Summary of All the World’s Mornings
“All the World’s Mornings” follows Jean de Sainte-Colombe and Marin Marais, two historical 17th-century composers and players of the ‘viola da gamba’. After the death of his wife, Sainte-Colombe withdraws from the world, immersing himself in his music and occasionally giving small concerts with his two daughters. The young and ambitious Marais comes to him for instruction but is dismissed by Sainte-Colombe. Eventually, he becomes his pupil, but their relationship becomes strained, with Marais secretly returning to eavesdrop on his master’s music and to pursue a romance with one of the daughters.
Reasons to read All the World’s Mornings
“All the World’s Mornings” is a short and slow-paced historical novella, where Baroque music takes a central stage. Pascal Quignard, a distinguished French writer and cellist, won the Prix Goncourt in 2002 for his novel “The Roving Shadows” (“Les ombres errantes”) and the Grand Prix du roman de l’Académie française in 2000 for “A Terrace in Rome” (“Terrasse à Rome”). “All the World’s Mornings” is his most popular book and was adapted into a successful French film in 1991, starring Gérard Depardieu and his son Guillaume.
Setting: France
Book set in France: Although the novel does not explicitly name the location, Jean de Sainte-Colombe is believed to have lived near Pau, at the foot of the French Pyrenees.
Original title: Tous les matins du monde
Year of publication: 1991
Nr of pages: 96
