From Publishers Weekly
Provence has enthralled centuries of writers, from the troubadours, Petrarch, Nostradamus and Frederic Mistral to Sade, Flaubert, Camus, Cather, Beckett and Woolf. Daniel Vitaglione (A Dictionary of Idioms: French-American, American-French), who lives in the region, tracks its eminent history in A Literary Guide to Provence. He provides information both practical (hotels and restaurants) and cultural (festival listings), plus some background on the region's language, Proven?al, still spoken "in remote villages and among the older population." Even better, however, Vitaglione provides a town-by-town tour of literary-historical sites: the abandoned monastery outside of Saint-Tropez, for example, where Guy de Maupassant encountered an elderly couple who had been in hiding since their youthful elopement. 15 maps, 35 b&w photos; 36 color photos not seen by PW. ( Sept.)
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Vitaglione, the author of several books on French literature and language (The Literature of Provence, McFarland, 2000), takes the reader on a literary ramble of Provence, visiting the land that inspired countless authors, both native-born and foreign. Colette, Virginia Woolf, Samuel Beckett, and F. Scott Fitzgerald are just a few of the better-known literary visitors who wrote fiction, poetry, and letters about Provence and its people. However, Provence has also produced many regional authors, most of whom are not as well known abroad, including Fr d ric Mistral, who championed the use of the local Proven al language. Excerpts of letters and diaries and examples of poetry are included, both in the original French or Proven al and translated into English. Practical travel information is minimal, most often consisting of hotel and restaurant names and their phone numbers. The black-and-white photographs are mostly portraits, although the publisher has indicated that 36 color photographs will be included in the final edition. There are better guides for planning a trip to Provence, such as those by DK and Fodor's, but this is a pleasant and inspiring armchair trip for anyone who has seen Provence and loved it. For public libraries. Linda M. Kaufmann, Massachusetts Coll. of Liberal Arts Lib., North Adams
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.
