The early life and times of a Glen Tanar exile - Francois Louis Pierre Fouin

Francois Fouin left his small Breton village and came to England where he married Rebecca Watson from Morpeth, Northumberland. Having taken a position as valet to Lord Glentanar, the family settled on the eponymous estate near Aboyne in the 1920's. They little suspected how their lives would become inextricably associated with the Glentanar family and the local population for the rest of the century. Their son, Pierre went to the local schools and pursued a career in medicine, coming back to serve the community of Deeside in which he had grown up.Pierre Fouin's autobiography traces their story of life in the North East of Scotland during the middle years of the century. The large estates were still managed in the Victorian style and his description of the many characters who worked the land captures an evocative picture of a life which, has now disappeared.His profession brought him into contact with many interesting people notably Marion Crawford - Crawfie - who for many years was Queen Elizabeth's governess.Pierre Fouin's story is an idyllic memory of his childhood during a time when the quality of life was measured on a different scale.