A Castle in the Backyard: The Dream at a House in France

by Betsy Draine

Book Overview

In one of the most beautiful river valleys in Europe, in the region known as P rigord in southwest France, castles crown the hills, and the surrounding villages seem carved all of a piece out of the local stone. In 1985, in the shadow of one of these medieval castles, Betsy Draine and Michael Hinden fell in love with a small stone house that became their summer home.
Like any romance, this one has had its ups and downs, and Betsy and Michael chart...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0299179400
• ISBN13: 9780299179403
• Release Date: September 2002
• Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 0.98 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.2" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

This book gives the reader the "real" view of France and the French

The title might lead the reader to think that this book is about how to buy real estate in France. It does provide some very helpful tips in that regard, but the book goes well beyond buying real estate. The authors provide insight into how cultures can interreact. The book is an absolute must for anyone interested in the nuances of the French as well as getting eyewitness tour of the Dordogne region. The book is educational, poignant at times, funny at times and always a joy to read.

Sharing the Fantasy of a Home in France - Excellent!

Having driven through the Dordogne and being a closet Francophile, I was thrilled to read this book. A very easy and pleasant look at life in the French countryside. It's not so much about buying a home and the perils therein; it's not a string of amusing anecdotes -- it's really a wonderful memoir of finding a second home and making the community a second family. I'm ready to go buy my own piece of the dream in this gorgeous and intriguing part of France. If you are interested in French country living or the thought process of establishing a second home in Europe, you will enjoy this book.

A CASTLE IN THE BACKYARD

What a total delight this book is. After five years of visits to Provence, I decided on exploring the Dordogne. None of the guidebooks on the market connected me so much with an area as did this beautifully written volume by Betsy Draine and Michael Hinden. Their descriptive writing had me share their agonizing search for their dream house, slowly getting to know their neighbors, and especially their frustration of seeing the idyllic village turn into a tourist mecca. The ending came too swiftly. I could have enjoyed a few more chapters, a sort of never-ending story. Perhaps we will someday be blessed with a continuing volume.

A richly textured remembrance of a home and a land

A Castle In The Backyard: The Dream Of A House In France is a wonderful memoir of Betsy Draine and Michael Hinden (both of whom are Professors of English at the University of Wisconsin-Madison), who found their summer dream home to be a little stone house in the shadow of a great French castle. A Castle In The Backyard is highly recommended reading as a richly textured remembrance of a home and a land steeped in centuries of tradition and lore, as well as the eclectic and diverse variety of the people who embody its spirit.

Excellent armchair travel

For many people, the opportunity to travel the world is one of the great pleasures of life. You are able to experience different cultures, sample gastronomic delights, and see how others live. The ultimate adventure is to actually purchase a house in another country and live there part of the year. Most of us who regard a trip to Pewaukee or Door County as an exotic vacation will never experience this firsthand. We must content ourselves with books in the armchair travel genre. Authors such as Frances Mayes and Peter Mayle have enchanted readers for years with their adventures abroad. Recently two married local authors have released a book that stands with the very best of these travel books.Betsy Draine and Michael Hinden are professors of English at UW-Madison. In 1985 they purchased a small house in the Perigord region of France. Every year since they have used it as their summer home. The end result of this is their excellent book, A Castle in the Backyard: The Dream of a House in France. It is filled with delightful stories of the village of Castelnaud, of fixing up their house, of eating the local delicacies, and of the charming inhabitants of the village. Essentially everything that is good about a travel memoir is in this book. There is great humor to be found here as well as perceptive thoughts about France and the French people. If you a traveler yourself or a fan of great travel literature, you owe it to yourself to read A Castle in the Backyard.