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A Castle in the Backyard: The Dream of a House in France | 
 enlarge | Authors: Betsy Draine, Michael Hinden
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Category: Book
List Price: $19.95
Buy New: $12.17
You Save: $7.78 (39%)
New (8) from $12.17
Avg. Customer Rating:  15 reviews
Sales Rank: 424647
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 322
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 8 x 5 x 0.7
ISBN: 0299179443
Dewey Decimal Number: 914
EAN: 9780299179441
ASIN: 0299179443
Publication Date: March 7, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
In one of the most beautiful river valleys in Europe, in the region known as Perigord 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 its course in this delightful memoir. They offer an intimate glimpse of a region little known to Americans—the Dordogne valley, its castles and prehistoric art, its walking trails and earthy cuisine—and describe the charms and mishaps of setting up housekeeping thousands of miles from home.
Along with the region’s terrain and culture, A Castle in the Backyard introduces us to the people of Perigord—the castle’s proprietor, the village children, the gossipy real-estate agent, the rascally mason, and the ninety-year-old widow with a tale of heartbreak. A celebration of a place and its people, the book also reflects on the future of historic Perigord as tourism and development pose a challenge to its graceful way of life.
Winner of the 2002 August Derleth Nonfiction Award, awarded by the Council for Wisconsin Writers
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| Customer Reviews: Read 10 more reviews...
 A Castle in the Backyard, The Dream of a House in France August 11, 2008
I am going on a trip to the Dordogne area so this book has given me a perfect insight as to what to expect of the land, villages, food and people. The author writes with honesty about their experience and relays what I believe is the joy of owning a home aboard and intertwining with another culture. I can feel the sun of the morning when she opens the shutters to the day.
Take a joyful journey to a French summer home August 17, 2006
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book is a charming joy. The authors' successful search for a modest summer home in France will take the reader on their own dreamy journey, exploring what it would be like to live in a French country village and to succeed in making friends with the villagers. Great insights into what rural French folks are really like, and how to make them your friends. The book also underscores the importance of finding what is truly important to you in your life.
 what a great story August 1, 2006
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
very entertaining book about buying a vacation home in France. I love sw france--the food, the villages, the people. This book is about an American couple from Wisconsin--looking for a house in SW France-- buying a house and then living there for the summers. They become friendly with the residents of the small village. They tell of how they were invited to dinner parties ---the food that was served-- the people the conversations etc......Its great! I really enjoyed it.
follow your dream! May 7, 2006
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I bought this book while we were looking for our own house in the Dordogne (most wonderful spot on earth -- go, see it for yourself!), and found it both comforting and helpful (as well as funny, touching and insightful). We found our own house a short time later (in Aubeterre sur Dronne, a village in the Charente just across the border from the Dordogne), and are giving this book to friends and family to help explain the experience and the lure of southwestern France.
 A realistic fantasy January 31, 2006
9 out of 11 found this review helpful
Like Mayle's YEAR in PROVENCE and Mayes' UNDER the TUSCAN SUN, this title follows a couple through the pleasures and pitfalls of buying a vacation home in a lovely, exotic locale. Draine and Hinden, both professors at UW Madison, purchase a home in southwest France. Much more low-key than the Mayle and Mayes books mentioned, CASTLE in the BACKYARD has considerably fewer pages devoted to construction pitfalls and perils as well as a cast of much less colorful characters. All in all, CASTLE seems like a much more realistic story than other tales of buying a dream home in a dream location, which in my opinion, made this tale a bit less compelling a read.
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