Certain parts of the Tournier/Turner story mirror the probable Chevalier story. My father was born in Moutier, and our ancestors have lived there for hundreds of years, right up to 1574, the last date we can trace. Before that it’s anyone’s guess, but one family story has it that the Chevaliers were Huguenots from the Cévennes who fled after the Massacre of St. Bartholomew in 1572, and ended up in Moutier. I have not been able to verify that story. However, as a result I wanted to find out more about that time and place and so I had the Tourniers follow a similar route. I hasten to say that the Chevaliers did not have nasty things buried in their houses – not that I know of, anyway!
Ella’s story of relocation to France is not my own, nor my sister’s, who indeed still lives happily in France and never had the problems of alienation that Ella faced with her French neighbors. However, I am an American living in a European country, and for a while I was very aware of being an outsider. (It doesn’t bother me much now.) I certainly drew on that when I was writing the contemporary part of the book. Also, I sound like Ella, I know that now – though I used to deny it when I first wrote it.
I found in fact that in writing the book I much preferred the historical sections, as there’s less of “me” in them. Since then I’ve stuck to the past, and kept myself to myself. Having said that, I think I said elsewhere that all writing is autobiographical, as it reveals a writer’s preoccupations. [return to questions]
Why is the ending so unresolved?
I deliberately left it open-ended. It was my first novel and I was a little afraid to tie up loose ends firmly, and thought it would be better to leave it more open so that readers could decide for themselves. That has irritated many people. I think it's a sign I matured as a writer that when it came time to end Girl with a Pearl Earring I made it much clearer! Hey, we learn and grow...
Endings are very tricky. If you make it too neat and tidy and obvious, it can make the whole story fall flat, but if you leave it more open or make it too bizarre, it’s dissatisfying. Most writers would say that getting the ending right is one of their biggest challenges.[return to questions]
What happens to Isabelle?
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Why does Jacob go west?
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What happens to Ella?
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Who is Elisabeth Moulinier?
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What about that thing with the hearth?
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