The Loving and the Daring (The Illusionist) by Françoise Mallet

'A compelling novel of secret love.'

'FIRST LOVE AFFAIR. 'Francoise Mallet, here tells the story of the first love affair of a girl of 15 in a French provincial town...The book centers in a relationship that must generally be considered unnatural and for Tamara is frankly perverse. Francoise Mallet writes about it with a directness and simplicity that few, I think, will find offensive and many, moving and enlightening.' -New York Herald Tribune. A taut, sensitively written novel of a strange emotional alliance that introduces a brilliant new fiction talent to American readers in 20-year-old Francoise Mallet - already a smash-hit in France.' -Back cover