Why a Booktrail?
2000s: A woman leaves her coastal Greenland village to translate the works of an elderly Provençal poet
A Northern Light in Provence
What you need to know before your trail
Ilse Erlund is a translator who lives in a house on stilts along the west coast of Greenland. Isolated in her world by the sea, and restless, she convinces her publisher to pay for a trip to the country she has never visited but whose language she speaks fluently–France. Her mission: to translate the verses of Geoffrey Labaye, an elderly poet known as “the last living troubadour of Provence.”
Upon arrival in the medieval hilltop village of Beau Rivière, Ilse falls under the spell of the Provençal way of life–and the charming French poet.
Locations
Reset- Greenland
- A: West Coast of Greenland
- France - Provence
- B: Gordes
- C: Ménerbes
- D: Tourrettes-sur-Loup
Travel Guide
Belle Rivière (or Beau Rivière)
A fictional medieval hilltop village
The villages on the map are also hilltop villages in real life so you could imagine any of them are the one in the book. The ideal place where a Greenlandic translator experiences love and self-discovery and where she can contrast and compare the cold North with the sun-drenched South.
The idyllic, colourful and vibrant Provençal setting is perfect for a novel which makes you sit and reflect.
BookTrail Boarding Pass: A Northern Light in Provence
Destination/location: Greenland, Provence, Belle Rivière (or Beau Rivière) Author/guide: Elizabeth Birkelund Departure Time: 2000s
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