A Week at St-andré (The Sparrow Trilogy)

Old Sir Julian Sparrow is suddenly killed. His son, Vivian, inherits the baronetcy, the fortune and-a hostile half-brother he didn't know existed. Summer, 1935. In the village of St-André-le-Placide a ten-year-old boy's racing pigeons and two tormented women set events in motion that lead to murder even as a "grand passion" is born. In the ancient Chateau Sir Vivian Sparrow and his sister Angela are greeted with graciousness, brooding hostility and by Angela's chic and adorable friend who drives a dangerously fast Bugatti. A Week at St-André vividly contrasts the greed and cruelty of one man to the noble spirit of his nemesis; the hopelessness of one wife to the compassionate understanding of another. This elegant story, set in the Atlantic coastal region of France, evokes the styles and foibles of the aged Third Republic. Two children, separated by social class, become bound to one another as witnesses to a terrifying incident. The fashions, cuisine and motor-cars in the story impart rich detail to a thoroughly convincing creation of time and place. As counterpoint to the book's somber mysteries, two charming patrician personalities pursue their exuberant sensual pleasure unfettered by the mores of the time.