Allegra Goodman Wrote the Feminist “Cast Away”

Novelist Allegra Goodman found the name of a marooned French noblewoman in a history book decades ago when she was vacationing with her family off the coast of Canada. The woman’s name was mentioned in passing and Allegra got curious about her life. Years later, Allegra is out now with the brilliant new novel “Isola” based on the real life of a 16th-century noblewoman Marguerite de la Rocque — and it’s February’s pick for Reese’s Book Club. She joins us to talk about her first foray into historical fiction and the moment when she first heard Marguerite’s voice in her head.

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