AustLit

'What better way for a family to start the trip of a lifetime to Europe than the magic of Disneyland? Tales of dark deeds shiver at the Tower of London. The excitement at Hamleys toys gives way to a campervan odyssey. Think Dover Castle and Roman ruins. Friends from every country play with Neville and Clara’s children, language differences not a problem. All too soon, Clara’s life twists from love, to loss and grief. An advanced Alliance Française French class helps her brave the lows of widowhood with a new man, Antoine. At Montpellier, France, Marcel Odier guides them on a cobblestone walk through a medieval village. His daughter, Solenne, is strangely silent – a puzzle to Antoine, given the teenager’s usual vivacity. Cholet offers a sound and light spectacular. Horses in caparisons, a castle in flames and a merry-go-round spinning on a lake. Florence brings a fifteenth century football match with colourful costumes, a game the likes of which they’d never seen before… An incomprehensible tragedy lurks in the wings.' (Publication summary)