![]() ![]() Mottram wrote some sixty books altogether and in 1966 he was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Letters by the University of East Anglia. The Spanish Farm was first published in 1924 and won the Hawthornden Prize. R H Mottram served in France from 1914 to 1919. ‘The most significant work of its kind’ - The Times Literary Supplement The trilogy is widely acknowledged as one of the great classics of World War One fiction, ranked alongside 'Goodbye To All That' and 'The Secret Battle'. ![]() ‘Sixty-Four, Ninety-Four’ is part II of the ‘Spanish Farm Trilogy. ![]() But as time it turns out they are wildly unsuited to each other, and the clash of cultures and personalities becomes increasingly apparent. With Madeleine sick of the stalemate of the war and fast giving up hope on hearing anything from her secret lover, a relationship begins to develop between the two. To Skene, Madeleine becomes synonymous with the farm itself - a kind of sanctuary providing the care and comfort that war is utterly devoid of.Īnd over time, in his desperation to be cared for, he begins to fall for her. His ability to speak fluent French leads to him being chosen to translate for a Flemish woman claiming damages for the billet she runs: the Spanish Farm.Ī turn of fate that may well have saved his life by taking him away from the front-line, the job also serves as his introduction to Madeleine Vanderlynden, a tenacious farmer’s daughter, renowned among the troops who pass through her farm for being as strong as any man and with better business sense.Īs the war unfolds, Skene is fated to cross paths with Madeleine on numerous occasions over the years, both in Paris and back at the Spanish Farm. Geoffrey Skene has been fighting as a Lieutenant in the trenches for a year, coming close to death on many occasions. ![]()
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