Book cover of Caesar's Vast Ghost: Aspects of Provence

Book description

Lose yourself in this classic travelogue evoking the idyllic South of France by the king of travel writing and real-life family member of The Durrells in Corfu.

'Full of stories, landscapes, comedy, history, heresies, animals, food, drink, and songs of the Midi.' Patrick Leigh Fermor

'A richly characteristic bouillabaisse by…

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Why read it?

1 author picked Caesar's Vast Ghost as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Provence has inspired hundreds of books, but Lawrence Durrell captures better than most what he calls its 'real nature'. His book is both personal response (he lived for many years at Sommières, north of Nimes) and historical reflection, particularly on the Roman legacy – a legacy that includes wine and olive oil, perennial staples of the Provençal table. Although Caesar occupied the whole of France, nowhere is the Roman imprint more omnipresent than in Provence; living near Carpentras, we daily dreamed of finding our fortune in an ancient Roman coin, shining through the dust of a lonely track. Durrell's language…

From Barbara's list on gastronomic Provence.

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Book cover of The Winnowing

The Winnowing by Patrick Garner,

We know the Greek gods from mythology, and assume their stories ended there. They did not. This is a compelling new story about the Olympic gods in our century. True to form, they continue to challenge our modern morality. Now they appear to prevent humans from discovering immortality.

The Fates—three…

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