The Cleaner of Chartres - Salley Vickers

"If you enjoy the work of Marilynne Robinson, Penelope Fitzgerald, James Salteryou should be reading Vickers." -Michael Dirda, The Washington Post Book World

There is something very special about Agns Morel. A quiet presence in the small French town of Chartres, she can usually be found cleaning the famed medieval cathedral or doing odd jobs for the townspeople. No one knows where she came from or why. Not diffident Abb Paul, nor lonely Professor Jones, nor even Alain Fleury, whose attention she catches with her tawny eyes. She has transformed all their lives in her own subtle way, yet no one suspects the dark secret Agns is hiding.

Then an accidental encounter dredges up the specter of her past, and the nasty meddling of town gossips forces Agns to confront her tragic history and the violent act that haunts it.