Marina Kemp – författare

SHORTLISTED FOR THE SUNDAY TIMES YOUNG WRITER OF THE YEAR AWARD 2020‘A rollercoaster of a read with serious intent’ The Times A moving and masterful novel about sex, death, passion and prejudice in a sleepy village in the south of France Marguerite Demers is twenty-four when she leaves Paris for the sleepy southern village of Saint-Sulpice, to take up a job as a live-in nurse. Her charge is Jerome Lanvier, once one of the most powerful men in the village, and now dying alone in his large and secluded house, surrounded by rambling gardens. Manipulative and tyrannical, Jerome has scared away all his previous nurses.It’s not long before the villagers have formed opinions of Marguerite. Brigitte Brochon, pillar of the community and local busybody, finds her arrogant and mysterious and is desperate to find a reason to have her fired. Glamorous outsider Suki Lacourse sees Marguerite as an ally in a sea of small-minded provincialism. Local farmer Henri Brochon, husband of Brigitte, feels concern for her and wants to protect her from the villagers’ intrusive gossip and speculation – but Henri has a secret of his own that would intrigue and disturb his neighbours just as much as the truth about Marguerite, if only they knew …Set among the lush fields and quiet olive groves of southern France, and written in clear prose of crystalline beauty, Nightingale is a masterful, moving novel about death, sexuality, compassion, prejudice and freedom.

SHORTLISTED FOR THE SUNDAY TIMES YOUNG WRITER OF THE YEAR AWARD 2020‘A rollercoaster of a read with serious intent’ The TimesA moving and masterful novel about sex, death, passion and prejudice in a sleepy village in the south of FranceMarguerite Demers is twenty-four when she leaves Paris for the sleepy southern village of Saint-Sulpice, to take up a job as a live-in nurse. Her charge is Jerome Lanvier, once one of the most powerful men in the village, and now dying alone in his large and secluded house, surrounded by rambling gardens. Manipulative and tyrannical, Jerome has scared away all his previous nurses.It’s not long before the villagers have formed opinions of Marguerite. Brigitte Brochon, pillar of the community and local busybody, finds her arrogant and mysterious and is desperate to find a reason to have her fired. Glamorous outsider Suki Lacourse sees Marguerite as an ally in a sea of small-minded provincialism. Local farmer Henri Brochon, husband of Brigitte, feels concern for her and wants to protect her from the villagers’ intrusive gossip and speculation – but Henri has a secret of his own that would intrigue and disturb his neighbours just as much as the truth about Marguerite, if only they knew …Set among the lush fields and quiet olive groves of southern France, and written in clear prose of crystalline beauty, Nightingale is a masterful, moving novel about death, sexuality, compassion, prejudice and freedom.

SHORTLISTED FOR THE SUNDAY TIMES YOUNG WRITER OF THE YEAR AWARD 2020‘A rollercoaster of a read with serious intent’ The Times A moving and masterful novel about sex, death, passion and prejudice in a sleepy village in the south of France Marguerite Demers is twenty-four when she leaves Paris for the sleepy southern village of Saint-Sulpice, to take up a job as a live-in nurse. Her charge is Jerome Lanvier, once one of the most powerful men in the village, and now dying alone in his large and secluded house, surrounded by rambling gardens. Manipulative and tyrannical, Jerome has scared away all his previous nurses.It’s not long before the villagers have formed opinions of Marguerite. Brigitte Brochon, pillar of the community and local busybody, finds her arrogant and mysterious and is desperate to find a reason to have her fired. Glamorous outsider Suki Lacourse sees Marguerite as an ally in a sea of small-minded provincialism. Local farmer Henri Brochon, husband of Brigitte, feels concern for her and wants to protect her from the villagers’ intrusive gossip and speculation – but Henri has a secret of his own that would intrigue and disturb his neighbours just as much as the truth about Marguerite, if only they knew …Set among the lush fields and quiet olive groves of southern France, and written in clear prose of crystalline beauty, Nightingale is a masterful, moving novel about death, sexuality, compassion, prejudice and freedom.

SHORTLISTED FOR THE RSL ENCORE AWARD 2025 ‘Compelling and fine and rich, I devoured it' TESSA HADLEY 'Powerfully compelling' GUARDIAN ‘Unbelievably good' ELIZABETH DAY'Complex and nuanced… the perfect definition of summer reading' LUCY CALDWELL 'Subtle, complex, ambitious'THE TIMES A Guardian Book of the Year 2024 A stunning new novel of power, desire and the secrets all families carry, from the acclaimed author of Nightingale, Marina Kemp. When fledgling writer Zoe arrives at the Sicilian holiday home of famed novelist Don Travers, she feels that she has made it. And yet as the week unfolds it is not Don but his children and unknowable wife, Lydia, who come to intrigue Zoe most. On the fringes, Don’s youngest, Nemony, watches as her older siblings begin to navigate the treacherous waters of the adult world. When her adored oldest sister makes a terrible mistake, the holiday ends suddenly, shattering the fragile balance of their parents’ marriage and the siblings’ lives.Many years later and in the wake of loss, the events of that summer continue to haunt. Nemony, now a lonely new mother herself, strikes up a chance friendship with Zoe. With her support, Nemony attempts to grapple with the casual damage enacted by her father. But as their relationship deepens, she is soon forced to question the true extent of Zoe’s fascination with the Travers family.Tracing their lives through Sicily, London and the old mining towns of Appalachia, Nemony must uncover the stories untold – about her implacable father, her troubled mother, and the siblings she might still do anything for. 'Kemp’s luminous prose and emotional sensitivity make for a novel rich in psychological insight’OBSERVER 'Exquisitely written, subtle and transporting' SUSSIE ANIE, author of To Fill a Yellow House'Ambitious, immersive' OLIVIA SUDJIC, author of Sympathy'Unflinching, magnificent' KAREN POWELL, author of Fifteen Wild Decembers‘A writer to watch’ FRANCIS SPUFFORD, author of Light Perpetual

SHORTLISTED FOR THE RSL ENCORE AWARD 2025 ‘Compelling and fine and rich, I devoured it' TESSA HADLEY 'Powerfully compelling' GUARDIAN ‘Unbelievably good' ELIZABETH DAY'Complex and nuanced… the perfect definition of summer reading' LUCY CALDWELL 'Subtle, complex, ambitious'THE TIMES A Guardian Book of the Year 2024 A stunning new novel of power, desire and the secrets all families carry, from the acclaimed author of Nightingale, Marina Kemp. When fledgling writer Zoe arrives at the Sicilian holiday home of famed novelist Don Travers, she feels that she has made it. And yet as the week unfolds it is not Don but his children and unknowable wife, Lydia, who come to intrigue Zoe most. On the fringes, Don’s youngest, Nemony, watches as her older siblings begin to navigate the treacherous waters of the adult world. When her adored oldest sister makes a terrible mistake, the holiday ends suddenly, shattering the fragile balance of their parents’ marriage and the siblings’ lives.Many years later and in the wake of loss, the events of that summer continue to haunt. Nemony, now a lonely new mother herself, strikes up a chance friendship with Zoe. With her support, Nemony attempts to grapple with the casual damage enacted by her father. But as their relationship deepens, she is soon forced to question the true extent of Zoe’s fascination with the Travers family.Tracing their lives through Sicily, London and the old mining towns of Appalachia, Nemony must uncover the stories untold – about her implacable father, her troubled mother, and the siblings she might still do anything for. 'Kemp’s luminous prose and emotional sensitivity make for a novel rich in psychological insight’OBSERVER 'Exquisitely written, subtle and transporting' SUSSIE ANIE, author of To Fill a Yellow House'Ambitious, immersive' OLIVIA SUDJIC, author of Sympathy'Unflinching, magnificent' KAREN POWELL, author of Fifteen Wild Decembers‘A writer to watch’ FRANCIS SPUFFORD, author of Light Perpetual

SHORTLISTED FOR THE RSL ENCORE AWARD 2025‘Compelling and fine and rich, I devoured it'' TESSA HADLEY''Powerfully compelling'' GUARDIAN‘Unbelievably good'' ELIZABETH DAY''Complex and nuanced… the perfect definition of summer reading'' LUCY CALDWELL''Subtle, complex, ambitious''THE TIMESA Guardian Book of the Year 2024A stunning new novel of power, desire and the secrets all families carry, from the acclaimed author of Nightingale, Marina Kemp.When fledgling writer Zoe arrives at the Sicilian holiday home of famed novelist Don Travers, she feels that she has made it. And yet as the week unfolds it is not Don but his children and unknowable wife, Lydia, who come to intrigue Zoe most. On the fringes, Don’s youngest, Nemony, watches as her older siblings begin to navigate the treacherous waters of the adult world. When her adored oldest sister makes a terrible mistake, the holiday ends suddenly, shattering the fragile balance of their parents’ marriage and the siblings’ lives.Many years later and in the wake of loss, the events of that summer continue to haunt. Nemony, now a lonely new mother herself, strikes up a chance friendship with Zoe. With her support, Nemony attempts to grapple with the casual damage enacted by her father. But as their relationship deepens, she is soon forced to question the true extent of Zoe’s fascination with the Travers family.Tracing their lives through Sicily, London and the old mining towns of Appalachia, Nemony must uncover the stories untold – about her implacable father, her troubled mother, and the siblings she might still do anything for.''Kemp’s luminous prose and emotional sensitivity make for a novel rich in psychological insight’OBSERVER''Exquisitely written, subtle and transporting'' SUSSIE ANIE, author of To Fill a Yellow House''Ambitious, immersive'' OLIVIA SUDJIC, author of Sympathy''Unflinching, magnificent'' KAREN POWELL, author of Fifteen Wild Decembers‘A writer to watch’ FRANCIS SPUFFORD, author of Light Perpetual