Stéphanie Tétreault, author

Text that appears on the back cover

Poitou France, 1684. Merance Duvernay, 16 years old, has a healing talent using plants. To dissuade her from becoming healer, her father, protestant pastor, promises her to a young affected physician. Taken in by a master apothecary, Merance will become apprentice in his office. But, at her mentor’s death , her dream of becoming at her turn apothecary  gives way.  

Taking place at the Nante’s Decree revocation’s epoch then the Great Century, that intrigue mixes up with great care corporations’ themes and witchcraft. An exceptional novel that takes us down into the fascinating universe of wealthy apothecary shops at the heart of a kingdom becoming hostile to Protestantism. 

Stephanie is native from the Mauricie region, but lives in Saguenay since 2003. With a bachelor’s degree in French Wording, she is linguistic reviser by profession. Thanks to the Association’s Josee Tetreault’s collaboration, she chose to situate her story’s intrigue in Louis Tetreau’ s original region, being the country of Gatine, and the Bressuirish Grove, in the actual Deux-Sevres Department. The story takes place first in Moncoutant, then in Parthenay, both situated close to Tessonniere and Poithiers. She even took advantage of the occasion to give a small wink to her Tetreau  ancestors.  

That story takes place from 1684 to 1687, so about twenty years after Louis Tetreau’s departure for New France. It permits the reader to better know that country’s region and the religious tensions that prevailed at the Nante’s Decree revocation, that forced all French protestants to convert themselves or take exile. 

Distributed throughout Quebec, the novel is also published in France and is available in the catalog of Quebec Loisirs.

Les Éditions JCL