Nicholas Freeling has spent much of his adult life in Europe, achieving success first as a chef and later as a celebrated novelist. The Kitchen Book was the author's picture of his grand hotel years, which were essential to his life. The Village Book covers more than one writer's life, however; it also examines the history of one peculiar part of Europe. France meets Germany in the pivotal town of Strasbourg; Grandfontaine, the village outside it, is where Nicolas Freeling has made his home for many years. Here the creator of the ever-popular detectives Van der Valk and Castang explores his family's past while unearthing the history of his village and its context in the region, and in the new Europe being created today.