The 10 best books to read in March
- sherylebagwell
- Mar 9
- 1 min read
Hitchcockian thrillers, Francophile memoirs and classic Kings Cross’ crime tales feature in Helen Trinca’s books to buy this month.
Helen Trinca
Weekend Australian
March 7-8, 2026
Letter from Provence: A Memoir
by Sheryle Bagwell
Allen & Unwin, memoir, $34.99
The memoir of the Francophile is a genre all its own, so it may be that journalist Sheryle Bagwell had to add something extra to get this one over the line. She’s opted for a book that links her own life (she and her husband divide their time between Sydney and a house in Provence) to the world of Louis X1V, via a book of 17th century letters she discovers in said house. And there’s more, as Bagwell, a former ABC broadcaster, journeys into her own past and her relationship with a mother whose dreams of travelling to France were never fulfilled. There are some lovely chapters on the French customs we rarely read about - like how one should behave at the local swimming pool.
Comments