Product Description

A beautifully controlled and powerful story of love and conscience, will and desire which begins when a mysterious young girl arrives to take up the post at the seedy Hotel du Lion D'Or in a small French town in the mid 1930s.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7050 in Books
• Published on: 1998-01-03
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 256 pages

From the Publisher
From the acclaimed author of Birdsong, Charlotte Gray and On Green Dolphin Street.

About the Author
Sebastian Faulks worked as a journalist for 14 years before taking up writing books full time in 1991. He is the author of A Trick of Light, The Girl at the Lion D'Or, A Fool's Alphabet, The Fatal Englishman, Birdsong, Charlotte Gray, On Green Dolphin Street and, most recently, Human Traces.

Customer Reviews

A pleasant surprise
Having read and enjoyed Birdsong and Charlotte Gray already, I for some reason wasn't expecting a great deal from The Girl at the Lion D'Or. I'm unsure why I thought this may be the case, but was pleased to realise my pre-conceptions were wrong.

The main characters, Anne and Hartmann are so convincing, I instantly became engrossed in this wonderful tale of desire, love and life itself. As always, SF sets a great emphasis on the political and historical context in which this story is set - France in the late 1930's.

I felt truly disappointed when I had to put the book down, and found it to be better than Charlotte Gray and almost as good as Birdsong - if you have enjoyed either of these, read it - if you have not read any other SF books, read it - it's now one of my favourite books and I am sure to read it again!

Hints of brilliance to come
Contrary to what some people seem to think, Birdsong was not a first novel. This book provides occasional flashes of what was to come in the Novel Faulks may spend his life trying to shake off.

It is a beautiful story, ably written by an author still working towards his best. Some of the 'set pieces' are sublime, some of the emotions are still with me two years after reading the book.

One thing I have always faulted Faulks for is his inability to end novels. 'Birdsong' ends weakly, and this literally just STOPS.

It is like being told the story by an old man in a cafe in provence who dies of a heart attack just as he is about to finish.

At least 'A Fool's Alphabet' had a natural ending at 'Z', but he can't only write on subjects that come with a ready made ending.

Overall The Girl at the Lion d'Or is probably the next best Faulks book for lovers of Birdsong. Worth while reading.

An endearing little story
Having read all of Sebastian Faulk's books now I can safely say I enjoyed none more that this one. Songbird and Charlotte Gray ooze Faulk's charming narrative style while delivering a harrowing and touching look at the arcane terror of wartime. In the girl from the Lion d'Or the reader is treated once more to this sophistocated plot scheme and character development. Faulk's treatment of love and sexual desire is again eye-opening , mixing the power of the soul with the weakness of the flesh. The story is developed at a faster rate than Charlotte Gray and the main characters Ann and Hartmann are presented to the reader in a way that every nuance of theirs is understood. The plot may seem a little thin to those used to the flowing themes of Birdsong but perseverance leads to a rewarding read topped of with a heart-tugging ending.