Outlandish! is a light-hearted ‘re-imagined’ biography of Jane Austen’s cousin Eliza de Feuillide, who eventually married her brother and became her sister-in-law.
The opening sentence sets the tone: “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single woman in possession of sufficient beauty and with her wits about her, can soon persuade a rich man he’s in need of a wife.”
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The diary then dives back to the beginning of the story; how our heroine was born in India and how, four years later with a massive sigh of relief, the family moved back to London.
Tutors, governesses, diets and corsets all follow as 'Betsy' (aka Eliza) is groomed to make an advantageous marriage. Needless to say, she is not entirely cooperative, declaring that she is not sure she wants to marry anyone.
Meanwhile, Eliza’s father is obliged to return to India to earn enough to support this London lifestyle and, left to their own devices, before long Eliza and her mama decamp to their cousins’ house in the countryside.
Eliza's world is so fully imagined that anachronisms such as ‘weekend’ jump out and bite you as you read. But it is easy to see that the author has read her Austen, done her research and knows the period well. The plot bounces along very good-temperedly. Even the family's financial straits are not allowed to dampen the fun.
This is a book to devour in one indulgent sitting, an ideal read for Austen lovers who do not take their literature too seriously.
A Season for ThatCrown
A Season for That
Steve Hoffman
Crown, €16.22
ISBN: 978-0593240281
This autobiography is about an American moving to France after a lifetime of loving the country, only to discover that the reality does not match his dreams. His family is equally nonplussed.
This type of culture shock must be a familiar sensation to many people moving to France, especially if their main source of information has been romanticised series on TV.
With what reads as sincere honestly, Steve Hoffman writes about his discoveries and how he got to know the real France by letting go of his preconceptions and interacting with local people.
He is especially focused on French food and wine; cooking things as advised by the shopkeepers and trying wines recommended by his wine-loving neighbour are his ways into modern French culture. It helps that he arrived in France with practically perfect French.
This is an extremely personal book, including many of the author's struggles as a parent, a father, a man. How to be the best version he can, and what indeed is the best version? It is a fascinating conversation, but if you are merely expecting a jokey travelogue, this confessional element might catch you by surprise.
On the other hand, surely the point of travelling and exploring other cultures is to see yourself, your home country and your culture through new eyes.
By the end of the book, this award-winning author has described this private journey in almost as much detail as his integration into French village life.
A Farewell to FranceCoronet
A Farewell to France
Noel Barber
Coronet, €3.99
ISBN: 978-0340347096
First published in 1983, A Farewell to France remains a gripping World War Two story, a tender tale of love, a fascinating read about wartime France, and a mine of information about champagne production.
It is blockbuster length, so you might not finish it in one sitting, but you will find it difficult to put down.
The epic saga begins in the 1930s. A Franco/American family own a vineyard in Champagne, and when the area is overtaken by the Nazis and subsequently fenced off, the mystery begins.
What are they up to? What is the terrible military secret they are hiding? The details might have you reaching for Google as many of them sound uncomfortably close to the truth.
Noel Barber (1909-1988) was a Foreign Correspondent for the Daily Mail for decades, and after a lifetime of globetrotting, began writing novels when he was 70. His best-known novel is probably Tanamere, which is set in Singapore.
Resistance members, a granny in the attic, two international love affairs, secret champagne caves, a family torn apart by war… this book has it all. Definitely worth reading, even if you can only find a secondhand copy.
