Trespass

In a silent valley stands an isolated stone farmhouse the Mas Lunel. Its owner is Aramon Lunel an alcoholic so haunted by his violent past that hes become incapable of all meaningful action letting his hunting dogs starve and his land go to ruin. Meanwhile his sister Audrun alone in her modern bungalow within sight of the Mas Lunel dreams of exacting retribution for the unspoken betrayals that have blighted her life. Into this closed Cevenol world comes Anthony Verey a wealthy but disillusioned antiques dealer from London. Now in his sixties Anthony hopes to remake his life in France and he begins looking at properties in the region. From the moment he arrives at the Mas Lunel a frightening and unstoppable series of consequences is set in motion. Two worlds and two cultures collide.
Ancient boundaries are crossed taboos are broken a violent crime is committed. And all the time the Cevennes hills remain as cruel and seductive as ever unforgettably captured in this powerful and unsettling novel which reveals yet another dimension to Rose Tremains extraordinary imagination. See Judys Review See Richards Review See Rose Tremain talk about her book Reading Group Questions Read our exclusive Q&A with Rose Tremain Write a Review for Trespass Judys Review Anthony Verey is a successful antiques dealer in his sixties and has become deeply disillusioned with his shallow glossy London life. His business once right at the top of the antique market tree is failing. He is conscious that his reputation and standing in his high society world is nosediving fast and he simply cannot
stand to lose the carefully-acquired burnish of success. So unmarried and with no children gloomily aware that he is approaching old age he decides to visit his older sister who lives in the Cevennes region of France. Veronica is a moderately successful landscape gardener there; her partner Kitty a mediocre painter with dreams of artistic glory. Anthony decides to make a new start in France and falls in love with a beautiful old house which the owner has put up for sale. Here the story becomes very dark. For the owner - an alcoholic old farmer who has let his land go to rack and ruin - also has a sister; a proud and vengeful woman who is bitterly angry with her brother for wanting to sell their familys historic home to make money (which he refuses to share with her). What follows is a
compelling murder mystery set in this ancient and mysterious part of France. Its themes of sibling love and hate family dysfunction ageing and bitter envy make it compulsive reading. Trespass is beautifully written with a terrific story and a wonderful sense of place. Richards Review "