This French Life

Category: Books

  • Bibliothèque in Villefranche-du-Périgord

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    THE bibliothèque in Villefranche-du-Périgord has a small collection of English language books for those wanting to while away the summer months.

    Found next door to the Mairie just across from La Poste, the bibliothèque is open on Wednesday from 14h to 16h30 and on Saturday morning from 10h to noon.

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    There is a range of French language books that will help you learn more about the local region, and it is possible to order books from other libraries, with volunteers on hand to offer assistance.

    A registration card is not required to reserve a book, just address details.

  • American GIs and the French women they married

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    THE D-Day landings and battle to liberate France saw a connection grow between American troops and the local French people.

    For some that developed into love and marriage, connecting the two sides of the Atlantic, and author Hilary Kaiser has worked to document many of these stories in her book WWII Voices: American GIs and the French Women Who Married Them.

    Here Hilary answers some questions about her work and features two extracts recounting how love flourished during war.

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  • The Dordogne Mysteries of Martin Walker in order

    Three books from Martin Walker and his Dordogne mysteries
    IF there is one way to discover and learn about the Dordogne it is through the books of author, Martin Walker, and his fictional character Bruno, chief of police.

    The books are set in the small town of St. Denis south-west France, which is based upon the actual town of Le Bugue, and tells of the adventures of Bruno Courreges as well as the characters, both good and bad, that he crosses.

    At the heart of each book is a crime solving adventure undertaken by Bruno, chief of police, but you will also learn so much about life in the Dordogne, its food, the countryside, its history.

    Book cover of Death in the DordogneMartin Walker writes with a real passion, and intimate knowledge of the area that comes through in every page.

    With the number of Dordogne mysteries books now into double figures, you may be wondering what order they come in, find out below.

    And whilst I have listed them from the very first to the most recent, there is no need to read them one after the other as each book stands alone, and although there may be the occasional mention of previous stories, they have no impact on the one you are reading.

    If you can’t wait, drop in on Amazon to find out more.

    1 – Death in the Dordogne: The Dordogne Mysteries

    Here we meet Bruno for the first time and some of the characters he works and spends time with that also feature in future books.

    But first he has to deal with the murder of a world war two veteran and while many point the finger at one man, Bruno is not so sure and and works hard to get to the bottom of the case.

    2 – Dark Vineyard: The Dordogne Mysteries

    The vineyards of south west France produce a valuable commodity, but is it one that results in murder? As battle rages over the future of wine growing around St. Denis arsonists hit a research plant, causing Bruno to call on his local contacts.

    3 – Black Diamond: The Dordogne Mysteries

    The black diamond in the title is the name often given to truffles, a prized ingredient that is found at the foot of oak trees, and whose location is a closely guarded secret.

    But it is secrets that lead to threats and murder, and as Bruno investigates he uncovers links to China and child prostitution.

    4 – The Crowded Grave: The Dordogne Mysteries

    The Dordogne is home to cro-magnon man, and whilst archaeologists work on a dig, a more recent body is found.

    And with a high-level meeting set to take place on his patch, Bruno, chief of police. is left fighting terrorists and the loss of a loved one in the final battle.

    Book cover of The Devil's Cave

    5 – The Devil’s Cave: The Dordogne Mysteries

    Satanism in the quiet corners of the Dordogne seems unlikely, but when a body is found in a boat floating downstream Bruno steps into a dark world.

    6 – The Resistance Man: The Dordogne Mysteries

    The second world war is still a painful memory for many in France and this is the case in St.Denis as past crimes come to the fore.

    Bruno is forced to look into the history of the war and the local Resistance, whilst also handling a complicated old flame of his own.

    7 – Death Undercover: The Dordogne Mysteries

    The war in Afghanistan and Muslim terrorists leave a deep scar on Bruno as he looks to fine the men who killed a police colleague, leaving his body in the woods.

    8 – The Dying Season: The Dordogne Mysteries

    A powerful family in the region invites Bruno to a birthday party, but whilst enjoying his time there a murder takes place opening up deep divisions within the family and a few skeletons in cupboards they want to keep locked.

    But Bruno shakes off the pressure to look the other way and works to find the murderer, all while trying to calm frictions between pro and anti hunters in woods around St.Denis.

    9 – Fatal Pursuit: The Dordogne Mysteries

    Whatever happened to a famous Bugatti racing car from the past? What appears to be a story of car enthusiasts enjoying their hobby soon progresses to money laundering and the funding of terrorism.

    And while a new arrival to the area seems to have the future of the locals at heart, doubts begin to form in the mind of Bruno about future plans for property and land.

    10 – The Templars’ Last Secret: The Dordogne Mysteries

    A mysterious death leaves the body of an unknown woman at the foot of the château walls, who is she and where did she come from?

    Bruno has to use all his experience and knowledge to find out what happened.

    11 – A Taste for Vengeance: The Dordogne Mysteries

    Bruno’s love for the Dordogne way of life and cuisine comes to the fore when he is asked to host a cookery class, but when one of the students is found dead he has to swap hats and solve the crime.

    12 – The Body in the Castle Well: The Dordogne Mysteries

    A murder draws in the White House and the FBI giving Bruno a headache of international proportions.

    But with priceless artwork and a château lying at the heart of the death, Bruno uncovers evidence that takes him back to world war two and the French conflict in Algeria.

    13 – A Shooting at Chateau Rock: The Dordogne Mysteries

    A Russian oligarch is implicated in the death of a local farmer, but with influence that stretches back to the Kremlin, will Bruno be able to arrest the perpetrator of the crime?

    14 – The Coldest Case: The Dordogne Mysteries

    An unsolved case from 30 years ago still haunts Bruno’s boss. J-J, so much so that he has kept the victim’s skull.

    When Bruno sees the work of reconstructive modellers working on Cro-Magnon bones, he looks to use their skills to close the case once and for all.

    15 – To Kill a Troubadour: The Dordogne Mysteries

    When a songwriter from one of Bruno’s favourite bands faces possible assassination for publishing a song about Catalonia, the Dordogne’s favourite police chief has to ensure international relations are kept peaceful.

    All this while helping a long standing friend sort out her own day-to-day life.

    16 – A Chateau Under Siege: The Dordogne Mysteries

    France’s favorite country cop, Bruno, is drawn into a high-stakes investigation when a historical re-enactment in Sarlat goes wrong and a prominent figure is nearly killed.

    Initially unsure if it was an accident or an attack, Bruno uncovers that the victim—Kerquelin, a former Silicon Valley star now leading France’s secret intelligence base—faked his injury. Kerquelin is secretly working on a huge deal to launch a semiconductor industry in France, but a new, dangerous adversary appears, intent on stopping it at all costs.

    17 – A Grave in the Woods: The Dordogne Mysteries

    Bruno is asked by his archaeologist friend Clothilde to help Abby, an American woman looking to start a new life in the Périgord after a tough divorce. Abby plans to become a tour guide focusing on historic American ties to the region. But when three sets of old bones are discovered in the woods, Bruno is pulled into a mystery that may involve wartime crimes.

    At the same time, rising river levels threaten local dams, putting the town at risk. As always, Bruno must use his instincts, determination, and deep community ties to protect St Denis and uncover the truth.

    18 – An Enemy in the Village: The Dordogne Mysteries

    Bruno Courrèges, chief of police in the picturesque Dordogne town of St Denis, finds a woman dead in a car—apparently a suicide. But inconsistencies and disputes over her Will raise his suspicions.

    At the same time, Bruno’s involvement in a local marital spat backfires, triggering a wave of political intrigue. Deputy mayor Xavier, seeking revenge and power, fuels a smear campaign painting Bruno as a covert agent for French intelligence. With his reputation under attack and a mysterious death to unravel, Bruno must fight to clear his name and uncover the truth.

    Drop in on Amazon to find out more.

  • Mod style meets French life, with Ian Moore

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    STAND-UP comedian Ian Moore has his feet either side of the Channel, his work takes him to UK towns and cities, while his family life is firmly settled in France.

    It is this contrasting lifestyle, as well as his love of the mod culture, that lies at the heart of his comedy sketches and his new book À la Mod: My So-Called Tranquil Family Life in Rural France on Amazon.

    And thanks to his family connections he is able to experience real French life, although some still wonder about the sharp-suited Englishman and his fashion sense.

    “We live in the Loire Valley because my wife’s mother, who is French, still has family in the area,” Ian said.

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  • French farmyard tales for younger readers

    Farm-talesA FARMYARD in north western France is the backdrop for Susan Keefe’s second book, which tells the tale of Billy and Daisy’s Big Adventure on Amazon.

    The book is the first in a new series of children’s Kindle ebooks, titled Fantasy Farm Tales that promise to tell the stories found in the barns and fields of every farmyard.

    “Having been bought a Kindle for Christmas by my daughter, I soon realised what an amazing tool this was and quickly became aware that it was becoming a very popular way of publishing a book,” Susan said.

    “Living here, surrounded by all the animals is very inspirational and I decided it would be nice to write a series of smaller books for Kindle, which were easily affordable and suitable for younger, pre-school children to have read to them, and for children up to about the age of ten to read themselves.”

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  • Review of The Camargue, Portrait of a Wilderness

    Camargue-wilderness-reviewFOR centuries man has attempted to control and master the Camargue, from the creation of vast salt pans to the promotion of modern day tourism.

    And it is many of these attempts that Edwin Mullins chronicles in his book The Camargue, Portrait of a Wilderness, as well as the rich stories and often violent history of a region that still excites and intrigues.

    Starting with the river Rhone that sets out from the Alps you are introduced to the Romans and the important role they played in establishing trade links and creating an infrastructure, evidence of which can still be seen today.

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  • A road that leads to France, interview with Greg Mose

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    Author Greg Mose has travelled widely but is now settled in the Lot

    MANY people dream of moving to France and writing a book, Greg Mose has done just that.

    Whilst starting and running a gite business, near Montcabrier in the Lot, with his wife, he also worked on weaving a tale of profit driven spirituality in his book Stunt Road.

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  • Le Grand Meaulnes, by Alain-Fournier

    Grand-meaulnesJUST before I set off for my return to France a friend said I should read Le Grand Meaulnes, by Alain-Fournier.

    He gave me his copy to pack away in one of the boxes I loaded up into the car and once I’d arrived in the Dordogne countryside I started reading it.

    It is a simple story about the transition into adulthood, first love, leaving behind youthful promises, but also captures French village life in the early 1900s.

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  • Ian Walthew, author of A Place In My Country

    Ian WalthewWHY would the marketing director of one of the word’s most famous newspapers give it all up to move to the Cotswolds, and then leave that corner of England behind to head to the Auvergne?

    For Ian Walthew there were a number of complicated reasons but deep down he knew there was something missing, both in his heart and the countryside around him.

    “For me personally England was a place of loss, it was where I lost my brother, it was where I lost my father and that personal loss was mirrored in the loss of the English countryside around me,” said Ian.

    “The future of the local pub was that it was to become a gastro-pub, the future for my neighbour, who was a struggling farmer, was that at some point his barns would become executive homes for accountants from Oxford.

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  • Discovering the life of the Quercy Blanc

    Amanda LawrenceTHE rocky outcrops of the Quercy Blanc region and the deep reds of the wines of Cahors are the underlying elements of a corner of France many people may drive past when heading to the Mediterranean coast.

    But author Amanda Lawrence stopped and used the area as the setting for her debut book, White Stone Black Wine, which opens a door on the local people and the rich history of a region dominated by vineyards, truffles and foie gras.

    And although Amanda has long enjoyed visiting the region, it wasn’t until she and her family left the UK that her book began to take shape.

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