Over Strand and Field

A donkey playing in the courtyard of Chambord brings an unexpected note to Gustave Flaubert's account of travel through Brittany. Empty galleries and crumbling decorations lead him to consider the palace's former inhabitants and its neglected condition. His attention moves from architecture to gardens, river traffic and the small details of carved figures. The chapter headings set out a route that includes Carnac, Quimper, Brest, Saint-Malo and Mont Saint-Michel, giving the book a succession of places to examine.

Local behaviour receives the same close attention as stonework and scenery. At Pont-l'Abbé, Flaubert watches a dance whose lines break apart and form again while musicians pause for cider. He then notices the matching opinions and unequal manners of a police official and his subordinate. These scenes show a travel writer interested in how people move, speak and display authority. For readers drawn to personal observations of France, the account offers descriptions shaped by a critical eye and dry humour.