The Girl, the Dog and the Writer in Provence chapter sampler

Until four months ago, Freja had spent most of her life living in the remote regions of the Arctic. Her mother was none other than world-renowned zoologist Clementine Peachtree. Freja and Clementine had spent ten months of every year living amongst wild animals — seals, wolves, musk oxen, bears, moose, hares — but rarely came into contact with humans. When they did venture into the world of people, Freja had found it confusing. People were strange, intolerant, demanding … terrifying. Children, especially, frightened her. One week at a regular school, three years ago, had taught Freja much about loneliness and embarrassment, and very little about friendship. She simply did not fit in. She knew everything about the dancing routines of Norwegian bees, but nothing about the latest programs on television. She knew how to stalk through a forest, undetected by wolves, but couldn’t work out how to dress for a regular day in the playground. She knew all the dos and don’ts of snorkelling with walruses, but didn’t know the first thing about a game of chasies. She felt like a spotted seal trying to fit in amidst a colony of puffins. She grew quieter and more timid than ever. Clementine saw her misery and withdrew her at the end of the first week. The Arctic wilds were to be her classroom from then on. And they’d provided her with a marvellous education. But four months ago, Clementine had fallen ill. Suddenly, she’d developed a need for Swiss doctors, not

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