The Book of Goose

Agnès and Fabienne have dinner with Devaux, where he serves them alcohol. When it’s time for Agnès to return to her family, Devaux encourages her to stay longer. Fabienne walks Agnès out to tell her how to deal with Devaux: She wants to get Devaux drunk and then run out of his house screaming, accusing him of trying to undress her. Fabienne says it won’t be a complete lie because he recently tried to touch her chest.

Instead of going home, Agnès waits in a nearby shed for Fabienne’s plan. When Fabienne has yet to emerge from Devaux’s house, Agnès starts screaming. Townspeople quickly come to her aid and gather outside Devaux’s house. Fabienne runs out the door, her clothes ripped. Devaux comes out and faces the townspeople. Agnès notes how old and scared he looks, and thinks he doesn’t deserve what she and Fabienne are doing to him. The police are called. Fabienne gives them her statement, claiming Devaux got her drunk and tried to have sex with her; she passed out, only waking when she heard Agnès’s screams. Privately, Agnès asks Fabienne if Devaux did try to have sex with her. Fabienne admits all Devaux did was tearfully tell her about his youth.

The next day, Agnès and her family bury Jean. Devaux is released from jail. The police tell Fabienne’s father what happened and ask if Fabienne has any female relatives she can stay with, but Fabienne’s father doesn’t want to lose her because she’s the only girl in the family and is thus responsible for cooking. Fabienne is worried that her father, who struggles with alcoholism, will hurt her or Devaux. Agnès brings up moving to Paris with Fabienne again. She believes they can use their book profits to move. Fabienne teases her for believing she knows how to make things work.

Bazin comes to Saint Rémy to take photographs of Agnès. He has Agnès pose with the wash, farm animals, and other backgrounds that evoke peasant life. Agnès wants to introduce Bazin to Fabienne, but Fabienne is not interested. She wonders what Fabienne does to occupy her time when she brings her family’s cows and goats out to the meadow. Devaux has not been arrested because there isn’t enough evidence of a crime, but he has been disgraced and plans to leave the village.

Agnès brings Bazin to the meadow to meet Fabienne. Fabienne asks if he read and liked Agnès’s book, and he says he did. Bazin shows Fabienne a copy of the book. Devaux’s name is included on the cover, and there is an introduction that explains how he discovered Agnès’s book. Bazin explains these inclusions are unusual for a book, but they lend credibility to Agnès’s claim as an author. Fabienne asks Bazin to take a photograph of her with Agnès.

In October, Agnès’s book is published. She returns to Paris for more press, and she and Chastain discuss her second book. He’s surprised that Devaux is no longer involved and advises Agnès to get an adult to help manage her career. She gives her share of profits to her parents.

Chastain informs Agnès that Les Enfants Heureux will be translated into English (The Happy Children) and published in America and Britain. Agnès proposes to Fabienne that they move to America. She is surprised when Fabienne looks at her with hostility. Fabienne accuses her of being like other people, falsely believing one good thing will lead to another. She cuts Agnès’s arm to prove that while she can think for the both of them, they can’t feel on behalf of each other. She finishes dictating their second book, about a postman.

Agnès receives a letter from a woman named Mrs. Townsend, who lives in England. Mrs. Townsend is an admirer of Agnès’s work and has been in contact with Chastain. Chastain asks Agnès to send her second book, Le Coeur Dans la Poste (The Heart in the Post).

Mrs. Townsend arrives in Saint Rémy to meet Agnès and her family. She has arranged for Agnès to attend her boarding school in England in January—on the condition that she not return home for the duration of her studies. She will take over Devaux’s management of Agnès’s career and give her a makeover.

Agnès discusses her move to England with Fabienne. She doesn’t want to leave Fabienne, but Fabienne insists she take the opportunity. They agree to write letters to each other. Fabienne will use the pen name Jacques and pretend to be Agnès’s boyfriend writing to her from France. Agnès wishes she would say she’s going to miss her.

On her way to England, Agnès is recognized by strangers and realizes she’s famous. She writes a quick letter to “Jacques.”

Chastain gives Agnès letters from her fans. There are many letters, and Agnès is overwhelmed. Chastain is pleased with her second book because it’s less morbid than her first. He encourages Agnès to write her third book in another setting because fans will tire of her hometown. He suggests she write about attending a finishing school in England.

Agnès leaves for England, anxious about being away from her family for a year and wondering who she will be in England.

Agnès arrives in England, which is dark and cold. Mrs. Townsend assures her that she’ll get used to it and believes she will end up loving her school, Woodsway. She buys Agnès new clothes and teaches her how to hold cutlery. Agnès meets with her English publishers, who ask about her second and third book. She says she may never write again, which the adults disapprove.

Mrs. Townsend insists Agnès is too young to decide her future and that she needs adult guidance, that she doesn’t realize how privileged she is: “But if you give up your effort and stop writing, you will be just like the others, which means you will become nothing, do you understand?” (182). She instructs Agnès to call her Kazumi, as she does her other students. She has been to Japan and asks Agnès if she’s interested in traveling. Agnès says she wants to go to America, which Mrs. Townsend finds pointless. She isn’t convinced by Mrs. Townsend’s guidance.

A homesick Agnès writes another letter to “Jacques” and cries herself to sleep.

Mrs. Townsend prevents a journalist from photographing Agnès, which Agnès resents. She tells Agnès about her travels and how she once wanted to be a writer, though the career never worked out for her. Still, she likes being in education and believes she will be able to influence Agnès.

A photographer, Monsieur Lambert, follows Mrs. Townsend and Agnès. Mrs. Townsend arranges a future photoshoot on the Woodsway campus. Agnès meets Meaker, the only man at Woodsway, who works as a gardener among other roles. She writes about Meaker in her journal, first writing about his real self and then alternate selves.

There are only 15 girls at Woodsway upon Agnès’s arrival because the rest are away for winter vacation. She is impressed that Woodsway’s young maids are making their own money. Mrs. Townsend teaches Agnès English twice a day. She reads Agnès’s journal without her permission and gives unsolicited feedback on her writing. She reiterates that readers will tire of her narratives about the French countryside, but will enjoy reading about her acclimation to England. Agnès writes a story about Mrs. Townsend’s dogs in her journal.

Mrs. Townsend asks Agnès what she likes about Woodsway so far. She likes taking baths whenever she wants. Mrs. Townsend then asks whom she’s writing to. Agnès says Fabienne is her friend, with Jacques being Fabienne’s brother and her own boyfriend. Mrs. Townsend insists Agnès is too young to have a boyfriend and advises her to stop writing to Jacques. This worries Agnès because writing to Fabienne feels more vulnerable, but she agrees to stop writing to Jacques.

Agnès receives two letters, one from Fabienne and one from Jacques. Both Fabienne and Jacques advise Agnès not to listen to their “sibling,” and each letter tells her something different about life in Saint Rémy.

The other girls return to Woodsway. A student named Catalina invites Agnès to sit with her and her friends, Margareta and Rose. The girls know Agnès from her book, and think her attending school is useless since she’s already successful. They want her to add them to her next book. Agnès asks them to speak in English so she can learn the language faster, but Catalina wants to practice her French. The students are older than Agnès, mostly 17 and preparing to enter society.

Agnès admires the beauty of Woodsway. She learns about grooming, manners, art history, languages, literature, music, and dance. The girls take field trips to London to visit museums and absorb culture.

Agnès receives additional letters from Fabienne and Jacques. Fabienne encourages Agnès to scare the other students with a dead snake. Agnès confuses Jacques with Fabienne, wondering if his declarations of love reflect Fabienne’s true feelings. She hides these letters from Mrs. Townsend.

Lambert arrives for the Woodsway photoshoot with Agnès. He mocks Mrs. Townsend for hosting Agnès and pretending she’s doing something good. He tells Agnès that she doesn’t seem like the type of girl who can continue to pretend to be a prodigy. Lambert says people’s admiration for her peasant-girl-turned-prodigy persona is a way of mocking her and people like her. He believes Agnès won’t benefit from her education, while Mrs. Townsend will because Agnès’s publicity will bring more pupils to Woodsway. Agnès is perturbed.

Mrs. Townsend discovers “Jacques” is still writing to Agnès. Rather than targeting Agnès’s youth, she says the girl is too uncultivated to have a boyfriend. Agnès cries and asks Mrs. Townsend if having a boyfriend would ruin her experiment. Mrs. Townsend doesn’t deny that Agnès is an experiment, but frames it as a chance to become a new person. She instructs Agnès to break up with Jacques.

Agnès enjoys learning, but with the exception of Catalina, the other girls often treat her as ignorant. She grows bored of Woodsway, missing her adventures with Fabienne. Catalina tells Agnès that the other girls have either read or heard about her book, and Agnès’s life in Saint Rémy sounds scary to them. Agnès reiterates she doesn’t want to write anymore, and would prefer being an assistant in Paris. Catalina laughs and explains that getting a job is acceptable if it is the right type of job for a society girl, such as teaching or being a governess. She personally wants to get married and become a mother.

Agnès is curious about the gardener Meaker, as he doesn’t seem to have a family and keeps his distance from the students unless driving them to the train. She misses gardening and wishes she could do so with Meaker. In Saint Rémy, she and Fabienne would garden together to stay away from other people. Fabienne sneaks Jacques’s letters to Agnès by folding his letters into her own envelopes.

Agnès writes a story about a witch-like gardener inspired by Meaker.

When Mrs. Townsend goes to London for business, Agnès approaches Meaker. She offers to help him garden, but he prefers working by himself. She then asks him about his life. Meaker explains he has been a gardener for the property since before it was a school. He became a gardener after praying for a job opportunity when he returned from World War I. However, he doesn’t love gardening, as it’s simply a reliable job. Agnès understands this because she doesn’t love her job as a writer.

When Mrs. Townsend returns from London, she hears about Agnès spending time in the garden. Agnès lies and says she likes to be outside for her writing. However, Mrs. Townsend doesn’t like her new writing because it’s more magical.

Agnès approaches Meaker again, and they discuss his hometown. He alludes to a newspaper article he read about her and Devaux. Agnès is surprised that other people know about Devaux. The article suggested Devaux was the real writer of Agnès’s book. Meaker reassures Agnès that people prefer explanations that resonate with their preconceived notions. She says she feels lonely, and he tells her that it’s good to be alone because it will protect her. She mentions her friendship with Fabienne. Meaker had a friend named Wilfred, but he died in the Great War. Agnès asks if she should write about her time at Woodsway. Meaker points out that if she does, no one can claim Devaux is the real author.

Agnès decides to write about her time at Woodsway. Mrs. Townsend reads her draft and offers editing tips. She likes Agnès’s writing now because it celebrates the school, but notes it lacks the clear grammar and taut prose of her first book. Agnès is discouraged.

Agnès receives additional letters from Fabienne and Jacques. Mrs. Townsend suspects Agnès is still receiving letters from Jacques. The letters express frustration with Agnès. Fabienne insults her for writing her own book, but Agnès wants to return home because it’s boring without her. Fabienne’s letter alarms her because she thinks Fabienne might do something extreme.