A Provençal Childhood

Every year, thousands of tourists visit Les Baux-de-Provence, a rock outcrop dominated by a ruined castle that overlooks the Val d'Enfer. In 1924, when Mireille Davis was born, the village was still home to some 200 inhabitants, a mix of artists, poets, and families with roots deep in the Provençal soil. Many of them were very poor. People spent hours every day foraging for firewood. Meat was not in rich supply, and neither was water for bathing. Private "motor cars" were rare, but tourists trickled in, providing an income for Mireille's mother, who ran the parking concession, and her stepfather, who looked after the castle. This enchanting memoir provides a rare account of life in a Provençal village between the wars. (Buyers will receive an email with a link to the PDF.)