Sandrine Collette
Madelaine, Before the Dawn (Madalaine avant l’aube)
FRANCE
BOOK
A small village in the French countryside where time has stood still. Life here has never been fair. Families suffer and grit their teeth. They must live with the terrible fate that has followed them from birth until Judgment Day. That’s just the way it is. But then, one day, Madelaine appears. A hungry, untamed girl who emerged from the woods. The villagers take her in and soon grow to love her, for with Madelaine came life, passion, courage, but also a flame that could consume their entire world.
Published by BETA, 2026
AUTHOR
© Patrice Normand
French author Sandrine Collette (* 1970) was shortlisted for the Goncourt Prize for her novel Madelaine, Bofore the Dawn (2024). She is the author of eleven novels, in which a deep connection to nature often plays a key role. She lives in Morvan, Burgundy, and divides her time between writing and raising horses. Her novel Just After the Wawe (2020) has been published in Czech.
TRANSLATION
Tomáš Havel , Pavel Dobrovský
