Irène Némirovsky 
Master of Souls 

From the celebrated author of the international bestseller Suite Française, a novel about ambition and greed set against the fabulously wealthy French aristocracy of the 1920s. 

A starving young immigrant doctor of Italian and Greek descent, Dario Asfar struggles to establish his practice, and is desperate to provide for his wife and newborn son. When the vulgar, self-indulgent French aristocrat Philippe Wardes dismisses his personal physician’s advice to abstain from alcohol and gambling, he turns to Dr. Asfar for a second opinion. Understanding the opportunity before him, Dario obliges Wardes, and others like him, knowing well that the rich want to eat of the forbidden fruit without paying for the sin. At first Dario’s plan is just for survival, but soon he begins to enjoy increasing rewards by selling himself as a master of souls who can miraculously cure restless minds, and in so doing sheds light on the lies we tell ourselves in the name of family and love.

About the author

Sandra Smith was born and raised in New York City. As an undergraduate, she spent one year studying at the Sorbonne and fell in love with Paris. Immediately after finishing her BA, she was accepted to do a Master’s Degree at New York University, in conjunction with the Sorbonne, and so lived in Paris for another year. After completing her MA, she moved to Cambridge, where she began supervising in 20th Century French Literature, Modern French Drama and Translation at the University. Soon afterwards, she was accepted to study for a Ph D at Clare College, researching the Surrealist Theatre in France between the two World Wars. Sandra Smith taught French Literature and Language at Robinson College, University of Cambridge for many years and has been a guest lecturer and professor at Columbia University, Harvard and Sarah Lawrence College.
Literary/Translation Prizes for Suite Françoise:

Winner of the Pen Book of the Month Club Translation Prize (USA) 2006
Winner of the French-American Florence Gould Foundation Translation Prize (USA) 2007
The Quill Award, USA, shortlisted for Book of the Year 2006, General Fiction category. (The only book in translation shortlisted.)
Jewish Quarterly Wingate Literary Prize for Fiction 2006. Shortlisted.
Jewish Quarterly Wingate Literary Prize for Fiction 2006. Shortlisted.
British Book Awards: Border’s Book of the Year 2006. Shortlisted.
The Oxford Weidenfeld Prize for French Translation. Shortlisted.
Independent Newspaper Foreign Fiction Prize: only open to living authors, so ineligible, but awarded a ‘Special Commendation’ by the panel 19 January 2007.