Childhood in the Beaujolais
Post-war Thizy
Dominique vividly describes the small town where she grew up, the old house, the nuns at her school, and the nanny who raised her.
The story behind the memoir
Dominique’s story, remembered with love
From a French girlhood to a manuscript brought back to life by a granddaughter.
Teenager on the Côte d’Azur
Catholic boarding school
Dominique’s childhood ends abruptly when her parents divorce and she finds herself at a boarding school in Nice. Teenage rebellion and heartbreak sees her moving to England on her own aged 16.
Written then restored
A manuscript preserved
Encouraged by her friend Toni, Dominique later typed her childhood memories. After Dominique’s passing in 2012, the manuscript waited to be rediscovered. In 2025 her granddaughter edited it for publication and added a Prologue and Epilogue, preserving her Nannan’s voice and sharing her story with a new generation.
Family album
A life in pictures
Family photographs from the years Dominique writes about, kept in albums and shoeboxes and scanned for this book.
