she is sensitive to his every need. One night she confides her desire to serve him after her death by offering her body for him to study. However, news of her son's death takes her away from the chateau, the winter passes and the artist, unable to draw, continues to wait . . .

Mich le Desbordes grew up in Orl ans, France. She studied at the Sorbonne and eventually specialised as a book archivist, working in Parisian universities and also as a lecturer in Guadeloupe. The Maid's Request is her first novel, which was first published as La Demande in France to enormous critical acclaim. Her second novel, Le Commandement, is now a bestseller in France and will also be published by Faber.