A Year at the Chateau
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- Create Date：2021-04-13 09:51:34
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Dick Strawbridge
- ISBN：1841884634
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Reviews
Christina
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This book delves into the first year of the Chateau。 It explains the background of the story and how they went on to find the Chateau of their dreams and went about restoring it。 I am an avid fan of the show so reading this book brought it all back to life。 I love the Strawbridge family and their values and have been rooting for them since the show first aired。 Dick is just amazing at everything and I am truly in awe just watching how he manages to bring things to life。 With Angel by his side， t This book delves into the first year of the Chateau。 It explains the background of the story and how they went on to find the Chateau of their dreams and went about restoring it。 I am an avid fan of the show so reading this book brought it all back to life。 I love the Strawbridge family and their values and have been rooting for them since the show first aired。 Dick is just amazing at everything and I am truly in awe just watching how he manages to bring things to life。 With Angel by his side， they make a dream team！ I have also loved seeing their wonderful children grow and explore more of the family business。 They truly have something to be proud of！ I can't wait for more episodes and future books about their story。 Good work Strawbridge's！ 。。。more
Deb
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First of all， I have to say I loved the in lays of the book they were just beautiful！The book recounts the couples first year at the chateau and their wedding preparations and of course the wedding it self。 I would say Christmas but I feel that the month of December was very rushed， which was a shame。 A lot of the photos seem to focus on the couples wedding， even though it was beautiful and it is a focus on their business， I felt the readers probably wanted to see the progress of each of the roo First of all， I have to say I loved the in lays of the book they were just beautiful！The book recounts the couples first year at the chateau and their wedding preparations and of course the wedding it self。 I would say Christmas but I feel that the month of December was very rushed， which was a shame。 A lot of the photos seem to focus on the couples wedding， even though it was beautiful and it is a focus on their business， I felt the readers probably wanted to see the progress of each of the rooms that were spoken about instead。I did feel that the book was just a carbon copy of the first series， and even though it is a lovely book for fans， I was hoping for lots more like nuggets that was not featured on the channel four show。 Basically anyone could have written this book based on the programs around the chateau， and a little background info！！ Most fans have watched the series several times during the past year， so we was expecting and excited to received something new and different about the chateau， but I was left not learning anything knew。3 1/2 stars 。。。more
Julz Day
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Love the show， love the inspiration， love the way they both had their voices in this book。
Adriaan Winton
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It was a thorough enjoyable read Very interesting and entertaining recommend it highly as a very good read
Marie Williams
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Great read with lots of interesting insights into French life and the moving trauma。 Clever way of doing the book them both writing it and recipes within make me hungry。A really beautiful story and jolly read with Dicks humour coming through with Angels creative tips and inspiration a beautiful relation to history and nature as you'd expect from Dick， really enjoyed this book。 Great read with lots of interesting insights into French life and the moving trauma。 Clever way of doing the book them both writing it and recipes within make me hungry。A really beautiful story and jolly read with Dicks humour coming through with Angels creative tips and inspiration a beautiful relation to history and nature as you'd expect from Dick， really enjoyed this book。 。。。more
Jan Ashley
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Having been glued to the 7 series， this book was a wonderful read。 I have tried to make it last as long as I can， but today I came to the end。 The story of their first year at the Chateau， told by Dick and Angel （Angel in bold print and Dick in normal print）， it even includes some of Dicks recipes！ If you are a fan of the Strawbridges， you can't miss this good read。 Having been glued to the 7 series， this book was a wonderful read。 I have tried to make it last as long as I can， but today I came to the end。 The story of their first year at the Chateau， told by Dick and Angel （Angel in bold print and Dick in normal print）， it even includes some of Dicks recipes！ If you are a fan of the Strawbridges， you can't miss this good read。 。。。more
Jody
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As a fan of their tv show， I thoroughly enjoyed this book。
Book-Social
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If you haven’t watched channel 4’s TV show Escape to the Chateau WHY HAVEN’T YOU？ It follows Dick， Angel and their two children as they renovate their massive Chateau in France。 Angel is my decorating style icon。 I have the cushions， the china and often think ‘What would Angel do？’ when picking paint or wall hangings。 I love their house almost as much as I’m drawn to them – I mean who doesn’t fancy living in France in a castle？Aware of my Strawbridge obsession my hubby bought me A Year at the Ch If you haven’t watched channel 4’s TV show Escape to the Chateau WHY HAVEN’T YOU？ It follows Dick， Angel and their two children as they renovate their massive Chateau in France。 Angel is my decorating style icon。 I have the cushions， the china and often think ‘What would Angel do？’ when picking paint or wall hangings。 I love their house almost as much as I’m drawn to them – I mean who doesn’t fancy living in France in a castle？Aware of my Strawbridge obsession my hubby bought me A Year at the Chateau for Christmas。 Being stuck in lock down once again， I devoured their first year living in a foreign country， discovering the countryside around them and getting to grips with life with no electricity。The book is written by both Dick and Angel and uses different fonts so you can easily tell who is who。 Written in diary format the style allows Dick to go in to detail about pipe laying and Angel to explain how she found their first bath。 It’s part DIY journal， wedding story and cook book （I loved the little recipes that popped up here and there）。 You can be reading about a trip to a French bakery one moment， what’s in season， how to print a wedding invite on a tea towel， or even where the poo shoot goes！ Yet the randomness all holds together and reads really well。What comes across in bucket loads is the Strawbridge’s love。 For each other， their children， family and of course the Chateau。 I’m totally jealous of them。 The book （and the Chateau） is fab。 If you like your lifestyle books you can also try local girl Sally Urwin’s about a year on her farm in Northumberland。 。。。more
SusanwithaGoodBook
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What a delight！ I've enjoyed the TV show about the Strawbridge's purchase and renovation of a stunning 19th Century Château in the French countryside， so I knew I would also love the book。 These two never cease to amaze me with their hard work and creativity。 I wouldn't make all the same design choices， but it's really fun to read all about what they did in much more detail than the TV show allows。 The book even includes recipes， which are completely wasted on me， but if you're into cooking you What a delight！ I've enjoyed the TV show about the Strawbridge's purchase and renovation of a stunning 19th Century Château in the French countryside， so I knew I would also love the book。 These two never cease to amaze me with their hard work and creativity。 I wouldn't make all the same design choices， but it's really fun to read all about what they did in much more detail than the TV show allows。 The book even includes recipes， which are completely wasted on me， but if you're into cooking you would probably enjoy it even more。 I definitely recommend this if you're a fan of the show。 。。。more
Cheryl Whitehead
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Lovely If you liked the TV programme you will love the book。 An enjoyable romp through the first series， great fun and an easy read。
Chantal
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I have mixed feelings about this book。 I loved the first season of Escape to the Château but don't think this book adds much to it。 If you've seen the tv show， you've probably seen enough。 While there are certain insights that are interesting （such as expat life in France） but too much is devoted to describing wedding preparations and gushing about how "special" their life is （seriously， three times in one paragraph！）。 If you like humble-bragging， you'll be delighted with Dick and Angel's accoun I have mixed feelings about this book。 I loved the first season of Escape to the Château but don't think this book adds much to it。 If you've seen the tv show， you've probably seen enough。 While there are certain insights that are interesting （such as expat life in France） but too much is devoted to describing wedding preparations and gushing about how "special" their life is （seriously， three times in one paragraph！）。 If you like humble-bragging， you'll be delighted with Dick and Angel's account of their own life。 It all smacks too much of personality cult for my taste。 I would have liked a more "real" account of the struggles of owning and renovating a derelict château， managing a family and being essentially broke （their word）。 Weirdly enough， there was never any mention in the book about having a film crew tracking their lives and how that felt。 There were a lot of technical details mentioned by Dick， which was good， but again a lot of that was covered in the tv version。The first season of Escape to the Château was a real inspiration to me and I love Angel's taste。 I was even inspired by her ideas in decorating my own house！ But I have to admit that， upon learning that she has ripped off Michael Petherick's design and claimed it as her own （and is now making bank with that design on a ton of merch）， a lot of the shine was taken off while I was reading this book。 She also has a tendency to not credit her artists on later seasons of the show and on the Château's social media accounts， which leaves a bad taste in my mouth。 。。。more
Jenny Mynett
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A fantastic insight
Liz
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I love watching Escape to the chateau so reading this book i was brought back to the early shows and remembered how things looked in the beginning and all the hard work its taken to get where they are today。 Really nice read。
Jacqueline
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Absolutely brilliant！ I was reading this book alongside another that I’d started before， but Chateau seemed to take precedence。 Although I’ve seen every episode of Escape to the Chateau and the DIY series， it was great to hear Dick’s and Angel’s feelings through that first year。 Things that you wouldn’t have picked up on on television。 Definitely a five star read。 Highly recommended。
Jem
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Lovely 😊
Rachel Christina
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Having watched the show it was good to read Dick and Angels words about the shoe。 Well written and easy to read
Sue Stacey
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Such a lovely book。 A true love story of Dick and Angel， their children and their chateau。 The size of the task to bring the Chateau is amazing - very motivational how they kept going and tackled such huge and varied renovation works。
Moira
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Dreams。。。。
Emma Emmans
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The book was as lovely to read as I had expected。 The perfect read for any fan of the series and what a great family they are。 I really do escape for a little while when I’m reading or watching the chateau life！ Great book。
Claire Carey
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Brilliant book to read alongside watching the series。
Rhys Faulkner
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This book was painful and I really struggled to finish it。I was expecting a book about a families first year at a chateau， the ins and out of renovating a chateau and maybe even a little history about the historic building。 What I got instead was a recount of a narcissistic couple planning their wedding。 I did not sign up for a book about wedding planning but literally over half this book is them talking about their wedding， the food for the wedding， the clothes for the wedding etc etc it does n This book was painful and I really struggled to finish it。I was expecting a book about a families first year at a chateau， the ins and out of renovating a chateau and maybe even a little history about the historic building。 What I got instead was a recount of a narcissistic couple planning their wedding。 I did not sign up for a book about wedding planning but literally over half this book is them talking about their wedding， the food for the wedding， the clothes for the wedding etc etc it does not stop and for a moment if they start talking about the chateau or renovating again the sentence will end with something along the lines of “ but that can wait。。。。 we have a wedding to plan！”Dick is completely obnoxious he is rude arrogant and a bully。 If someone doesn’t complete a task to his standard he belittles them， discredits their work ethic and even goes as far as calling them names （when french workers didn’t want to travel over an hour to do a job for them he insinuated they were being precious and calls them poppets） also I don’t like the way he brags about his life also the claim he invented avocado on toast was very cringe。Angels parts of the book were a tad easier to to read although she seemed to think she is only person in the world with alternative taste （I’m having mismatched chairs at my wedding oh my god I’m so wacky） she sees Dick with rose coloured glasses and can also join in with him on his bullying。I wish they added more photos so you could visualise different areas of the chateau but then again 2 out of the 4 photo sections of the book were dedicated to their wedding （Narcissism at its finest）I have watched some of their show but their attitude really puts me off， I guess that should have been a warning against this book but was hoping they would be more humble and kinder in print。 I’m really interested in historic buildings and history so I guess I was hoping to get this out of this book but sadly I was wrong。If you really want to watch and experience nice people restoring a chateau I suggest going on YouTube and watching “The Chateau diaries” and “Doing it ourselves” both are likeable and kind to the people around them， oh and the focus is less on themselves and more on the chateau。 。。。more
Denise Hale
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I enjoyed watching this series and asked for the hardback as a Christmas present。 It's hard to believe it's nearly ten years since Dick opened the door of the Chateau and took us inside。 For those of us who dream of moving to France， theirs was a journey we eagerly followed。 From the beginning， a film crew recorded their progress which probably helped with the writing of this book。 Using different fonts so you know whether it's Dick or Angel recall their first year as they tackled the task of re I enjoyed watching this series and asked for the hardback as a Christmas present。 It's hard to believe it's nearly ten years since Dick opened the door of the Chateau and took us inside。 For those of us who dream of moving to France， theirs was a journey we eagerly followed。 From the beginning， a film crew recorded their progress which probably helped with the writing of this book。 Using different fonts so you know whether it's Dick or Angel recall their first year as they tackled the task of renovating their new home。 Any envy turned to admiration as they installed electricity， plumbing， central heating and ireplaced windows all before lifting a paintbrush。Dick and Angel both radiate an optimism that shines through the pages。 Both use their skills fearlessly when tackling the various problems that encountered。 Watching the programmes I didn't realise how long Dick was away during that first year。 Nor how difficult some of the work was。 Getting the chateau ready for their wedding was no easy feat but they worked together to this end and had a wonderful wedding。 Whist wedding often end a story we know this is just part of this story。 It was not easy but it was 'a good year'。 。。。more
Gaynor Bracey
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I really enjoyed the book， but using a kindle made it harder to use the glossary of words at the end of each chapter。 Don't know if it was me reading faster but the chapters seemed to speed up as the year progressed！ I really enjoyed the book， but using a kindle made it harder to use the glossary of words at the end of each chapter。 Don't know if it was me reading faster but the chapters seemed to speed up as the year progressed！ 。。。more
Tracia
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Loved this book as much as the TV series， which is written by both Dick & Angel。 A feel good， motivational read。 Just a short review as need to get on with my own DIY now！
Stephanie Russell
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Lovely read， especially if you're a fan of the show！ Lovely read， especially if you're a fan of the show！ 。。。more
Wendy McManus
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I love Dick & Angel， this was a fascinating read。。。
Randy
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Love the series to bits and on Christmas 2020， my lovely bf gifted me this book！ Love the stories and had good amounts of chuckles while reading this。 Now all I need to do is to plan to see this majestic castle post-COVID！ ❤️
Laura-Jayne Wesley
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A Year at the Chateau was an absolute joy to read！Being a big fan of the tv show and also going to see them on their tour at the start of 2020， I knew that I was going to enjoy it - I didn't realise quite how much though！I feel it was written very cleverly with both points of view and throughout the entire book I felt fully submerged in their first year of chateau life！ Closing the book felt like losing two very good friends！ A Year at the Chateau was an absolute joy to read！Being a big fan of the tv show and also going to see them on their tour at the start of 2020， I knew that I was going to enjoy it - I didn't realise quite how much though！I feel it was written very cleverly with both points of view and throughout the entire book I felt fully submerged in their first year of chateau life！ Closing the book felt like losing two very good friends！ 。。。more
Wabbit
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I’ve only recently started watching the series， and have quickly become enraptured by Angela and Dicks life at the chateau。 This is a wonderful book， written in turns by them both。 And， gorgeous pics。 Recommended read。
Kasia
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Absolutely love this book and will go back to it again。 I watched the show and loved it， but give you some details on what was happing in chateau at first year。
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=A Year at the Chateau
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=A Year at the Chateau&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,A Year at the Chateau&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0