RED DOG BOOKS 

books about Brittany

Judy Smith was brought up in north Wales and first developed a taste for rambling in the wonderful walking country around Llangollen. After training as a doctor, she lived for many years in Northamptonshire, busily occupied with five children, which explains the family-friendly feel of all her books. She later changed direction to take a maths degree and considered a new career in teaching, before succumbing to the stronger call of the footpath. Already involved in local walking in her role as Parish Path Warden, she developed an interest in writing walks, initially for children. Returning to a life-long love of France, her subsequent publications include 'Holiday Walks' in Normandy, the Loire and Provence as well as 'Undiscovered France' and 'The Vendée and Charente Maritime'. Brittany remains her favourite region, and this enthusiasm is fully reflected in the Red Dog Books publication 'Walking Brittany', and again in Vol 1 of 'Walking the Brittany Coast'. Judy Smith now lives in North Wales.

Wendy Mewes has lived in Finistere for some years, after a long teaching career in London (latterly as Head of Classics at Godolphin & Latymer in Hammersmith) and a spell of writing articles and fiction in Somerset. She has a BA in Latin and Ancient History, and a Masters degree in the latter subject. She now writes both fiction - her latest novel The Five of Cups is set in western Brittany - and non-fiction. Discovering the History of Brittany is a well-researched account which has been widely appreciated on both sides of the channel, and years of work relating to the Nantes-Brest canal have resulted in two books: the concise guide to the canal (May 2007) was an instant success, followed in December 2008 by Crossing Brittany, a personal account of walking the canal in search of identity.

Aside from writing, she is also the programme organiser and guide for Brittany Walks (www.brittanywalks.com) and runs Brittany Heritage Services, a consultancy and practical  service provider for anglophone tourism in Brittany. 

For further details, see www.wendymewes.com

Penny Allen is an author and artist who has lived in Brittany for more than a decade. She has a degree in English literature and was a journalist in the UK for twenty years. Previous publications include The Face of the Deep, an exploration of planetary influences on our lives. She joined Red Dog Books authors with a new publication, Central Brittany Coast to Coast, in 2006.

G. H. Randall has been a regular visitor to Brittany over many years, finding it an ideal location to pursue his long-term interests in local history, architecture and walking. He joined Red Dog authors with a wide-ranging and informative book of walks in Morbihan, southern Brittany and followed it with another in Côtes d'Armor, northern Brittany.  He is currently working on a guide to the Green Ways (voies vertes) of Brittany.

Steve Leighton is a writer, walker, artist, former school teacher and local newspaper columnist, and now part-time library assistant living in Glastonbury, Somerset. Behind his gentle and unassuming appearance he hides a razor sharp sense of humour, and a remarkable ability to toy with words in a variety of styles from baroque to modern. His concise and tight plots often have a surprising ending, while his lifelong love of nature and dedication to unveiling the core of consciousness in each of us shine through many of his stories.  'Tales of Kaph' is a collection of his short stories (some of them award-winning) that provides an enjoyable demonstration of his writing talent.

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 Discover Brittany with a Red Dog book