YES. On a rainy night in the 1930s, Anne Louvet appears at the run-down Hotel du Lion d'Or in the village of Janvilliers. I have high regard for Sebastian Faulks, who totally captured me with his magnum opus Birdsong hence why I have high expectations for this novel. This is a historical romance novel, the first of Sebastian Faulks’ ‘French Trilogy’, the other two being ‘Birdsong’ and ‘Charlotte Grey’, and all three are set in France, during the Great War, the Inter-War period and the Second World War. The writing was lovely and the characters vivid. By the time I got to end everything he'd been working up to fell in to place and I found myself thinking it was a really beautiful and clever work of art. There were moments, however, when I thought it at best perverted and at worst, rubbish. "–The Sunday Times (London) From the author of the international bestseller Birdsong, comes a haunting historical novel of passion, loss, and courage set in France between the two world wars.This Vintage Original edition marks its first appearance in the United States. This Vintage Original edition marks its first appearance in the United States. A gentle but sad love story from one of my favourite authors. The girl at the Lion d'Or by Sebastian Faulks. Review of Sebastian Faulks' 'The Girl at the Lion d'Or'.. I probably shouldn't have begun my Faulks reading with this book. The Girl at the Lion d'Or Book Summary and Study Guide. Danielle Evans was just 26 when she released her short story collection Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self in 2010, a multi-award-winning... From the author of the international bestseller. Our heroine, Anne Louvert, has just arrived from Paris to take a job in an Inn, and is forced to piece together a new life for herself after being affected by war, and the suicide of her mother. The book started off in an interesting manner, but went downhill rapidly for me. She has had a childhood of hardship and tragedy precipitated by a mutinous event in World War I involving her father. When it comes to Sebastian Faulks' work I have, for no reason, found myself reading most of his novels in reverse order with this, his second book, one of the few left that I had not read. The Girl at the Lion D'or: | | The Girl at the Lion d'Or | | | | ... World Heritage Encyclopedia, the aggregation of the largest online encyclopedias available, and the most definitive collection ever assembled. Plot … The problem?, he is married (haven't we been here about a million times before), and also served in action. The character of Mattlin is a truly vicious villain, while the mood is down-beat -- in fact, mock-Gothic in the Poe-inspired sub-plot involving the renovation of the Manor House. Rachel Wagstaff's dramatisation of the novel by Sebastian Faulks, set in France during the interwar years. His wife, Christine, knows him better, and in the end, its no real contest for her to keep her husband and see off her latest rival. We are introduced to Anne Louvet, a twenty-something girl with a secrect. She is seeking a job and a new life, one far removed from the awful injustices of her past. Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read. The set-up sounds good, but things started to slowly go down hill. Together with Birdsong and Charlotte Gray, it makes up Faulks' France Trilogy. The battle of Verdun and the French army mutinies a year later were momentous events for the French nation. 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