La Vie

John Lewis-Stempel sets off from the UK to the rural far west of France - la France profonde - where he and his wife settle to a farming life in a draughty house with a small menagerie of pets and farm animals and a few acres of vineyards. Life on John's blustery Charente escarpment is a far cry from our sun-baked Olive Farm in Provence. Still, I was quickly drawn into his world and his fascinating pot-pourri of all things French. His is a good-natured universe of horses and hares, hoopoes and hens. La Vie is a pleasing, gentle read. Like the dormice who nest in the attic, you soon want to snuggle up in the spare bedroom. It reminded me all over again of why I threw up everything for the magic of La Belle France. -- Carol Drinkwater, author of <i>The Olive Farm</i> John Lewis-Stempel's story of a year on his smallholding in the Charente is warm and vivid and beautiful. He plants his toes in the French earth and turns his lyrical gaze on the land, the people, the deep community spirit. Above all he does what he does best, he writes with virtuosity about the countryside and, in doing so, he writes about himself. -- Trevor Dolby, author of <i>One Place de l’Eglise</i> A clear-eyed and unsentimental, yet utterly beguiling immersion in La France Profonde, keenly observed and beautifully told. -- Felicity Cloake, author of <i>One More Croissant for the Road</i> One of the most celebrated - if not the best - Nature writers of his generation... It's not only about the Lewis-Stempels, their two children, dogs and menagerie of livestock. It's also an affectionate portrait of the locals... who welcome the family so warmly. * Country Life *