A Summer in Gascony, New Edition: The Other South of France - Softcover

Calder, Martin

3.61

117 ratings by Goodreads

9781857885316: A Summer in Gascony, New Edition: The Other South of France

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1857885317 ISBN 13: 9781857885316

Publisher: Nicholas Brealey Publishing, 2009

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The only travel writing book on Gascony, A Summer in Gascony is a charming and humorous tale of an extraordinary summer spent in this relatively unknown part of south-western France, the home of D Artagnan, Cyrano de Bergerac, gutsy red wine, fine sweet wine Armagnac and sunflowers. It is a tale of two love affairs: an idyllic summer romance and a lifelong love affair with Gascony with its village festivals, dusty roads and sun-baked wine country.

Stretching from Toulouse in the east to the Atlantic coast in the west, from the river Garonne in the north to the Pyrenees in the south, Gascony is a golden land of rolling hills and wide horizons, swathed with vineyards, sunflowers, maize and pastures. It has a distinct identity which sets it apart from the rest of France and old affinities with England: the Gascons fought alongside the English in the Middle Ages and the Napoleonic Wars against their common foe the French.

In the tiny hamlet of Peguilhan, Martin Calder is introduced to the Gascon way of life: working in the fields, shepherding and slaughtering sheep, feeding the cattle, harvesting the wheat, watering the crops. He discovers a unique people, fiercely proud of their independent heritage. Full of colourful characters: the charismatic and convivial Jacques-Henri, the hardworking farmer whose family take Martin into their home and hearts; the yoga-practising Germans; Pattes, the mischievous stray dog; Madame Parle-Beaucoup, the town gossip and Monsieur Fustignac, whose pride in his Gascon heritage is unforgettable. But the real star of the book is Gascony itself, with its strong spirit of independence and the simple pleasures it provides.

Written by a true Francophile who has come to know the people and understands their way of life, A Summer in Gascony evokes the spirit, sights, smells and sounds of this still relatively unknown and unspoiled other South of France.

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About the Author:

Martin Calder, is a senior lecturer in French at the University of Bristol, has a PhD in eighteenth-century French literature. He has lived and worked in Paris and other areas of France but is always drawn back to Gascony, which appeals to his enjoyment of the simple pleasures of life on the land, good food, wine and hard work. Visit www.asummeringascony.com for further information.

From Booklist:

British student Calder answers an ad for summer farm help in P�guilhan in southwest France’s famed Gascony. There he learns the realities of agricultural life in the employ of a family who own a country inn catering to tourists. Gascony is one of France’s lesser-known provinces, but its rocky fastnesses have produced luminaries such as Cyrano de Bergerac, D’Artagnan, and Montesquieu. Independently minded Gascons consider themselves only loosely associated with the rest of France and treat Parisians with suspicion. Originally peopled with barbarian tribes, Gascony absorbed imperial Roman culture only slowly. Gascony boasts a rich culinary tradition of ducks, geese, foie gras, cassoulet, and fine wines. Calder throws his energy into watering tomatoes and learns how to butcher sheep. He masters the art of grilling duck breasts to perfection for the inn’s guests. Calder’s objective eye never mocks the rustic Gascons, his obvious affection for them shunning shallow sentimentality. --Mark Knoblauch

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