A Fine Romance: Falling in Love With the English Countryside
Travel writing at its best by Susan Branch, New York Times best selling author, in a A Fine Romance, Falling in Love with the English Countryside. This charming book is part love story, part travel guide ~ a hand-written and watercolored diary/journal of Branch's six-day transatlantic crossing on board the Queen Mary 2 and two-month ramble through the backroads of rural England.
   There are over three hundred photos, countless watercolor illustrations, wonderful quotes, recipes, a book list, a movie list, hand-drawn maps and so much more.  Travel with Susan as she makes her way through wildflower hedgerows to visit the homes and gardens of her literary and artistic heroes including Beatrix Potter and Jane Austen. It's a travel guide that will help you plan a trip of your own, lovely for the armchair traveler because Susan really does take you there, and perfect for all Downton Abbey anglophiles.  When you are finished, go to Susan's website where there is an interactive Appendix to the book .... you can experience driving across the Dales with Susan's own videos and find links to everything she writes about, the cottages and gardens you will want to see yourself.
   A Fine Romance is book three of a Susan Branch trilogy. Book One is
The Fairy Tale Girl, followed by
Martha's Vineyard, Isle of Dreams, and then
A Fine Romance, Falling in Love with the English Countryside. All three are hand-lettered, watercolored, filled with photos, recipes and quotes and, as Susan says, "as much magic as I could possibly stuff between two covers." Bon Voyage!