Résumé
Convinced that he has left his childhood of poverty behind him, Blaise sets out to become an accomplished artist-painter in spite of the lingering scars from his past. But, in 1539 A.D., as the Renaissance spreads across Europe, its lights fail to touch those on the fringes of society, like Blaise. The young man is headed for a promising career as a painter when his plans fall apart. Instead, he is forced to work for Gaspar De Vallon, a despicable and ambitious surgeon, who not only uses Blaise’s talent to illustrate his larger-than-life anatomical treatise De Humani Corporis Fabrica, but subjects the young man to the dissections of more and more cadavers, propelling him into a frenetic and illegal search to unearth fresh corpses from the cemeteries of Paris. . . A chance meeting with an enigmatic prostitute, Marie-Ursule, with whom he forms an unlikely friendship, will change the course of Blaise’s life. Captivated by the young woman’s unique beauty, his artist’s soul comes back to life and, with her help, he sets out to overcome his bitter fate at any cost.
Marilyne Fortin
