Conspiracy of Silence

What better way for a family to start the trip of a lifetime to Europe than the magic of Disneyland? Tales of dark deeds shiver at the Tower of London. The excitement at Hamleys toys gives way to a campervan odyssey. Think Dover Castle and Roman ruins. Friends from every country play with Neville and Clara's children, language differences not a problem. All too soon, Clara's life twists from love, to loss and grief. An advanced Alliance Française French class helps her brave the lows of widowhood with a new man, Antoine. At Montpellier, France, Marcel Odier guides them on a cobblestone walk through a medieval village. His daughter, Solenne, is strangely silent - a puzzle to Antoine, given the teenager's usual vivacity. Cholet offers a sound and light spectacular. Horses in caparisons, a castle in flames and a merry-go-round spinning on a lake. Florence brings a fifteenth century football match with colourful costumes, a game the likes of which they'd never seen before... An incomprehensible tragedy lurks in the wings. 'There are moments in a life that hold profound meaning. Like the silence between music notes, they are felt but cannot be held. Decima Wraxall writes of these moments with that lightness of being that has the universality to touch the human heart. This is a travel memoir with a difference. A rewarding and uplifting read.' - Colleen Keating