Next stop on our European Journey - Honfleur, France

Honfleur Harbour

The name Honfleur has always conjured up to me the beautiful boat and harbour paintings of Monet. I had not realized that Monet was not the only impressionist painter to find inspiration in this lovely little historic town at the mouth of the Seine. Gustave Courbet, Eugène Boudin, Claude Monet and Johan Jongkind, and others created the école de Honfleur (Honfleur School) which, in turn, contributed to the appearance of the Impressionist movement in art. I knew Honfleur only through the paintings of Monet I had seen in the Musee D’Orsay in Paris. The reality was a revelation.

St. Catherine's Bell Tower

Church of St. Catherine's

The town was not as all as I expected it to 

Timbered houses

be. I knew the dreamy pastel boats were probably a thing of the past, but I had not expected to find the town itself of such great historic interest. At first sight, Honfleur looks as if it has been plucked out of Tudor England. It is full of crooked, lanes winding through tall half-timbered houses. Of course this does not seem so absurd when taken in the context of history. Ownership of this part of France flipped back and forth between the English and the French many times. And before that, the Romans were here. Of particular interest is St. Catherine’s Church, the largest wooden church in France. When they built it in the 12th Century, the townspeople constructed the bell tower as a separate building, so that if it was struck by lightning, the entire church wouldn’t burn down.

Bridge Over Seine at Honfleur

At the mouth of one of France’s most important rivers, the Seine, Honfleur was a natural harbor for international trade. It was from Honfleur that Samuel de Champlain sailed in 1608 to the New World to found the trading posts that became Montreal and Quebec City, in Canada.

Today, nearby Le Havre has superseded Honfleur in importance as the harbor from which international trade is transacted, leaving tiny Honfleur still relatively untouched in its medieval beauty.  Although an impressive modern bridge now spans the mouth of the Seine and a state of the art set of locks now protect Honfleur’s harbor, the real beauty of this town lies in its sense of the past.

The wars of the French revolution and the First Empire, and in particular the continental blockade, caused the ruin of Honfleur. It only partially recovered during the 19th century with the trading of wood from northern Europe. Trade was however limited by the silting up of the entrance to the port and development of the modern port at Le Havre. The port however still functions today.

On August 25th, 1944, Honfleur was liberated together by the British army - 19th Platoon of the 12th Devon's, 6th Air Landing Brigade, the Belgian army (Brigade Piron) on 25 August 1944, and the Canadian army without any combat.

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Following are my own published novels. For further details about my books and all my reviews of books I have read, go to my Goodreads page.
 

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COMING SOON!  Romantic Road, is a romantic thriller set in Europe.  It is due for release in late 2014 by Wild Rose Press!  Stay tuned.


• Romantic Road ~ Takes you on a chase across Europe with our heroine who finds herself in a series of precarious situations.  She encounters a handsome stranger, but is he helping her, or is he dangerous?  This story has hair raising suspense, romance and a sprinkling of humour

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 • The Memory of Roses ~ The story of a secret and how it impacts two generations of the McQuaid family.  It unfolds on the beautiful Greek Island of Corfu and is a tale complete with beautiful and passionate women, handsome and fiery men, and an intriguing mystery.

"The Memory of Roses by Blair McDowell is simply an incredibly lovely story. It’s also a love story, and a story about finding yourself, and about closure. The theme running through the book is “all’s well that ends well.”  --  Marlene, Reading Reality

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 • Delighting In Your Company ~ Delighting In Your Company is a paranormal romance set on an exotic Caribbean island, featuring a handsome ghost and an adventurous heroine who travels back in time to solve a mystery!

"Delighting In Your Company is a unique paranormal romance that brings together island folklore, history, and mystery with an unlikely romance between the past and present that had me going through a torrent of emotions and made it impossible to put down." -- The Romance Reviews

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 • Sonata ~ Sayuri McAllister has just arrived home to Vancouver to find that a robbery has taken place at her family home, and it is being investigated by her old flame.  She also has a new stepmother with a charming brother who is intent on bedding and wedding the rich and beautiful Sayuri. It’s a confusing and difficult time for Sayuri, especially when dangerous accidents happen to her father and herself – or are they accidents?

“I found Sonata to be a charming novel that left me laughing out loud in parts and gnawing nails in others. It was a delight to read.” – Night Owl Reviews

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 • Abigail's Christmas (short story) ~ An enchanting tale of love and romance, with a magical touch of fantasy.
 
"Abigail’s Christmas is a sweet and special story that honors both love and the holidays."  -- Sizzling Hot Books