Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Robert Wace
What little is known about the
poet Robert Wace (c.1115-c.1183)
comes from his last work,
Roman
de Rou
, a verse history of the
dukes of Normandy. Educated in
Caen, he wrote his romances for
the great and good there.
Top 10 Books Set in
Normandy
Madame Bovary
(Gustave Flaubert)
Set near the author's native
Rouen, this classic ruffled
contemporary feathers.
A Day in the Country
and Other Stories
(Guy de Maupassant)
Twenty-eight of Maupassant's
brilliant short stories.
François Malherbe
The classical poet Malherbe
(1555-1628) left his birthplace
Caen to study in Paris, Basle and
Heidelberg. He worked for Henri
d'Angoulême (
grand prieur
of
France and governor of Provence)
for 10 years before returning
home. Called to Court in 1605,
he became the strict arbiter of
French literary style.
The Secret Life of the
Seine (Mort
Rosenblum)
From Burgundy to Le Havre
by houseboat.
A Woman's Story
(Annie Ernaux)
A lovely tribute to the author's
mother, who lived much of
her life in Yvetot.
The Bayeux Tapestry
(Wolfgang Grape)
The Norman Conquest as told
through the Bayeux Tapestry.
Mont-St-Michel and
Chartres (Henry
Brooks Adams)
Meditation on the medieval
world as seen through its
most famous cathedrals.
Operation Overlord
(Max Hastings)
Goes beyond D-Day to cover
the ensuing battles, viewing
the conflict from both sides.
François Malherbe
Gardens in Normandy
(Valery, Motte and
Sarramon)
Forty spectacular gardens.
Jacques Prévert
Prévert (1900-77) visited
Normandy in 1930 and fell in love
with it. Soon after, he started to
write poetry on the themes of
beauty, innocence, love and
despair.
Paroles
, his best-known
collection, was published in
1945. In 1971, he and his wife
bought a house in Omonville-la-
Petite. They are buried nearby,
and there is a memorial garden
in St-Germain-des-Vaux
(see p101)
.
Chantemesle: A
Normandy Childhood
(Robin Fedden)
A lyrical account of an
enchanted rural childhood.
A Normandy Tapestry
(Alan Biggins)
Biggins' move to France with
his family took him behind the
scenes of French rural life.
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