Growing up on idyllic St. Thomas in the early 1800s, Rachel dreams of life in faraway Paris. Rachel’s mother, a pillar of their small refugee community of Jews who escaped the Inquisition, has never forgiven her daughter for being a difficult girl who refuses to live by the rules. Growing up, Rachel’s salvation is their maid Adelle’s belief in her strengths, and her deep, life-long friendship with Jestine, Adelle’s daughter. But Rachel’s life is not her own. She is married off to a widower with three children to save her father’s business. When her husband dies suddenly and his handsome, much younger nephew, Frédérick, arrives from France to settle the estate, Rachel seizes her own life story, beginning a defiant, passionate love affair that sparks a scandal that affects all of her family, including her favorite son, who will become one of the greatest artists of France.

Comment from Melanie, Bookreporter.com's Word of Mouth and Sounding Off on Audio editor:
"Alice Hoffman’s magical storytelling and writing style shine through in the audiobook of THE MARRIAGE OF OPPOSITES. The performance of the three different readers is a wondrous listening experience. We are whisked away to the tropical island of St. Thomas in the 1800s, where a small colony of Jews has settled to escape persecution in Europe. Rachel, the mother of painter Camille Pissarro, is a flawed yet incredibly fierce main character whose challenging circumstances of a woman in this time period only succeed in making her stronger. Though I am only halfway through the story, I can highly recommend the audio version of this book without hesitation. As a frequent audiobook listener, this is quickly becoming one of my favorite audiobooks. I am almost hoping for more traffic tomorrow!"