Trevor Dolby

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One Place de l’Eglise

Penguin Shop: 3 Clothbound Classics for £33

A timeless story of what it is that makes France irresistible

He writes with genuine emotion . . . He writes beautifully about life in a French village. The most enjoyable parts of this book are his descriptions of the French countryside

Elegant, captivating, and sprinkled with self-deprecating humour. Dolby is a writer of abundant talent.

Wonderful. Exquisitely written, it is by turns laugh-out-loud funny then suddenly, unexpectedly and profoundly moving, wistful and touching: a homage to a place, to magical moments in time. An utter joy and a treat to read from the first to last pages

James Holland, author of Brothers in Arms

An unashamed love letter to France from someone who deeply admires the country

This love affair between an English family and a very old French house is by turns turbulent, lyrical and tragic. With often embattled enthusiasm Dolby describes the process of making 1 Place de l'Eglise part of the family. Enriched by an insatiable, ever-eager curiosity, he takes us down many a side alley, adding another dimension to the timeless story of what it is that makes France irresistible.

A Year in Provence for the 21st century

One day a Londoner and his wife went a little crazy and bought a crumbling house in deepest Languedoc. It was love at first sight. 
 
Slowly the family make this house a home, they get to know the locals and these busy English discover slower joys - the scent of thyme and lavender, the warmth of sun on stone walls, nights hung with stars, silence in the hills, the importance of history and memory, the liberation of laughter and the secrets of fig jam. 
 
One Place de l'Eglise is a love letter - to a house, a village, a country - from an outsider who discovers you can never be a stranger when you're made to feel so at home. Old houses never belong to people. People belong to them.

Escape to Languedoc in this poignant and transportative true account of life in a beautifully restored house in the south of France 
 
'Wonderful, exquisitely written, laugh-out-loud funny, profoundly moving. An utter joy and a treat to read from first to last' JAMES HOLLAND 
 
'Dolby writes with genuine emotion. He writes beautifully about life in a French village' DAILY MAIL 
___________ 
 
An Englishman's home is his castle. But what if it's French? 
 
One Place de L'Eglise is a thousand-year-old Languedoc ruin. Leaky, crumbling, lacking basic amenities, it is ignored by the local villagers. But for Londoners Trevor and Kaz it is love at first sight. Over the years they turn the house into a home, navigating floods and freezing winters. Here, these two English find their place - their bar, their baker, their builder (ignore him at your peril). 
 
And gradually they learn slower joys - scents of thyme and lavender, warm sun on stone, nights hung with stars, silence in the hills, the secrets of fig jam. 
 
One Place de L'Eglise is a love letter - to a house, a village, a country - from an outsider who discovers you can never be a stranger when you're made to feel so at home. 
___________ 
 
'Irresistible, a timeless story' MICHAEL PALIN 
 
 'Elegant, captivating, and sprinkled with self-deprecating humour. Dolby is a writer of abundant talent' PETER KERR, author of Snowball Oranges

Trevor Dolby spent thirty-five years riding his luck publishing and editing books. When he was promoted beyond his talents he bought a house in France. He now lives in the Languedoc and London fending off visitors.

One Place de l’Eglise

A Year in Provence for the 21st century

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About Trevor Dolby

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