Blog
Video: The House on the Edge of the Cliff
Paris by the book
Paris in the spring is like no other time of year, no other place on earth. April in Paris.
Grace, my young English heroine in THE HOUSE ON THE EDGE OF THE CLIFF, who is trying to escape the scars… Continue reading
Paris 68 and a world of today
Forgive the blatant self-promotion of this post, but I am very excited. Here is the front cover for my new novel to be published on 16th May. It has been described as “Carol Drinkwater’s epic story of enduring love and… Continue reading
Miró at the Grand Palais in Paris
Ever since we moved to the south of France I have been a great fan of the artist, Joan Miró. There is an excellent collection of his work at the Foundation Maeght in St Paul de Vence, which is… Continue reading
The Camargue in France at Christmas-time
France has a coastline of approximately 7330 kilometres. Much of it is magnificent and many of those kilometres are uninhabited, wild even. I am a sea baby. The old adage that being by the sea does you good, clears your… Continue reading
HAPPY CHRISTMAS FROM US ALL AT THE OLIVE FARM
Apologies for the lack of Newsletter this side of the holidays. I am fiendishly busy. News after the holidays.
Here is Samson who some of you will know came to us as a rescue dog in April. See how he… Continue reading
The Secrets of the City of Metz, eastern France
Metz is a city in the northeast of France, Le Grand Est, capital of the Lorraine region, and one that I had never visited before last weekend. It sits alongside the winding Moselle river and is surprisingly inspiring.
I was… Continue reading
The Forgotten Summer
I am two novels along since I published THE FORGOTTEN SUMMER with Penguin in March 2016. For those who read my post last month you will know that my latest novel, THE HOUSE ON THE EDGE OF THE CLIFF, to… Continue reading
Paris, May 1968, the student’s revolution
These photos were taken by Bruno Barbey who was a twenty-five-year-old photographer in ’68 and a superb visual chronicler of the events of May 1968. He wrote later, “I went with Cartier-Bresson to buy helmets to protect us from the… Continue reading
The Panthéon welcomes a woman, Simone Weil
Every now and again I feel fortunate to stand face to face with a remarkable piece of history. Last week, while I was in Paris, I swung off Boulevard Saint-Michel and strode to the Panthéon where hangs a huge photographed… Continue reading
Stop Press
Hello Everyone,
If you are lucky enough to find yourself along the Côte d’Azur on Saturday 21st July, PLEASE come along and say hello at the English Book Centre in Valbonne any time between 3.30 and 6.30pm. There will be… Continue reading
La Cité du Vin
The Kings Arms in Askrigg was the real name of the pub we used as The Drovers Arms in All Creatures Great and Small. I returned there seven years ago when I was writing a feature for the Mail… Continue reading
Home To Vote
As I write this, planes from everywhere are disgorging bands of women into airports across the Republic who have flown home to Ireland to vote YES to the repeal of the Eighth Amendment. It is a vital vote in Ireland… Continue reading
Another way of marking time
Dates are on mind as this week as I have celebrated a big birthday. I was hunting about to see what of note in history occurred at around the same time as my birth. Instead, the internet led me to… Continue reading
The Ritz
“When I dream of an afterlife in heaven, the action always takes place at the Ritz, Paris.” Ernest Hemingway wrote. I wonder whether he would offer the same opinion today, or perhaps he would consider some of the latest episodes… Continue reading
The Bataclan
In less that two weeks time, 8th March, it will be the publication date for the paperback of THE LOST GIRL. I have already written here on our lovely HG site about the inspiration for the modern half of… Continue reading
Picasso’s Plates
Forgive the brevity of this post. I am up against several deadlines at present and I am very short of time. Again!
In these wintery days, there is little that can be more heartening than admiring some of the art… Continue reading
Provençal Christmas treats
We are in the South of France at our Olive Farm. The weather is warm, the sun is shining and we are able to work outside on the land until late afternoon.
There is no snow. Snow is a very… Continue reading
Giving thanks for Olives
I am trying to keep away from the computer at present to avoid this most obnoxious, recent invasion to Europe, “Black Friday”. Instead, I have been out on the land, working in the sunshine harvesting our olives. I… Continue reading
An almost forgotten Greek island
Earlier this year my husband, Michel, was invited to be on the jury of a small documentary film festival. In itself not an unusual request, but this one was to be held on a Greek island. “Excellent, “I said, “I… Continue reading