Isola by Allegra Goodman — full book breakdown including genre, page count, audiobook length and narrator, publisher’s synopsis, content notes, author bio, and additional reader notes. Includes direct links to Goodreads, The Storygraph, and featured book lists. Everything you need to know before you read.
Isola
Allegra Goodman
Overview: Isola by Allegra Goodman
Isola by Allegra Goodman is a standout read featured on Slay the Page. Discover the genre, page count, audiobook length and narrator, synopsis, content notes, publisher information, and author details before you dive in. This book was selected as a Reese’s Book Club pick for February 2025.
Book Details: Isola by Allegra Goodman
Genre: Historical Fiction
Page Count: 368 Pages (Hardcover)
Audiobook Length: 12 Hours, 54 Minutes
Narrator: Fiona Hardingham, Allegra Goodman
Publisher: The Dial Press (Penguin Random House)
Publication Date: February 4, 2025
Featured In: Celebrity Book Club Picks – Reese’s Book Club (February 2025)
Get More Info: Goodreads | The Storygraph
Publisher’s Description of Isola by Allegra Goodman
A young woman and her lover are marooned on an island in this “lushly painted” (People) historical epic of love, faith, and defiance from the bestselling author of Sam.
Heir to a fortune, Marguerite is destined for a life of prosperity and gentility. Then she is orphaned, and her guardian—an enigmatic and volatile man—spends her inheritance and insists she accompany him on an expedition to New France. That journey takes an unexpected turn when Marguerite, accused of betrayal, is brutally punished and abandoned on a small island.
Once a child of privilege who dressed in gowns and laced pearls in her hair, Marguerite finds herself at the mercy of nature. As the weather turns, blanketing the island in ice, she discovers a faith she’d never before needed.
Inspired by the real life of a sixteenth-century heroine, Isola by Allegra Goodman is the timeless story of a woman fighting for survival.
Isola by Allegra Goodman is published by The Dial Press (Penguin Random House).
Content Notes: Isola by Allegra Goodman
Isola by Allegra Goodman includes content that may be sensitive, emotional, or potentially distressing for some readers, such as the death of a child and animals, as well as broader themes of grief and loss, among others. For more detailed information, reader-submitted content notes are available on The StoryGraph.
Who Isola by Allegra Goodman Is Perfect For
Isola by Allegra Goodman is perfect for readers who are drawn to quiet, emotionally layered historical and literary fiction that explores grief, memory, and the complexity of human connection. Isola will resonate with those who appreciate character-driven stories about adolescence, loss, and the long shadow of trauma. If you’re a fan of slow-burning novels that unfold through restraint and reflection—think Claire Keegan or Ann Napolitano—this is one to pick up.
About the Author: Allegra Goodman
Allegra Goodman’s new book This Is Not About Us will be published in April 2026. Her novels include Isola (a Reese’s Book Club selection), 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, Mass. (Allegra Goodman, 2025).
Learn more about Allegra Goodman’s books, biography, and latest releases on her official website.
Book Lists Featuring Isola by Allegra Goodman
Isola by Allegra Goodman is featured in the following posts:
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