I have heard of Sebastian Faulks, many times. This is the first of his works that I have read.

I am in love *sigh*.

The Girl at the Lion D'Or is a love story; but it is also so much more. I am enchanted by Anne; she is resilient, yet also naïve. I feel for Charles, caught in a marriage he did not desire, but as a gentleman was obliged to commit to. There is also a little history of WW1 concerning Anne's father and perhaps Charles or his father, of which we are not yet fully cognisant; and WWII is looming.

I am glad this is a series, because there are unanswered questions.

This is a beautiful, gentle and evocative read. One I recommend.

This was a GREAT book; I really enjoyed the story, characters and plot and didn't want it to end. However, there are two things that brought it down a notch: One: the amount of typos drove me nuts - some were subtle, some required a second read of the same sentence for clarification -- very distracting. The second problem was a bit in the novel where the main character, Anne, who is a waitress, hotel maid gets invited to a very swanky, but relaxed weekend in the country with wealthy people. At this point you could tell that a guy wrote the book because she didn't panic. The year was 1930, a very glamorous time in France, and the social and class distinctions were enormous, but there were no awkward moments over a 3 day weekend.

OK- other than that, this book was poignant, sweet and the characters complex. Charles and Anne were multi-dimensional, flawed people and the plot anything but trite.

From Publisher's Weekly: Reading Faulks's second novel (written before Fool's Alphabet, Birdsong and Charlotte Gray), one sees that his preoccupations and choice of genre have been clear from the beginning. Published in the U. K. in 1989, this is another postmodern historical romance, telling the story of a short-lived but intense love affair set in a France decimated by WWI. When Anne Louvet arrives in the village of Janvilliers on a rainy night in the 1930s, she hopes to leave behind a secret history of family disgrace. Her parents are long gone, their deaths shrouded in mystery, and the guardian with whom she lived in Paris has disappeared. In an attempt to make a new life for herself, she works as a waitress at the local hotel, soon finding escape from the watchful eye of manageress Madame Bouin in the arms of Charles Hartmann, a wealthy married veteran, lawyer and landowner. The ill-starred lovers' affair mirrors the general turmoil of the nation. Hartmann is emotionally scarred by his brief service in the Great War. His efforts to rebuild his manor house are stymied by discontented workmen and greedy entrepreneurs, and a politician he tries to help falls victim to scandal. Finally, his betrayal of Anne coincides with Germany's invasion of the Rhineland. Anne herself, with her physical beauty, mournful past and determination to survive, becomes the true symbol of France's spirit. Faulks blends the dramatic yearnings of physical love with a searing realism: the smells that waft from Chef Bruno's kitchen at the Lion d'Or are as immediate as soldiers' stark memories of battle scenes. In both Paris and the countryside, the living standards of the elite contrast sharply with those of the lower classes. Despite moments of overwrought passion and exaggerated guilt, Faulks's smoky cinematic treatment is perfectly suited to his moving tale of a woman and a country unprepared for the cruel consequences of military conflict.

Much like Faulks' other works, this book relies heavily on character and emotion to drive it. I find his style enormously compelling and 'The Girl at the Lion d'Or' pretty well embodies Faulks' ability to weave historical events and personal narrative into a seamless work. While this is certainly not my favourite amongst his works, it is well worth a read, if not solely for its depiction of France in conflict.

I went back and forth with this book-the story of Anne a waitress at the hotel who is hiding a secret and the man she has an affair with C. Hartmann. I enjoyed the beginning of the story and then got slightly bored with it, however the book was short enough to finish and then I ended up enjoying it.

A good steady read about relationships set between the wars in rural France. I enjoyed the characters but was not really moved by the story as I found it difficult to identify with anyone in particular. Perhaps because I have been fortunate not to have had to experience the effects of war in an direct way.

After Birdsong and Charlotte Gray, this book completes an excellent trilogy of WWI fiction.

I've got to give this at least four stars as the book is both beautifully moving & incredibly deep. There were moments, however, when I thought it at best perverted and at worst, rubbish. The secret is to plough on through those moments ( they are just moments) as Sebastian Faulks takes a while to set a scene and a backdrop from which his character's true self emerges. By the time I got to end everything he'd been working up to fell in to place and I found myself thinking it was a really beautiful and clever work of art. I have no doubt that SF is a very talented writer & yet If you read his reviews people either love or loathe his novels (with the exception of Birdsong which seems to have universal appeal.) I was given this copy by a friend who'd given up at the end of part one. I very nearly did the same, am so pleased I didn't.

Sebastian Faulks is turning out to be a bit like Rose Tremain: one brilliant book (Birdsong), one OK book (Charlotte Gray), and the rest ... indifferent. I found myself strangely unengaged by this one, a rather trivial tale compared to the other two. I never really felt involved with the characters, or moved by their feelings, and the ending was fairly predictable. Blah.

Set in France between the two great wars, a young girl with secrets from her childhood travels to a seaside town to work in a hotel. I vastly enjoyed the personalities of the many people she encounters on their journey. Each has a little side story that gives you insight into their personality and leaves you wanting to know more about their lives.

This book was a pleasure to read - especially after the awful 'The Girl on the Train'. Here Faulks manages to make depression-era France look idyllic, and the main character has gone through a horrible ordeal, but has emerged stronger.

It's a small story of 'inappropriate' love, set in a small town in rural France, against the political and economic chaos of interbellum France. The outside world occasionally intrudes into the story, but only to set the stage.

The characters are a bit one-dimensional but well-drawn and likable. The horrible memories of The Great War have scarred most of them, but even the philandering husband comes across as a paragon of moral rectitude.

Of course it can't end happily, but the resolution seems true to all the characters involved.

What a dreary, tedious, and unimpressive read. I'm now officially done with Sebastian Faulks.

I really enjoyed The Girl at the Lion d'Or. It felt a little like Bronte territory - the lowly servant girl falls in love with the wealthy, married lawyer who in turn becomes enthralled with her. The characters are well-drawn, and their actions and reactions to circumstances well-handled. The language was at times a little flowery. A complete departure in style from Engleby - the only other Faulks' novel I've read to date. I'd like to give this book 3 and a half stars - if only Goodreads would bring in halves!! :)