A Valley Wide

In the early 1960s Alexis Brown moved with her husband and two young children from the comparative sophistication of Formentera to a remote valley in Ibiza. A Valley Wide records their triumphs and misadventures - getting to know the locals, teaching the children, exploring the bay and alluring countryside, making ends meet. It also describes the construction of the asphalt road which linked this tranquil corner with the world beyond, changing the lives of everybody.

Alexis Brown, author of two children's books with island settings and translator of numerous works on art and history, evokes the valley's ancient traditions and practices with quiet humour and a knowledge born of experience. Her sparkling memoir, completed just after the events it describes, belongs to that special genre combining the excitement of travel with a deeper understanding that comes out of prolonged residence.

Dimensions: 200 pages, 15 wood engravings, 16 photographs, 13.5 x 20 cm