La Vie: A year in rural France

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Six Weeks: The Short and Gallant Life of the British Officer in the First World War: The Life and Death of the British Officer in the First World War (2011)

La Vie: A year in rural France by John Lewis-Stempel | Goodreads

I am struggling to work out the purpose of the book by an author of his calibre. The 'I started a new life in France' genre is an overcrowded market and this book brings nothing new to that genre. Cliches abound. The depth and intensity of his earlier works is nowhere to be seen. His latest work, La Vie, (2023) describes his experience in 'la France profonde'. [7] Personal life [ edit ] He wanted to be self-sufficient, to make his own wine and learn the secrets of truffle farming. Buying an old honey-coloured limestone house with bright blue shutters, the Lewis-Stempels began their new life. Over that first year, John falls in love with the French countryside and living the good life – or as the French say, La Vie. The hare, a night creature and country-dweller, is a rare sight for most people. We know them only from legends and stories. They are shape-shifters, witches’ familiars and symbols of fertility. They are arrogant, as in Aesop’s The Hare and the Tortoise, and absurd, as in Lewis Carroll’s Mad March Hare. In the absence of observed facts, speculation and fantasy have flourished. But real hares? What are they like?I believe this to be one of John's best yet. Really enjoyed the whole read. Absolutely lovely writing (as usual) and a real sense of place, lifestyle , culture and self sufficiency. I will dip in and out of this for that feel good factor for times to come I think. I first heard of Lewis-Stempel through my subscription to The Times newspaper. He writes some of the nature watch pieces.

John Lewis-Stempel review – a fortress against The Wood by John Lewis-Stempel review – a fortress against

A clear-eyed and unsentimental, yet utterly beguiling immersion in La France Profonde, keenly observed and beautifully told. Felicity Cloake, author of One More Croissant for the Road

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An important book on several levels... Read a few sentences out loud, wherever you are.' Rosamund Young In England, the song of the chiffchaff heralds spring. In la France profonde the signs are more exotic, as John Lewis-Stempel discovers one February morning when his horse crashes through an electrified fence and bolts into a walnut orchard. For many years a farmer in England, John Lewis-Stempel yearned once again to live in a landscape where turtle doves purr and nightingales sing, as they did almost everywhere in his childhood. He wanted to be self-sufficient, to make his own wine and learn the secrets of truffle farming. And so, buying an old honey-coloured limestone house with bright blue shutters, the Lewis-Stempels began their new life as peasant farmers. For many years a farmer in England, John Lewis-Stempel yearned to live in a rural landscape as he did in childhood.