- Paperback: 260 pages
- Publisher: Chapter and Verse; 2nd edition (1 May 2009)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0955832101
- ISBN-13: 978-0955832109
- Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 15.4 x 2.4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 545,425 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Escape to Provence
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Review
An account of expatriate lives in Provence: "Maureen Emerson has produced a remarkable book which will captivate any reader with a genuine interest in the history of the Cote d'Azur and of its English-speaking expatriate community", Patrick Middleton, The Riviera Reporter. "The impact of the war makes for some of the book's most compelling reading. The author has thoroughly researched her subject and the book paints vivid portraits not just of a beguiling place and a tumultuous era, but of two plucky and unusual women... whose love of Provence changed the course of their lives", Vivian Thomas, France Today. "Remarkable women's lives the subject of a fascinating book", Dianne Jones, The Mid-Sussex Times. "By patiently piecing together the lives of these two women, Maureen Emerson has produced a fascinating portrait of a bygone era and reveals an expatriate community far different from the one that could be seen in the luxury hotels of the French Riviera", Nicole Benazeth, LMS News, The Magazine of Sophia Antipolis. "Maureen settled back in England eight years ago to be closer to her family but Winifred and Elisabeth were never far from her mind and she has just completed her fascinating book on their lives after eight years of research", West Sussex County Times. --Various
Product Description
Escape to Provence is the true story of two remarkable women who, with style and energy, carved out new lives for themselves in the South of France in the first part of the last century. An American, Elisabeth Parrish Starr, and an Englishwoman, Winifred (Peggy) Fortescue, the author of a best-seller of the 1930s and '40s Perfume from Provence, both escaped to Provence for quite different reasons. Elisabeth, as the result of a personal tragedy, coupled with a need to live her life without censure, and Peggy because she and her husband felt that in Provence 'one could be poor with dignity'. After dangerous aid work on the Somme during the Great War, for which she was decorated by the French government, Elisabeth bought an ancient house in the hills above Cannes. Here she drew other expatriate friends around her and, with the now widowed Peggy, lived a bucolic existence in their Provencal village until the threat of another conflict changed their lives for ever. Peggy raced to safety in Sussex, in England, while Elisabeth fell under the oppressive Vichy regime that affected everyone in the region during the dark years of war. When the South of France was liberated by American and French forces, Peggy returned to a Provence that would never be the same again. Over the years their lives had become involved with those of Consuelo, Duchess of Marlborough, the poet John Betjeman, the dashing Spitfire pilot Richard Hillary, the artist Rex Whistler and the families of President Theodore Roosevelt and Charles, 6th Marquess of Anglesey. As well as the story of two unusual women, Escape to Provence is also a portrait of an era.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
There are at least two "Provences". The French Riviera may, geographically, be a part of Provence, but in the period covered by this nostalgic book, "la Côte d'Azur" - that 120-mile stretch of manicured beaches, pristine marinas and mock "fin de siècle" casinos so familiar from glossy brochures and travel magazines, was a world apart from the "arrière-pays" - the "back country", whose 30 miles or so of undulating terrain lay between the traffic-clogged coastal roads and the sparsely-populated foothills of the Maritime Alps.
It is this latter Provence that is the setting for "Escape to Provence", which tells the true story of the lives of two women, one American and one English, from widely differing backgrounds, who, in the early part of the last century, settled in the village of Opio, on olive-groved, lavender-scented slopes on the rural outskirts of Grasse, and over many years, gathered together an expatriate community that became known locally as "La Colline des Anglais" - English Hill. The Englishwoman, Lady Margaret "Peggy" Fortescue, in straitened circumstances following the fall of the pound and, later, the death of her husband, started to write about the region in the hope of subsidising their small income. Her first book, "Perfume from Provence", became a best-seller, establishing both a new career for Peggy and a fertile literary genre that would be harvested by many later writers, including Kipling, H. G. Wells, Dirk Bogarde, Peter Mayle - and this reviewer.
Although my interest in "Escape to Provence" was originally aroused by the works of Peggy Fortescue - in particular "Perfume from Provence" - it was reinforced by the realisation that the unnamed Provençal village she described in the book was the one to which I too had come to live many years later.
This should not be taken to imply that residence in Opio, or even Provence, is a pre-requisite for the enjoyment of "Escape to Provence". On the contrary: the author's evident love for this fortunate region and its fascinating cast of characters shines through every page. It is scrupulously researched, copiously illustrated and should be required reading for anyone visiting the "arrière-pays".
It is this latter Provence that is the setting for "Escape to Provence", which tells the true story of the lives of two women, one American and one English, from widely differing backgrounds, who, in the early part of the last century, settled in the village of Opio, on olive-groved, lavender-scented slopes on the rural outskirts of Grasse, and over many years, gathered together an expatriate community that became known locally as "La Colline des Anglais" - English Hill. The Englishwoman, Lady Margaret "Peggy" Fortescue, in straitened circumstances following the fall of the pound and, later, the death of her husband, started to write about the region in the hope of subsidising their small income. Her first book, "Perfume from Provence", became a best-seller, establishing both a new career for Peggy and a fertile literary genre that would be harvested by many later writers, including Kipling, H. G. Wells, Dirk Bogarde, Peter Mayle - and this reviewer.
Although my interest in "Escape to Provence" was originally aroused by the works of Peggy Fortescue - in particular "Perfume from Provence" - it was reinforced by the realisation that the unnamed Provençal village she described in the book was the one to which I too had come to live many years later.
This should not be taken to imply that residence in Opio, or even Provence, is a pre-requisite for the enjoyment of "Escape to Provence". On the contrary: the author's evident love for this fortunate region and its fascinating cast of characters shines through every page. It is scrupulously researched, copiously illustrated and should be required reading for anyone visiting the "arrière-pays".
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
In reading Escape to PROVENCE by Maureen Emerson, I find it be a very informative and interesting true story about the lives led by Winifred "Peggy" Fortescue and Elisabeth Starr during a particularly trying time in France and how the sheer will of these two women affected so many for the better. To say these friends were courageous, ingenious, brave, and had an unstoppable love for, and loyalty to, France would be an understatement. The personalities of Peggy and Elisabeth were quite different and the fact that they were able to maintain such a close relationship for as long as they did was remarkable. Their dedication to the French war effort was also something to behold. Emerson paints a picture of a bygone era in such a way that the one is almost there and, certainly, wants to be there. The story is exciting and will stay with the reader. I have never been to Provence but feel I now know a part of it well. I thought I knew Lady Winifred Fortescue, having read each of her books at least twice, but realized, after reading Escape to Provence that I only knew the author side of her. While reading Escape she became much more fascinating as an author and a woman. Elisabeth Starr turns out to be an unforgettable character and the book benefits greatly by her presence.
Maureen Emerson has a very engaging style of writing and, it is obvious, knows the stuff of which she is writing about. This is a great read and will become important to the history of that special region of France.
Maureen Emerson has a very engaging style of writing and, it is obvious, knows the stuff of which she is writing about. This is a great read and will become important to the history of that special region of France.
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
For lovers of books by Winifred Fortescue ("Perfume From Provence" being possibly her best-known title), this book is a must-read. Maureen Emerson's engaging writing style carries the reader along, and into the fascinating world of British and American expatriates living (and, in the end, surviving) in Provence between the two World Wars.
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