A Wedding in Provence by Katie Fforde is set in the autumn of 1963. We meet 20-year-old Alexandra, who is en route via Paris to her finishing school in Switzerland. She is an orphan who has led a comfortable life, cared for from afar by her extended family.
While in Paris she hears of a job offer and decides that her cooking skills and experience make her the perfect candidate. A job in Paris sounds like just what she needs. A quick telegram to her family and she is off. How can they refuse her working for a Count?
It turns out that she is headed to Provence as nanny to a family that live in a Chateau, where all is not as perfect as it could be. The father works away a lot, and she is left alone to nanny, keep house, and tutor the children. To help her cope, she calls in a special friend – gay not being well-accepted during this time-period. There follows a tale of wonderful meals, creative lessons, and excursions for the newly created family unit. Of course, there is romance as well, and not just for Alexander.
The book has all the characters - a handsome Count, children who can be willful that are in need of love and care, a demanding ex-wife, an austere Granny who has a romantic past and more. The author keeps to the period, making for a delightful read, without the cell phones and high tech that we have become so used to.
Fforde lives in Stroud in Gloucestershire, UK, with her family. She is married with three children – some of them grown up. Her style of writing can be viewed as romantic; she is proud to be the Chair of the Romantic Novelists Association. Other books by the same author: A Summer at Sea, Paradise Fields, Going Dutch, and some 24 other books.
An easy, fun weekend / holiday read that I enjoyed and can recommend. - Christine E Hann
A Wedding in Provence
is published by Penguin Random House UK – 2021: ISBN: 978-1-780-89761-5
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