Julia Stuart explains how the north-west Dordogne inspired the writing of her first novel.
“The first three chapters secured me a publishing deal, and last year I took three months off work to return to the Périgord Vert and finish the novel. My temporary home was an ancient two-bedroom farmhouse, which had just been renovated and boasted, for the first time in its history, an indoor privy. Company was provided by a troupe of dormice that ran flat-footed around the attic at night, and got a cameo role in the book.” – from “Character Forming: How the North-west Dordogne Inspired First-time Novelist Julia Stuart,” by Julia Stuart, The Independent