March 2021
The Water of the Hills: Jean de Florette and Manon des Sources
by Marcel Pagnol
Moderator:
Nina Seffusatti
Host:
Trish Feaster | The Travelphile
Book available from:
BookShop or Amazon
Back to Guide Collective Book Club
BOOK CLUB EVENTS
Recordings of these events will be available at the bottom of this page a few days after their scheduled dates.
• INTRODUCTION: Monday, March 1, 2021 | 11am PT | 2pm ET | 8pm GMT +1
Nina Seffusatti presents a live introduction with Trish Feaster of the French bestselling novel The Water of the Hills by Marcel Pagnol. Join Nina and Trish and be part of the conversation on the Guide Collective Facebook Page.
• GCBC MEMBERS’ DISCUSSION: Monday, March 29, 2021 | 11am PT | 2pm ET | 8pm GMT +1
GC Book Club Members will connect live with Nina and Trish via an exclusive Zoom session. Members will be able to share their own insights from the reading, ask about questions related to the book and French/Provençal culture, and interact with one another. Bring your book and feel free to enjoy your favorite snacks or drinks!
While the Zoom is only for GCBC Members, the discussion will be posted later on Facebook for the general public.
To become a new GCBC member and receive the Zoom link, please email GC at theguidecollective@gmail.com. Links will be sent by Sunday, March 28, 2021.
Note: Existing members who are already on the GCBC mailing list will automatically receive an email with the link.
• Throughout the month, share your reading progress with GCBC in the comments below on our social channels: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram.
ABOUT THE BOOK
The Water of the Hills, in French «L’Eau des Collines», is two novels : «Jean de Florette» and «Manon des Sources», first published 1963 and translated into English 1966. The story takes place in the 1920s in the fictional village Les Bastides Blanches in the countryside north of Marseille, a faithful picture of the real village La Treille, the scene for Pagnol’s long summer holidays, so lovingly described in his childhood memoirs.
The description of the natural environment, the village and the individuals is beautifully written, a loving, detailed, touching and humorous story. It is a powerful tale of family tragedy, greed, betrayal and revenge, an unforgettable story about human nature and the importance of water to sustain crops and life, and how water brings power to those who own the springs.
The hunchback Jean de Florette, a tax collector, arrives with his wife and daughter, Manon, to make a new life on the land he has inherited, but Cesar (Papet) and his nephew, Ugolin, of the great Soubeyran family block the spring on the hunchback's property. In the first novel Jean de Florette's battle to find water results in family misfortune, and in the second novel his daughter, Manon, the half-wild shepherd girl, will take her revenge.
In 1986 the French director Claude Berri made two films based on the novels. Jean de Florette and Manon des Sources were some of the most successful French films of all time. The actors Daniel Auteuil and Emmanuelle Béart were launched as stars, but the films also have two major French actors, Yves Montand and Gérard Depardieu.
(If you read French, consider reading it in the original; the language is not at all difficult, aside from some words and idioms in the provençal language.)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Marcel Pagnol was a writer, playwriter, filmmaker and producer. He was born February 28, 1895 in Aubagne, France and died in Paris 1974, and is buried in the cemetery down the hill from the village La Treille.
One of his first plays, «Topaze», a satire of upstartism performed at the Théâtre des Variétés in 1928, was very successful with more than 800 performances in Paris (performed on Broadway in 1930). He founded his own production company and film studios in 1934 in Marseille, and directed many films here with great French actors, with the idea of making it his "Provencal Hollywood".
After 1956, he moved away from cinema and theater, and began writing his childhood memories, notably «La Gloire de mon père» (My Father’s Glory) and «Le Château de ma mère» (My Mother’s Castle). The first volume was hugely successful, with more than 50.000 copies sold in one month. The second volume was at the top of the ranking of the betsellers of 1958.
Finally, in 1962, he published L'Eau des Collines, a novel in two volumes: Jean de Florette and Manon des Sources, inspired by his film Manon des Sources, produced ten years earlier and with his wife Jacqueline Pagnol playing Manon.
Pagnol said: "If I had been a painter, I would have done only portraits". Indeed he was a painter of human nature, a precursor of the psychological portrait and the enhancement of regional and Provençal culture. A fulfilled author, he received all the honors during his lifetime: success, money, fame and recognition from his family.
France tour guide Nina Seffusatti and GC Managing Editor Trish Feaster explore Marcel Pagnol’s two-part novel, The Water of the Hills. Learn about Pagnol’s personal history, his creative works, and about the landscape and culture of Provence.
As a supplement to this month’s GCBC read, The Water of the Hills by Marcel Pagnol, moderator Nina Seffusatti takes a deep dive into Provençal life and culture with tour guide and Provence native Isabelle Magny.
Moderator: Nina Seffusatti
Host: Trish Feaster
In our third edition of Guide Collective Book Club, tour guide and resident of Provence Nina Seffusatti leads the group discussion about Marcel Pagnol's *The Water of the Hills* with some of our GCBC members.
As a supplement to our GC Book Club selection for March 2021—The Water of the Hills by Marcel Pagnol—Nina has created this audio compilation of old and new ambiences to take you on a musical journey through the South of France.
