Sunset House: More Perfume From Provence

MORE PERFUME FROM PROVENCE…

Winifred Fortescue and her husband, Sir John Fortescue, moved to Provence in the early 1930s. There they converted an old stone farmhouse into a graceful and idyllic home—the Domaine.

For two years after Sir John’s death, Lady Fortescue, still a comparatively young woman, continued to live in the Domaine, years that were not altogether happy. Then, visiting a friend, she came across a small, near-derelict house set amidst thickets of wild lavender, magenta gladioli, and trailing sweet peas. She fell instantly in love with it, and thus began a new and happy chapter of her life.

With the help of her dear friend and neighbour, ‘Mademoiselle’, she set about trying to purchase the property from a complicated and cunning ‘Mafia’ of local Provençals—and then, once more, she began the heart-warming, frustrating, funny, and altogether delightful process of transforming a small Provençal cottage into a home and creating a breathtaking garden down the side of the mountain.

She called it SUNSET HOUSE.