The Housemaid's Daughter has been translated into French and was published in France in May of this year, under the title Une Chanson pour Ada.
At the time, I wondered how my story, set in the stark reaches of the Karoo, would appeal to a French audience. There are, of course, many connections between France and South Africa, especially in the Western Cape winelands around Franschhoek, where French Huguenots settled more than three hundred years ago. But less so in the deeper, dryer interior of the country.
Well, I am delighted to say that it appears to have struck a chord. Or at least that is what I am gathering from the comments that are popping up in the great cyber space that we all inhabit.
For example, the French website of a major internet vendor is showing an enthusiastic number of reviews for Chanson.
And if I was worried that French readers would be disconcerted by the semi-desert countryside where the book is set, here is a rousing - and suitably lush - quote that I spotted:
(with apologies for the lack of accents)
Une plongee eblouissante et marveilleuse dans les paysages superbes et desertiques de l'Afrique du Sud...
A dazzling and marvellous plunge into the superb desert landscape of South Africa...
Formidable!
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