Love Letter to France: Novel Idea

Carol’s latest book has been released – and she’s already on the hunt for fresh inspiration…

Summer the arrival of guests; brilliant sun-swept colours; the sense of exhilaration. This year is extra special because I have a new novel published, One Summer in Provence. However, a new novel means I am writing the next one. Right now, I am deep in a story still being shaped, peopled with half-born characters and their locations. It requires research. Travelling to unearth the details. This novel-in-progress is set in mid-20th-century France, along the shores of the Mediterranean. It begins in Marseille, one of my favourite cities and a treasure chest if you are sleuthing history. There is the early-morning fish market, the winding lanes of its evocatively shabby old town, several museums recounting the tragedies of its Second World War story…. exciting, if sometimes shocking revelations.

An inspiration for artists

Over the past ten days I’ve turned my attention further west, motoring slowly from Marseille to the Côte Vermeille and the French-Spanish border. Stopping this side of the frontier, I chanced upon Collioure, originally a Roman town. Paul Signac first visited in 1887 when the village was only accessible by boat. Here he began his Neo-Impressionist paintings, and the results are stunning. In 1905, Henri Matisse arrived. Both were enchanted by this jewel, this sleepy fishing village with its fortified royal castle/citadel, its pebbly beachfront, churches, chapels and terraced houses of many hues. Matisse’s paintings from Collioure are awash with colour and sunlight and the promise of hot, lazy days.

Other artists followed in the footsteps of these two giants. This remote haven quickly gained notoriety and its 20th-century history is the history of Europe: two world wars impeded the growth of the artists’ colonies. However, there were those who wanted to settle this far south to escape Fascism. Others hoped to cross the border into Spain, a mere 15 miles away. The fear, the oppression, changed the tone of the artwork. It grew darker.

A writer’s journey

I could write a novel based exclusively on this enchanting little town, We stayed at the elegant hideaway, Les Roches Brunes. It hugs the cliffs and has the Mediterranean directly at its feet. Sitting out on our balcony watching the yachts and fishing boats duck in and out of the harbour was balm to my soul.

Matisse, of course, ended his days in our neck of the woods, in Nice. His last great masterpiece was the Rosary Chapel in Vence a must-see. A 20-minute climb into the Pyrénées, winding through a land of vertiginous vineyards with breathtaking views and roads that plunge to the glistening sea, we were delivered into the border town of Cerbère, which is fascinating. Who knew that France has a competition, ‘write a letter to your local bell tower? And a woman from this outback post won the national award. Cerbère has been the Franco-Spanish frontier since 1695. In 1841 a border post was erected to eradicate smuggling with the Spanish. Today both countries are within Europe, so the customs buildings are derelict, scrawled with graffiti. Cerbère’s sprawling railway station, a vital escape route before and during WWII, was partially designed by Gustave Eiffel. And don’t miss the solar-panelled lighthouse: it marks the exact location where the mountains meet the Med, and was the boundary of ancient Gaul.

How I love border towns! Cerbère is particularly inspiring, rich in secrets. I’m home now for summer. Fingers crossed, my writer’s pen will flow with an abundance of French-Mediterranean discoveries.

Carol Drinkwater is an award-winning actress and the best-selling author of The Olive Farm series. Read about her latest novel, One Summer in Provence.

From France Today Magazine

Lead photo credit : © CAROL DRINKWATER, PUBLIC DOMAIN