Lesley Blanch

Lesley Blanch

Estate

Lesley Blanch, historian and traveller, was the author of twelve books. A scholarly romantic, Blanch influenced and inspired generations of writers, readers and critics. Her first book pioneered a new type of biography and focused on four women who spectacularly defied convention. The Wilder Shores of Love was instantly acclaimed as a classic, becoming a worldwide bestseller, and has remained in print in English since its first publication in 1954.
Blanch was both ahead of her time and prescient in the way she attempted to bridge the gap between Western and Eastern culture. In April 1945 she married the French novelist-diplomat Romain Gary. Life in the French diplomatic service took them to the Balkans, Turkey, North Africa, Mexico and the USA.
The couple were divorced in 1962. Blanch continued to travel widely, inspired by the variety of cultures and landscapes in the East.
In later life, Blanch settled in Menton, in the South of France, where she died aged 102 in 2007.

Selected Bibliography:

The Wilder Shores of Love (1954)

Round The World in Eighty Dishes (1955)

Regency England Undressed: Hariette Wilson and her Memoirs (1957)

The Sabres of Paradise (1960)

Journey Into The Mind’s Eye (1963)

The Nine Tiger Man (1965)

Pavilions of the Heart: The Four Walls of Love (1974)

Pierre Loti (1983)

On The Wilder Shores of Love: A Bohemian Life (2015)

Far To Go and Many To Love: People and Places (2017)

 

Contact

@LesleyBlanch @LesleyBlanch

I remember seeing news footage of Nigel Farage’s Brexit march consisting of about 30 bellends and a whippet…

But no British news coverage of this incredible strike action from yesterday:

https://bookblast.com/blog/guest-review-sharif-gemie-beirut-2020-the-collapse-of-a-civilization-a-journal-charif-majdalani-mountain-leopard-press/?utm_source=ReviveOldPost&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=ReviveOldPost #arabicandmiddleeasternstudies #bookblastcelebratesindependentpublishing #bookblastsindiepublisheroftheweek #booksintranslation #politics

Pink isn't just a colour, it's an attitude.

We are SO excited to unveil our brand-new, dazzlingly pink logo to celebrate Women's History Month and International Women's Day 🙌

Save the great rivers of the world! Sign the petition!
https://secure.avaaz.org/campaign/en/stop_war_on_water_uk_12/?ccnmrbb

Starling murmuration at Eastbourne Pier

The starlings gather at dusk every day to become a mesmerising flowing shape over the sea

When they come close, you can hear their wings rushing. They are nesting under the pier & as dark falls they pour in

#birds #murmuration #starlings

Crocuses and castle gates, blossoms and battlements!
It looks like spring is slowly making its way to Hawarden...

Now available on our website, Eland book tokens with over 175 books to chose from. You know they like reading. You know they love travelling. So whether it is a thank you present, or to mark a birthday, or to just salute an old friendship, we have created https://www.travelbooks.co.uk/shop-online-books/booktoken40

Congrats to Sarah Ardizzone winner @Soc_of_Authors Scott Moncrieff #translationprize hear her & Faiza Guene 🎧#BookBlastPodcast https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/bookblast-podcast/id1525090031?i=1000536439678

‘For Love & Money is one of the most honest & revealing books about the practical realities of writing for a living ever committed to print & should be read by anyone tempted to labour in what George Gissing called the Valley of the Shadow of Books.’ D.J.Taylor @djtaylorwriter

First sighting of the beautiful Love Marriage paperback in a bookshop! Love seeing it in the window @WstoneIslington - thank you. Published this week by @ViragoBooks . @GraceEVincent @celestewb @nico_taylor

Has anyone read this - re: The Sabres of Paradise, not Dune, obvy.

I only just learned of this book today, and Lesley Blanch.

@sineadgleeson @FoxedQuarterly Travel: Journey into the the Mind's eye - Lesley Blanch

A Dragon Apparent - Norman Lewis

Both in wonderful @ElandPublishing editions

LESLEY BLANCH : Pavilions of the Heart HARDBACK 1st Ed
Historical Love Affairs
Vintage Hardback Book illustrated
https://ebay.us/LQrVM2 via @eBay_UK

@_motherslug @aquadrunkard @nyrbclassics That Lucille Clifton is up next after I finish this Lesley Blanch.

"Journey Into the Mind’s Eye", Lesley Blanch’s hybrid work of memoir, travelogue, history, and literary criticism, is startlingly ahead of its time. @black_metallic writes: http://ow.ly/mWwZ30lEeZu

“Unabashed exoticism, humor, and lively, pomegranate-laden prose.” Caroline Eden relishes the food writing of Lesley Blanch, author of the recently republished "Journey into the Mind’s Eye." http://ow.ly/k31Z30lgjDc

2022 in Review (part 2): Fiction and Nonfiction from 5 Indie Presses, Andrey Kurkov & The Children’s BookShow https://bookblast.com/blog/2022-in-review-part-2-fiction-and-nonfiction-from-5-indie-presses-andrey-kurkov-the-childrens-bookshow/

2022 in Review (part 1): Annie Ernaux, Olivier Guez, Empire Windrush & more     https://bookblast.com/blog/2022-in-review-part-1-annie-ernaux-olivier-guez-empire-windrush-more/

@WalterGrond @ELit_observer https://twitter.com/bookblast/status/1602065762654584834