Philippa came from a proper convent where her passion was all about God, swirling up through the stained glass windows on spirals of incense. Aurélie came from a wild world where the words of the ancient druids were still whispered on the wind. When Philippa followed her dream and left the convent for the sea, it was Aurélie's wild world that trapped her and sent her swirling to its depths, only to be saved by an unforeseen twist of fate.
The two women met at that intersection of their lives, and - to their own astonishment - fell in love with each other. But lesbian couples could not live in their world, so Philippa became Philippe, and they married and even adopted and raised a daughter, Mimi.
Their story is told, alternately, in the three womens' voices, a story that understand and mourns hatred and prejudice, but which also affirms the love and caring and commitment that can transcend even violence and death.
Légende was published under the pseudonym Jeannine Allard in 1984 by Alyson Publications, Inc.
Back Cover Copy
Sometime in the last century, two women living on the coast of France, in Brittany, loved each other. They had no other models of such a thing, so they chose this solution: one of them posed as a man for most of their life together; they were married, adopted a child, and were very happy together.
The one who posed as a man was lost at sea, and a statue was erected to her, symbolizing all the collective losses suffered by their small town. Many years later, when it was known that she had in fact been a woman, the statue was destroyed by angry and frightened people.
This legend is still told in Brittany. Now Jeannine Allard has built from it, creating a hauntingly beautiful story of two women in love.