Claude Pujade-Renaud's Novel Reimagines Augustine's Youth Through a Woman's Voice

Claude Pujade-Renaud's novel 'Dans l'ombre de la lumière' (Actes Sud) retells the early life of Augustine of Hippo from the perspective of Elissa, the woman he abandoned. The story follows the young Augustine—future bishop of Hippo Regius—as he leaves his native Thagaste for Carthage, where he excels in seduction, Manichaean faith, and rhetoric. His mother Monnica and his lover Elissa, who bears his child, are central figures. The narrative shifts between past and present, with Elissa later hearing Augustine preach at the Basilica Restituta in Carthage, recognizing the man she loved. The novel explores memory, desire, and the enduring presence of the past.