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Learning to be French (and Failing)
A New Zealander, a tiny village & an ancient stone house
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Check link for latest rating. ( 151 ratings, 12 reviews)
Brief Description
Anna Bibby owned a successful art gallery in New Zealand until one day, on holiday in France, she bought a falling-down house in a picturesque medieval village. So began the process of renovating her beautiful old house which, of course, wasn't without its issues and roadblocks....
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Learning to be French (and Failing)
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See moreWhat happens when an art gallery owner from New Zealand buys a dilapidated French house on a whim?
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Description
Anna Bibby owned a successful art gallery in New Zealand until one day, on holiday in France, she bought a falling-down house in a picturesque medieval village.
So began the process of renovating her beautiful old house which, of course, wasn't without its issues and roadblocks. Anna didn't speak the language, she didn't know anyone, and her understanding of French culture was limited.
Despite all this, she managed to find artisans to help, survived the brutal winter in the unrenovated house, and the locals took her under their wing.
Anna tells her story in a humorous, warm, and generous way. She takes real delight in the place she has found herself in. She has an ongoing relationship with a handsome Portuguese stonemason, experiences doomed attempts at cooking French food, and blithely blunders into local French culture, with amusing results.
Beautifully illustrated with gorgeous photography, Learning to be French (and Failing) is both an engaging read and a beautiful book to pore over, inspiring dreams of your own European adventures.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9781991006073
Publisher: Allen & Unwin Aotearoa New Zealand
Format: Hardback
Date Published: 18 October 2022
Country: New Zealand
Imprint: A&U New Zealand
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Width: 170.0mm
Height: 240.0mm
Weight: 818g
Pages: 264
About the Author
Anna Bibby was born in Wellington. She graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Elam School of Fine Arts at the University of Auckland, then gained a teaching diploma. She worked as an exhibitions officer at Hawke's Bay Art Museum & Gallery in Napier, then at the Govett-Brewster Gallery in New Plymouth. From 1991 to 1995 she was the director of Claybrook Gallery, then Anna Bibby Gallery in Parnell, Auckland. In 2010 she moved to France, where she now lives in the Gironde.
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