Major Themes
While not representing a crucial stage in the author's work, The House That Berry Built, through its abundance of anecdotal details, brings a personal perspective to the relationship the English maintained with France during the inter-war period. Notable are the irritation of the hero with the incompetence and the bureaucracy of the French administration and his mistrust in the face of the capacity of the French for destroying their most beautiful landscapes. Anglo-Saxon pragmatism is reflected in some astute remarks and especially admirable are the characters' respect for and sensitive appreciation of the Pyrenean landscape and nature in general. The novel reveals also the great ease of movement of the English at the beginning of the 20th century. The comings and goings between London and Pau, where there was a large British community, are numerous in this novel.
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