The House on the Beach - Fallon, Joan

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Résumé :
The House on the Beach is a novel set in the years after the Civil War, in a Spain ruled by the military dictator Francisco Franco. This is a time when women had little independence; they were expected to lead prescribed lives, dominated by first their fathers and then their husbands. Rocio and Inma first meet as children. Despite coming from very different social backgrounds they form a close friendship. Rocio is the daughter of an Andalucian peasant, who makes his living from the land, growing olives and keeping goats; Inma is the daughter of a rich businessman, who lives and works in Madrid. The story follows the lives of these two girls from childhood to maturity, as they share happiness, fears, disappointments, broken hearts and betrayals. Rocio is a shy and trusting girl, who becomes easily seduced by a handsome foreigner, while Inma, confident and manipulative, is the one who saves her from disgrace and the inevitable expulsion from the family home. Inma, a university student, soon becomes involved in student demonstrations and political subterfuge; all of which she confides to Rocio. But when Inma too becomes pregnant, things take a more sinister turn and her subsequent actions have a devastating affect on Rocio and her husband. This social drama of two women trying to take control of their lives, despite living under a harsh dictatorship, offers a glimpse of what life was like in an authoritarian State, with an ever watchful Catholic Church and the close strictures of society.

Biographie:
Joan Fallon was born in Scotland and grew up with a love for literature and a longing to write. For many years she worked as a teacher with a particular interest in history and english, then as a management consultant. When she moved to Spain in the late nineties, she devoted her time to learning about the culture and history of her adopted country, particularly its Moorish heritage. This research led to her writing two historical fiction series set in Medieval Spain and a number of other historical novels. Joan also writes contemporary fiction about families, relationships and the challenges women in particular have to face. She lives in M?laga.