Advance Praise

A Castle in the Backyard
The Dream of a House in France
Besty Draine and Michael Hinden

"Charming, well-written, and droll. A Castle in the Backyard is a must read for every Francophile who yearns to do what Betsy Draine and Michael Hinden did—find and buy an old stone house in France (underneath a castle to boot), get to know the neighbors, eat good food, drink good wine (well, not always such good wine!), and keep their love affair with France going year after year. The authors experience some amusing cultural misunderstandings, none of which keep these two determined ‘américains’ with a dream from making steadfast French friends and becoming part and parcel of the village life of Castelnaud."
—Harriet Welty Rochefort, author of French Toast and French Fried

"A delightful read from beginning to end. This account of buying a second home in France, spending summers there and being immersed in village life is completely unpretentious. Draine and Hinden are people you'd want to know, writing about a place you'd like to visit and neighbors you'd hope to call your own. Most of us can only dream about owning a vacation home abroad. They make it seem accessible to anyone, as they describe their cautious approach to buying a house in France and then invite you inside its soul. The charms and challenges of summers in a changing medieval village come to life on every page."
—Nancy Stohs, food editor of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel "