Chateau and Country Life in France

"Chateau and Country Life in France" by Mary King Waddington is a historical snapshot of French aristocratic society in the early 1900s. It is a personal story of life in the French countryside to show the customs, family relationships, and tranquil but strict lives of the upper class. Waddington gives readers her point of view of châteaux, everyday events, and regional government. She describes arriving at a château near the forest of Villers-Cotterets, charmed by its beauty and architecture. The story tells about her husband and the château's old owners, showing their simple existence. Waddington compares her lively American past to the more serious French culture. The start shows the everyday routines, dinner talks, and meetings with people from the village and gives a base for learning about early 20th-century France.