''The House That Berry Built'' is a 1945 humorous

semi-autobiographical novel An autobiographical novel, also known as an autobiographical fiction, fictional autobiography, or autobiographical fiction novel, is a type of novel which uses autofiction techniques, or the merging of autobiographical and fictive elements. The l ...

by the English author

Dornford Yates Cecil William Mercer (7 August 1885 – 5 March 1960), known by his pen name Dornford Yates, was an English writer and novelist whose novels and short stories, some humorous (the ''Berry'' books), some Thriller (genre), thrillers (the ''Chandos ...

(Cecil William Mercer), featuring his recurring 'Berry' characters. It is a lightly fictionalised recounting of the construction of the author's house ''Cockade'' in the commune of

Eaux-Bonnes Eaux-Bonnes (, "good waters"; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques Departments of France, department in south-western France. Description Eaux-Bonnes is close to the small town of Laruns. It is situated at a height ...

Pyrénées-Atlantiques Pyrénées-Atlantiques (; Gascon language, Gascon Occitan language, Occitan: ''Pirenèus Atlantics''; ) is a Departments of France, department located in the Regions of France, region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine in the southwest corner of metropolitan ...

, France.

Plot

Unable any longer to afford their aristocratic lifestyle in England, Berry and Co decide in 1937 to relinquish ''White Ladies'', their ancestral home in

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

, to the state for the use of the Foreign Secretary. Nostalgic for a vanished world of social events and elegant idleness, Berry and his friends move to Pau in the South of France where they spend their days picnicking on the slopes of the

Ossau Valley The Ossau Valley ( ; / ) is a valley of the France, French Pyrénées, in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques ''departments of France, département''. Administration 18 communes of France, communes belong to the Valley: Arudy, Aste-Béon, Béost, Besca ...

. Deciding to settle nearby, they acquire some land on the green mountainside halfway between the

thermal spa A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa health treatments are known as balneotherapy. The belief in the curative powers of mineral waters and hot springs goes back to prehis ...

of Lally and the village of Besse and build themselves a substantial property that they name ''Gracedieu.'' Although the novel includes a minor sub-plot regarding the family's investigation of a murder, it consists principally of a detailed description of the building of ''Gracedieu.'' The cost of the work, the risks of the construction techniques employed, the whims of the mountain weather and the relations with the local contractor are all carefully detailed. In an earlier book, '' Adèle and Co.'' (1931), Jill had been married to Piers, Duke of Padua, and had baby twins. Now, she explains in a matter-of-fact manner "It was awful, you know, when Piers and my babies were killed. They went down in a plane together." With Boy's ex-wife Adèle having returned to her native America some years earlier, and deciding not to come back, Boy and Jill are free to fall in love; and towards the end of the novel the couple marry. The extended family move in to the completed house but, amid increasing signs of

war War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

, it soon becomes clear that they cannot remain. A later book of memoirs, '' As Berry and I Were Saying'', includes a semi-fictionalised account of Berry and Co's attempted return to ''Gracedieu'' after the war. It is noted there that after "eight soul-searing months" the family found it impossible to stay on in France.

Background

Much of the novel is an accurate account of the building of ''Cockade'', the writer's own residence that he completed in 1939, a little way out of

, south of Pau. It was a substantial six-bedroom property, called ''Cockade'' because of the way in which it projected from the hill as does a

hackle The hackle is a clipped plume or short spray of coloured feathers that is attached to a military headdress, with different colours being associated with particular regiments. In the British Army and the armies of some Commonwealth countries, ...

from a hat. As in the novel, Mercer and his wife did not have long to appreciate their new house before they were forced out by the arrival of

. They fled precipitately in 1940 and with some difficulties drove through

Franco Franco may refer to: Name * Franco (name) * Francisco Franco (1892–1975), Spanish general and dictator of Spain from 1939 to 1975 * Franco Luambo (1938–1989), Congolese musician, the "Grand Maître" * Franco of Cologne (mid to late 13th cent ...

's Spain to

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

, from where they sailed on to South Africa. After the war was over the couple briefly returned, but finding things greatly changed did not linger for long. They eventually built themselves a replacement house, ''Sacradown'', in

Umtali Mutare, formerly known as Umtali until 1982, is the capital and largest city in the province of Manicaland. It is the third most populated in Zimbabwe. Having surpassed Gweru in the 2012 census, with an urban population of 224,802 and approx ...

, Southern Rhodesia, completed in 1948.

Critical reception

According to AJ Smithers in his 1982 biography, ''The House That Berry Built'' represents the author at the peak of his form, with Berry never being in better voice.

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:House That Berry Built, The 1945 British novels British autobiographical novels British comedy novels Novels set in Aquitaine Ward, Lock & Co. books Novels by Dornford Yates