Women of Washington Hebrew Congregation Literary Club kicks off the 2025-2026 season with an opportunity to hear New York Times bestselling author Allegra Goodman discuss her recent book Isola, a Reese’s Book Club pick.

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About the Book

Once destined for a prosperous life, French noblewoman Marguerite’s future takes a dark turn when she is orphaned and placed under the guardianship of Jean Francois de la Rocque de Roberval, a volatile man she’s never met. Forced to sell her property, Marguerite grows increasingly afraid until she forms a deep bond with Roberval’s servant. But when their connection is discovered, the consequences set Marguerite on a perilous path that will test her strength and resilience. Inspired by the true story of a 16th-century heroine, Isola celebrates the power of nature and explores survival rooted in the power of faith and love.

“A shocking story, made all the more stunning by the fact that it has its roots in true history, Isola is an immersive journey through the eyes of Marguerite de la Rocque, who redefines what makes one a woman of worth and what the difference is between having a life and truly living.” —#1 New York Times bestselling author Jodi Picoult

About the Author

Allegra Goodman’s other novels include Sam (a Read With Jenna Book Club selection), The Chalk Artist (winner of the Massachusetts Book Award), Intuition, The Cookbook Collector, Paradise Park, and Kaaterskill Falls (a National Book Award finalist). Her fiction has appeared in The New Yorker and elsewhere and has been anthologized in The O. Henry Awards and Best American Short Stories. She has written two collections of stories, The Family Markowitz and Total Immersion and a novel for younger readers, The Other Side of the Island. Her essays and reviews have appeared in The New York Times Book Review, The Wall Street Journal, The New Republic, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, and The American Scholar. Raised in Honolulu, Goodman studied English and philosophy at Harvard and received a PhD in English literature from Stanford. She is the recipient of a Whiting Writer’s Award, the Salon Award for Fiction, and fellowships from MacDowell and the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced study. She lives with her family in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Every year, we are pleased to present prominent writers of the nation’s newest works on topics of Jewish interest, often in cooperation with the Jewish Book Council. For more information, click here.