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Catherine Berry

Goodreads Author

Born

in Adelaide, Australia

Website

http://butyouareinfrancemadame.blogspot.com.au

Genre

Memoir, Travel, Biography

Member Since

March 2016

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It got to me. Living in France was supposed to have a beginning and an end. It nearly did have an end in a way that I could never have imagined, but now it can’t. I belong amidst the bewildering complexities and incongruences of French life, and wherever I am, for as long as I am, this will not change.

Nothing from my Australian upbringing pre-supposed this French fascination. My first steps in the language were coincidental, and it was probably luck that saw one of the young, groovy teachers allocated to my beginner’s French class at school.

I enjoyed writing, but was gently encouraged into maths and science subjects, where non-essential creative writing was relegated. Thereafter, I adopted an academic approach to getting through an undergra ...more

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Catherine Berry’s books

Average rating: 4.19 · 785 ratings · 52 reviews · 7 distinct works • Similar authors

	But you are in France, Madame: One family, three children, five bags and the promise of adventure living in the French Alps (French at Heart Book 1) 4.20 avg rating — 511 ratings — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Weaving a French Life: An Australian story by Catherine Berry (Goodreads Author), Sophie Mikov (Illustrator) 4.14 avg rating — 230 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	With bare feet and sandy toes: Growing up in Australia in the 1960s & 70s 4.53 avg rating — 34 ratings — published 2022 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Love, fear and a return to France 3.80 avg rating — 10 ratings — published 2023 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Talk and Play with your Child in French 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	But you are in Italy, Signora: Prelude to an Italian Spring by Catherine Berry (Goodreads Author), Alexander Mikov (Illustrator) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — published 2025 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	But you are in Italy, Signora: Diary of a Tuscan Beginner 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — published 2025 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Catherine Berry's Blog

Writing a book. What did I do?

Each writer has his or her own method and mine will not work for everyone or every genre. But, for those of you who have contacted me with an idea and a goal to write a book - this blog post is for you.I roughed out a timeline for finishing and made it generous, hoping that I could bring it forward.Before writing a word of the book, I made notes regarding the message I was trying to relay,

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Published on October 28, 2025 21:06

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But you are in France, Madame: One family, three children, five bags and the promise of adventure living in the French Alps (French at Heart Book 1)

by Catherine Berry (Goodreads Author)

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Catherine Berry said: " For a behind-the-scenes look at our France, here is an interview that I did with Chat and Spin radio, including photos. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idfDS... ...more "

Aug 21, 2020 05:23AM · see review

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Catherine Berry wrote a new blog post Writing a book. What did I do? Each writer has his or her own method and mine will not work for everyone or every genre. But, for those of you who have contacted me with an idea and Read more of this blog post »
Nov 14, 2025 04:12AM · like
Catherine Berry wants to read But you are in Italy, Signora: Diary of a Tuscan Beginner by Catherine Berry (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Oct 03, 2025 05:27AM · like
Catherine Berry wants to read But you are in Italy, Signora: Prelude to an Italian Spring by Catherine Berry (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Oct 03, 2025 05:27AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of But you are in Italy, Signora by Catherine Berry. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — But you are in Italy, Signora by Catherine Berry <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
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Jul 07, 2025 07:15PM · like
Catherine Berry liked Jennie’s update Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars Jennie Mayle shared a note and highlight from A Year in Provence (Provence, #1) by Peter Mayle See all Jennie’s notes and highlights for this book But of course, he said, it is well known that the English kill their lamb twice; once when they slaughter it, and once when they cook it. Sadly, although the general opinion of English cooking has improved a great deal, we shall always be known for overcooked lamb. In the same vein, I remember well going to The Côlombe D’Or which, to those who know it, must be one of their favourite restaurants as, indeed, it was ours. A very dear English friend who did not speak French ordered a steak adding that he wanted it ‘well done’. The thin-faced, bushy-eyebrowed, seen-everything waiter in his proper attire, white shirt, black waistcoat and apron, lent forward very slightly and said ‘à la Michelin, Monsieur’.
Jul 07, 2025 07:13PM
Catherine Berry liked Jennie’s update Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars Jennie Mayle shared a note and highlight from A Year in Provence (Provence, #1) by Peter Mayle See all Jennie’s notes and highlights for this book The Troisgros has three Michelin stars and a 19½ out of 20 rating in the Gault-Millau Guide. And so it went on, as he adjusted his knee pads and scrubbed away at the floor, a personal guide to five or six of the most expensive restaurants in France that Monsieur Bagnols had visited on his annual treats. Unfortunately we went to the Trois Gros only once but that was enough to lodge it in our culinary memories forever. It was our last stop going home to Devon after our honeymoon, by which time we were starting to count the francs. This was to be our last blow-out and so it was. I still have the image in my mind of a sweating silver pitcher full of cold red wine, a Beaune I believe, which tasted like Heaven, accompanying a many-course but light meal. Simply divine.
Jul 07, 2025 07:13PM
Catherine Berry liked Jennie’s update Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars Jennie Mayle shared a note and highlight from A Year in Provence (Provence, #1) by Peter Mayle See all Jennie’s notes and highlights for this book The language spoken was French, but it was not the French we had studied in textbooks and heard on cassettes; it was a rich, soupy patois, emanating from somewhere at the back of the throat and passing through a scrambling process in the nasal passages before coming out as speech. I always smile when I remember our problems with the language. When buying our first car in France, a 2CV, we were initiated in the rigours of the French bureaucracy and returned home tail between our legs because we didn’t have the correct paperwork - could it have been our parents’ birth certificates? It was wild anyway. Finally an introduction to the car and another first encounter ‘the frange oh man’- the hand-brake of course. One early encounter with Faustin I remember all too well. I went to see him in the vines where he was working with his tractor and having passed the time ...more
Jul 07, 2025 07:13PM
Catherine Berry wants to read Talk and Play with your Child in French by Catherine Berry (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jul 13, 2024 12:47AM · like