At 50, Isabelle is devastated by yet another failed relationship when she has a provocative dream about several generations of women in her family. Her mother answers a few of her questions about elements in the dream, such as the ermine stole, the aggressive snake, and the lace shawl. Yet the only way to tie together the mysteries of her life is to return to her birth place, France, and prod the truth from her irascible ninety-year-old grandmother, Mamie.

While visiting Mamie in the small village of La Batie, Isabelle becomes acquainted with the old doctor, Victor, who is able to answer some of her questions. Isabelle also has the good fortune of meeting Victor's exciting grandson, Philippe, 40, with whom she falls in love. They have a beautiful romantic affair, travel to Provence together, and Isabelle's relationship with men will be changed from then on.

Part psychological probe into the connective memory from one generation to another and part evocation of roads-less-traveled in the stunning countryside of southern France, Isabelle's journey answers many questions we all have about legacy and love. It also reminds us that dreams hold hidden wonders about our lives.

Partita is a psychological mystery as complex as the extraordinary violin solo music by Bach. Ernst Feidler-a brilliant linguist, psychologist, and violinist-commits a shocking and unexplainable suicide at the height of his career. His devastated wife, Manou, is left to raise their four children and piece together the hidden motives behind the death of her beloved Ernst.
The iconoclastic European couple rode the intense post-World War II world into the cultural upheavals of the 1960s with tireless energy. Through Manou's progressively deeper scrutiny of their life, she unveils his descent into psychosis and her own participation in his decline. Finally, she gives birth to a new self without him.
"Herrmann brings honesty, sensitivity, and compassion to this heartbreaking tale of living with - and losing - a family member who is mentally ill. Clear-eyed and unflinching, it is the story of one woman's determination not just to survive, but to thrive through love and understanding. PARTITA is a triumph."
Summer Wood, author of the novel Arroyo
"This elegant and evocative book is sure to touch the heart and awaken the imagination of intelligent readers everywhere"
Sean Murphy, novelist, author of The Hope Valley Hubcap King and The Time of New Weather
"From the first arresting sentence, Madeleine Herrmann launches this tense psychological detective story. She fluently mixes chronologies as she tells of Manou's marriage, the tragic suicide of her husband, and her own search for meaning. Hermann's thought-provoking work swirls with complex motivations and mistakes made by helping professionals. As Manou gradually comes to an understanding of Ernst's death, she finds she has come into a more confident sense of herself."
Ann Jauregui, PhD, author of Epiphanies: Where Science & Miracles Meet