''Isabelle'' is a novella (described as a ''

récit A ''récit'' is a subgenre of the French novel, in which the narrative calls attention to itself. Literary critic Roger Shattuck explains, "During a ''récit'', we are conscious of being at one remove from the action; the very act of narration int ...

'') by

André Gide André Paul Guillaume Gide (; 22 November 1869 – 19 February 1951) was a French author and winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature (in 1947). Gide's career ranged from its beginnings in the Symbolism (arts), symbolist movement, to the advent o ...

, published in 1911.

Plot

25-year-old Gérard Lacase from the Sorbonne studies for his doctorate on

Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet Jacques-Bénigne Lignel Bossuet (; 27 September 1627 – 12 April 1704) was a French bishop and theologian, renowned for his sermons and other addresses. He has been considered by many to be one of the most brilliant orators of all time and a m ...

at the remote castle of Quartfourche in northern

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

. He falls in love with a portrait of Isabelle, the daughter of the family who owns the castle.

References

1911 French novels Novels by André Gide French novellas Novels set in the 1890s {{1910s-novel-stub