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Notes from the C�vennes: Half a Lifetime in Provincial France by Thorpe, Adam
FREE US DELIVERY | ISBN: 1472966317 | Quality Books
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A book that has been read, but is in good condition. Minimal damage to the book cover eg. scuff marks, but no holes or tears. If this is a hard cover, the dust jacket may be missing. Binding has minimal wear. The majority of pages are undamaged with some creasing or tearing, and pencil underlining of text, but this is minimal. No highlighting of text, no writing in the margins, and no missing pages. See the seller’s listing for full details and description of any imperfections.
- Buy it nowNotes from the C�vennes: Half a Lifetime in Provincial France by Thorpe, Adam
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eBay item number:393969854119
Item specifics
- Condition
- ISBN
- 1472966317
- EAN
- 9781472966315
- Date of Publication
- 2019-05-16
- Publication Name
- N/A
- Type
- Paperback / softback
- Release Title
- Notes from the Cevennes: Half a Lifetime in Provincial France
- Artist
- Thorpe, Adam
- Brand
- N/A
- Colour
- N/A
About this product
Product Identifiers
Publisher
Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN-10
1472966317
ISBN-13
9781472966315
eBay Product ID (ePID)
22038582498
Product Key Features
Book Title
Notes from the Cévennes : Half a Lifetime in Provincial France
Number of Pages
256 Pages
Language
English
Publication Year
2019
Topic
Europe / France, Personal Memoirs
Illustrator
Yes
Genre
Travel, Biography & Autobiography, History
Format
Trade Paperback
Dimensions
Item Height
0.7 in
Item Weight
7.8 Oz
Item Length
7.7 in
Item Width
5 in
Additional Product Features
Intended Audience
Trade
Dewey Edition
23
Reviews
"In an altogether different class ... beautifully written, full of wisdom about the balance struck by humanity and the natural world ... Adam Thorpe, a self-described "curator of time", has written a grand little book. I might have added that no holidaymaker this year in France, or further afield, should be without it. But why wait until July or August? Don't postpone the treat. Buy now; this book is a real joy." -- The Tablet "A marvellously astute, wry and affectionate account of France and the French - mercifully free of whimsy - and, moreover, written in pitch-perfect English prose. A delight." -- William Boyd "Part history and part memoir, Notes from the Cévennes is a marvellous evocation of the forgotten Languedoc, and an affectionate portrait of a country and a people." -- Sigrid Rausing, Editor of Granta "Thorpe continues ... quietly wonderful. Though (and perhaps because) Thorpe lives in France, he is alert to every English linguistic twitch, every slippery folk-meme. He's a writer's writer." -- Hilary Mantel (on Thorpe's novel Missing Fay; TLS Books of the Year, 2017) "A powerful story of cooperation and conflict, both between ourselves and Nature. Living in two places, the ancient pastoral retreat of the Cévennes, and the Roman cosmopolitanism of Nimes, Adam has all the gifts of novelist, correspondent, historian and poet." -- Colin Greenwood, Radiohead "His novels are concerned with how the past and the present, reality and fiction elide into each other, particularly through landscape; and Thorpe, in this series of tightly controlled, involving vignettes, finds evidence of this everywhere he looks ... Gleaming with polished insights, this sensitive book is both a warning, plea and salutary reminder that even the tiniest action affects the universal. France profonde , indeed." -- Spectator "Erudite and beguiling" -- The Times "Thorpe has dizzying range as well as style" -- Daily Mail "[A] deeply engaging book, part chatty memoir, part profound perception of the evidence of previous human existences ... He has, in short, lived a life to which he was not born but which he has taken up and made his own, something many people dream about but few are able to emulate" -- Times Literary Supplement "Thorpe's memoir is not part of any herd. Nor does it belong in the fast-and-loose category of potboilers about swapping English life for continental idylls ... It is erudite, firmly embedded in its own soil and yet evasive ... affectionate, appreciative and perceptive" -- Observer "Beautifully written and produced, a pure pleasure: learned and attentive and rich in description and full of humour that is genuinely affectionate without being remotely patronising" -- Irish Times "By turns comic and pensive, Notes from the Cévennes is an absorbing and beautifully composed collection of vignettes, recording Adam Thorpe's encounters, adventures and meditations over half a lifetime in France ... Mr Thorpe captures so well the dark history of France, the conflict of religion, politics and land" -- Country Life "This absorbing book is written in prose as bright and bracing as the waters of the rivers in which Thorpe loves to swim. Despite the warts-and-all picture, it made me want to pack my bags and head south." -- Literary Review "Thorpe allows a sense of folk magic to permeate, and his characters feel rustic in a timeless way because he transmits a real appreciation of the wild and how humans justify our interactions with other beasts ... A gentle homage to rural life." -- New Statesman, Thorpe continues ... quietly wonderful. Though (and perhaps because) Thorpe lives in France, he is alert to every English linguistic twitch, every slippery folk-meme. He's a writer's writer.
Dewey Decimal
828.9203
Table Of Content
1 Gossamer Threads 2 The Poppet 3 Coming Into Shot 4 Wartime Shrines 5 Our Baker is Missing 6 Reprisal in the Oxbow 7 The Psychological Castle 8 Taking the Postman Hostage 9 Resident Tombs 10 A Flat Above the Cafe 11 All that Rough Muskc 12 Erudition 13 A Local Custom 14 Disaster Area 15 Martins in the Roof 16 A Visit from the City Police 17 Arches and Bulls 18 Defending Wolves 19 A Catastrophe 20 Floodwaters 21 The Ballot 22 Paws, Fingers and Thighs 23 Taking Our Tread 24 Epilogue Footprints Acknowledgements
Synopsis
Adam Thorpe's home for the past 25 years has been an old house in the Cévennes, a wild range of mountains in southern France. Prior to this, in an ancient millhouse in the oxbow of a Cévenol river, he wrote the novel that would become the Booker Prize-nominated Ulverton , now a Vintage Classic. In more recent writing Thorpe has explored the Cévennes, drawing on the legends, history and above all the people of this part of France for his inspiration. In his charming journal, Notes from the Cévennes , Thorpe takes up these themes, writing about his surroundings, the village and his house at the heart of it, as well as the contrasts of city life in nearby Nîmes. In particular he is interested in how the past leaves impressions - marks - on our landscape and on us. What do we find in the grass, earth and stone beneath our feet and in the objects around us? How do they tie us to our forebears? What traces have been left behind and what marks do we leave now? He finds a fossil imprinted in the single worked stone of his house's front doorstep, explores the attic once used as a silk factory and contemplates the stamp of a chance paw in a fragment of Roman roof-tile. Elsewhere, he ponders mutilated fleur-de-lys (French royalist symbols) in his study door and unwittingly uses the tomb-rail of two sisters buried in the garden as a gazebo. Then there are the personal fragments that make up a life and a family history: memories dredged up by 'dusty toys, dried-up poster paints, a painted clay lump in the bottom of a box.' Part celebration of both rustic and urban France, part memoir, Thorpe's humorous and precise prose shows a wonderful stylist at work, recalling classics such as Robert Louis Stevenson's Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes ., Leaving London's cosmopolitanism in 1990 for a new life in rural south-west France, Adam Thorpe settled with his family in an ancient part of the Cévennes, a rugged landscape between the mountains and the sea. Here, amongst memories of religious conflict and Nazi savagery, alongside escapees of the 1968 Paris revolts and villagers deeply committed to their inheritance, Thorpe now makes his life as a writer. In his memoir Notes from the Cévennes Thorpe describes an author's existence embedded within an almost unrecognisably rustic setting and an impoverished yet proud local community. At the heart of his amusing yet profound account is a deep affection for the natural environment and the people that surround him, as well as a genuine fear for what the future may hold for them both. Book jacket., A charming memoir exploring the history, landscape and people of rural France, told through the eyes of a Parisian-born Englishman, writer and poet., A charming memoir exploring the history, landscape and people of rural France, told through the eyes of a Parisian-born Englishman, writer and poet. Adam Thorpe's home for the past 25 years has been an old house in the C vennes, a wild range of mountains in southern France. Prior to this, in an ancient millhouse in the oxbow of a C venol river, he wrote the novel that would become the Booker Prize-nominated Ulverton , now a Vintage Classic. In more recent writing Thorpe has explored the C vennes, drawing on the legends, history and above all the people of this part of France for his inspiration. In his charming journal, Notes from the C vennes , Thorpe takes up these themes, writing about his surroundings, the village and his house at the heart of it, as well as the contrasts of city life in nearby N mes. In particular he is interested in how the past leaves impressions--marks--on our landscape and on us. What do we find in the grass, earth and stone beneath our feet and in the objects around us? How do they tie us to our forebears? What traces have been left behind and what marks do we leave now? Part celebration of both rustic and urban France, part memoir, Thorpe's humorous and precise prose shows a wonderful stylist at work, recalling classics such as Robert Louis Stevenson's Travels with a Donkey in the C vennes .
LC Classification Number
PR6070.H696
Item description from the seller
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- o***d (274)- Feedback left by buyer.Past monthVerified purchase4.1.2025 - Item arrived quickly and was exactly as described. Packaging was secure and professional, and the item was in perfect condition—looks even better in person! Great quality, excellent value for the price, and the seller was prompt and communicative throughout the process. Very satisfied and would absolutely buy from this seller again. Highly recommended!
- e***1 (1296)- Feedback left by buyer.Past 6 monthsVerified purchaseThis was an excellent transaction. Great condition. As described, in good condition, very good quality and appearance, and was safely packaged and quickly shipped. The costs were reasonable, and the communication was timely. I am very happy with my purchase. Thanks so much.
- c***m (390)- Feedback left by buyer.Past 6 monthsVerified purchaseAAA+++; Excellent Service; Great Pricing; Fast Delivery-Faster Than Expected to Hawaii; using free shipping; USPS Ground Mail, Book in Excellent Condition--Better Than Described ; TLC Packaging; Excellent Seller Communication, Sends updates . Highly Recommended!, Thank you very much!Elon Musk: The Founder of Tesla, Paypal, ... by Connors, K. Paperback / softback (#305692808987)