any good books based in France

[eleanor2]

well my french holiday is coming up.i love to read books that will go with the place i am staying at.i do have chocolat ready to take.but do any of you know of any other good books based in France.i am reading a very sad book at the moment .wilbur smith the burning shore.i am glad i read it now before i go and not took it with me.i was shedding some tears last night.it is about the somme and arras.how sad war is.tearing up countries and destroying so many lifes.any way the heroin and what an heroin she is.is now off to cape town south africa for the other half of the book.also i was wondering what is the best read you have found that suits a place you have been in at some time or other.

[eleanor2]

a good book of my local area is called the spoilt kill by mary kelly.it is a murder mystery in a pot bank.it mentions all the local towns and a few of the local pot banks.a very good read whodunnit.
my favorite french read is the quiet earth by elizabeth harris....a bit spooky but the history she brings out is fantastic.she is a writer who brings you into her story.it is one of those based in modern day but keeps going back in time.it brings in the persecution of the cathars.the heroic knight.the monastry and monks.a modern day love story.a grave with ancient skeletonds one a baby and grave goods to give clues.ooooo

[Crocus]

Hi Eleanor, I mainly read books about the UK, based in the UK. Here's a link to some books based in France:

http://french.about.com/od/cultureandtravel/tp/fiction.htm

[eleanor2]

crocus your a brick.that link is great.i didnt realise joanne harris had wrote so many books.also it appears there is a good writer name peter mayle.i will be going to find these books. i fancy the blackberry wine by joanne harris.also french lessons by peter mayle.

on another subject today i was looking in charity shops this morning for a good book.i found one that had an inscription....daphne a book for you to keep forever like my love N.sounds a bit secretive on Ns part.but looks like daphne wasnt impressed.it was the book castaway .i think N was hinting he would like to be cast away with daphne.it was for sale fo £1

[Crocus]

I hope you find some of the books Eleanor - it does look quite interesting. I always feel a bit sad when I notice books with inscriptions like those you mentioned. We've got a second hand bookshop in our town where you can either exchange or buy. These inscriptions kind of personalise the book. xx

[eleanor2]

the wilbur smith book i am reading at the moment .has moved the heroin from war torn France where her father and fiance died.to a shipweck and her ending up alone on a deserted shore on the edge of the fiercest deset in the world. the edge of the namibian desert( i think)she is so tough and a survivor wow its powerful stuff.its going to be all south Africa from here on crocus.

[Crocus]

Hi Eleanor, to end up alone on the shore of a foreign country can be no joke, wow! It seems an interesting read Eleanor - I wonder where in S.A. she will end up....... xx

[buecherwurm]

I just remembered that I once read two books by Sandra Gulland: The many lives & secret sorrows of Jeséphine B. and Tales of passion, tales of woe. They are about Joséphine and Napoleon Bonaparte. So, if you like historical novels they might be for you.

[Crocus]

I quite like historical novels, especially about the UK. I always try to find a book along these lines. xx

[eleanor2]

thanks beuch...... we have a laugh every time we walk upto our local river beach.the roads are lined wth straight tall trees.the history is that Napoleon used to have trees planted by road sides to give his men cover when marching in the heat.one of us will say do you know these trees were planted by napoleon.
crocus will let you know where she ends up when she survives the desert-which she surely will.....

[eleanor2]

crocus thanks,i have after much searching found two peter mayle books today.the man who wrote year in provence.so i have 2 great books to read that are based in France.

[franbee]

well of course there is the Da Vinci Code, part of that was in France, and it's certainly a good read.

[Crocus]

I'm quite pleased you could find something Eleanor - enjoy the read and the holiday! xxx

[eleanor2]

hi Fran not much for the da vinci code.....just want a good entertaining ,happy read.

[franbee]

The Da Vinci Code was absolutely brill, I couldn't put it down. I suppose the subject matter is rather controversial, but it's a good ripping yarn.

[eleanor2]

i did watch the last half on t.v fran.can see it being entertaining.but the story line a bit pathetic.i'm hoping these peter mayle books are as fun and entertaining as a year in Provence.i am looking forward to watching "a good year" russel crowe whilst at daughters.that film is fun and entertaining as well as showing you french life.

[eleanor2]

crocus if you come back here.the wilbur smith book is now in the green hills of zulu land.near the drakensberg mountains.near the town of ladyburg.dont know if these are all true places.

[Crocus]

As far as I know there's no town with the name of Ladyburg, but Ladybrand, Ladismith. Drakensburg Mountains, Zululand also is true.

http://www.south-africa-tours.com/drakensberg.html

http://www.kzn.org.za/index.php?districthome+22

[eleanor2]

thanks so much crocus.fabulous pictures of the mountains.yes the story is a lot about some bushmen people who helped the heroin survive after she was shipwrecked.wilbur has really given some good descriptions of their life style.

[Crocus]

I've googled Ladyburg today and a whole lot of Wilbur Smith's book came up actually. xx

[eleanor2]

crocus havnt you read any of his books.they are fantastic.he really gives good portrayals of african life.he lived in South Africa i'm not sure if he was born there.

[Crocus]

Hi Eleanor, Wilbur Smith was born in Northern Rhodesia in 1933.


I've just started to read a book "Deep France", by Celia Brayfield. It's classified as "Readable Non Fiction" and it's about Celia taking her 3 cats and computer and travelled to the South of France. She took along her student daughter as well and they just kept on driving south, eventually ending up in a little village in the region of Bearn, "the most romantic, remote and rustic region of France".

I thought you might be interested to read this because you love France. As mentioned, it's not a novel as such, but I think it's going to be a nice read anyway. I actually prefer readable non-fiction. The first few pages is quite interesting. Her 3 cats who travels with her, their names are Tarmac, Piglet and Duchess and if their names are anything to go, this is going to a relaxing and interesting read I think. xx

[eleanor2]

sounds a very good read for a winters night curled up by the fire crocus.will go and google it.

[Crocus]

This book proves to be a very nice read Eleanor. Of course it's not a novel, it's about the author taking a year off to go and live in France and all her experiences she had, new friends she met, recipes etc. Each new chapter is a new month with everything which happens in that month, be it in the garden, markets, etc. in villages near where she lives. It really is a most interesting read and I enjoy it very much. xx