House Among Vines by Marguerite Smith
An old farmhouse, tucked away in one of the most rural corners of Aquitaine, had been used for holidays but, in the mid-1970s, it became the author's bolthole. The silence of the ancient house was both awesome and magical: it transformed her life. She helped her peasant farmer neighbours: Gascons, Bretons and Italian immigrants, like old Pepe Boniface who never learnt French, his tragic daughter-in-law Therese, Fernando the insatiable womanizer, Gaston the practical joker. She tangled with the testy village shopkeeper, helped deliver a calf, acquired a wonderful dog, five cats, countless rabbits and a neurotic ewe, and listened to village gossip in the lively ambience of Fanny's cafe. Christine's pool nearly wrecked one of the village weddings, while ageing Jack caused consternation among his friends. Comedy and Tragedy, mystery and drama are never far off in this superbly written account which abounds with gentle humour and compassion. "A House Among Vines" will delight all lovers of France: the deeply rural South-West is captured here, alive, intense and genuine. This is the real thing.
Born in 1929, Marguerite Delavenay (now Smith) was taught to speak French at the French Lycee in London before the war, to read, write and love English at Hitchin Grammar School during the war years, after which she took both languages a stage further at Oxford. She lived on in Oxford to bring up her children, and became a freelance translator under the name of Barnett, being responsible, among other somewhat more literary works, for the English translations of all but the first two of the unquenchable series of historical romances published during the 1960s and early 1970s, known as the Angelique books.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780709064732 |
| ISBN 10 | 070906473X |
| Title | House Among Vines |
| Author | Marguerite Smith |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | The Crowood Press Ltd |
| Year published | 1999-08-07 |
| Number of pages | 192 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |