the village of Books: A wartime saga set in French Montolieu

Christine Rattray's debut novel is a wartime saga set in the ancient village of Montolieu which nestles in the heart of Cathar country in south west France. Spanning two world wars, The Village of the Books is aptly titled as, even today, the tiny back streets of Montolieu are home to more than a dozen fascinating antiquarian bookshops. The novel is a gripping fictional account of the imagined lives of the villagers during a tumultuous period. The author's characters inhabit stories based on the tragic real-life events associated with this troubled but beautiful area of France. They say it takes a village to raise a child, but it also takes some incredible people to make a village. This is the story of how the present day Montolieu may have come about.