We interview Wendy Mewes, the leading English-language author on the subject of Brittany.
Some years ago we first came across a lovely little book called SPIRIT of PLACE in Finistère and were awestruck by the vibrant descriptions of the landscape, and not just the landscape but the history of human events that had transpired therein. It gave the reader a profound sense of well, place, and a long, deep sense of time. It is a poetic, touching book and it is just one of numerous works by author Wendy Mewes that all take place in and are about Brittany. It is our enormous pleasure to share here a conversation with Wendy Mewes!
All Things Breton (ATB): Hi Wendy! Thanks so much for joining us. To start out, what would you like to tell our readers about yourself, as a general introduction? Where are you from, for example, and what is the educational background that informs your work?
WM: Thank you. It is such a pleasure to be asked to share my love of Brittany with ATB. My background is a Welsh family, but living in England. I elected to reconnect with my roots by going to university in Swansea and then moving to London to continue ancient history research at UCL. Finally I taught Latin and classical civilization in public schools until life in the country called. Being outside in nature has always been extremely important to me. I began writing seriously whilst living in Somerset, something that really developed as a career after moving across the channel to Brittany in 2000.
ATB: As you might suspect, we're quite enthusiastic about all things Breton, as it were. How did you discover Brittany and why and how did it come to be the focus of your literary work?
WM: I see that we are kindred spirits! In fact, I came to Brittany almost by chance with my former partner who had found a one room house online that was affordable as a stepping-stone. It was a time when big change seemed desirable, so re-starting life in a foreign country, yet still very close to home, was ideal. Of course, I had the Celtic connection already! On the very first visit I landed at Roscoff in the dark of early morning, then drove south towards Huelgoat over the Monts d’Arrée. On this passage, the light suddenly lifted and I fell in love at first sight with those hills, an emotional connection which has never wavered. I knew this was my place.
After a while it became clear that there was very little information for visitors available in English. My partner had long publishing experience and suggested we produce a guidebook to Finistere, which came out in 2004. After that I combined my love of walking and skills of historical research to write many books and articles about Brittany, focusing particularly on early history – megaliths and saints! Some were commissioned by UK publishers but I preferred to write for my now ex-partner’s Red Dog Books, where I could have some input into design and promotion. During the pandemic I wrote a trilogy of novels set in a Breton village, which have been very successful and fun to do. My work is all about making Brittany and its wonderful history and culture accessible to English-speakers. All my writing is one big homage to Brittany!
ATB: I understand very well the attraction to Huelgoat. To what degree do you think the people, the culture, have been part of your attraction to Brittany?
WM: I think the main attraction of Brittany for me, beyond the landscape with its infinitely pleasing variety, has been its past. I am a historian, so my main interests are focused there, particularly in the early phases, from Neolithic to the 9th century CE when Brittany emerged as a nation state. The richness of Breton culture and the vitality of its many artists and musicians today seems to reach right back to this distant foundation, to the stone monuments, the Celts and sacred spaces in the countryside. In terms of purely personal experience, I’ve found people – as everywhere – both wonderful and not so much. My latest book The Unquiet Path gives a good indication of this! But no-one could fail to celebrate the Breton spirit...
ATB: The Unquiet Path is about you walking the 1000 km medieval Tro Breiz pilgrimage in Brittany. Tell us more about this book! What is the significance of the title? I understand it took a lengthy period to complete the Tro Breiz?
WM: My Tro Breiz ‘project’ took two years to complete, with all the walking, research and publication of two books, one a basic guide, Introduction to the Tro Breiz – a pilgrimage in Brittany, for those thinking of giving it a try, and finally The Unquiet Path, about my personal experience of the route. I chose the word ‘unquiet’ in all its senses. The way was full of voices from the past all grabbing for my attention, the saints and their often bizarre stories, the pilgrims who committed to such a lengthy journey, and all those who strove to make Brittany a strong and vibrant place in its formative years. The Tro Breiz (journey around Brittany) links the seven cathedrals of the seven founding saints, and is currently being established on a practical footing for modern pilgrims of any sort by an association in Saint-Pol-de-Léon (montrobreizh.bzh). But it was also quite a disturbing time for me, with many days alone on the path stirring up thoughts about the past and my place in Brittany. I also had a lot of terrible weather and tearing wind, rather than the ideal calm and quiet we might associate with pilgrimage!
ATB: Earlier, you mentioned the Breton spirit. What does that mean to you?
WM: It seems to me that Celts are innately resilient, combative, creative and tenacious. All that is evident today in Brittany and I particularly admire the strong mix of pride in traditions together with innovative thinking. The spirit is fundamentally questing and determined.
ATB: On your substack, wendymewes.substack.com, you’ve written about the parallels between the experiences of the founding saints, and modern immigrants such as yourself. Now that you’ve been in Brittany for 25 years, do you feel like you have found your place in a new country, or is there still an element of being a visitor?
WM: I am at home here and this is my place. After 25 years of constant travel all over Brittany for research, I know every area well – and there are huge differences between them – and have a familiarity and inner sense of security in my own environment of Huelgoat/Monts d’Arrée that one associates with home. I also have the same feeling in Combourg in eastern Brittany. The UK is just another country now and I feel no special attachment to it or any desire to cross the Channel – there I would indeed be just a visitor. However, there are still times when the sense of being an outsider in Brittany is stirred up by people or events, but then I just go for a long walk with my dog and remember the depth of my connection with the land, and it passes.
ATB: Due to unfortunate political and economic factors, there is increased interest in the United States for relocating to France. Example: (https://www.seattletimes.com/business/economy/some-in-seattle-area-retire-abroad-to-save-money/) Do you have any advice for those who might be thinking of immigrating to Brittany?
WM: I would certainly encourage people to do their research, particularly about different areas, and to think clearly about what they want. Western Brittany is considerably more ‘Breton’ (and much cheaper) than the east, where French influence has been strong since the earliest times. Rural isolation is easy to find here but the idea often proves more attractive than the reality, so being in striking distance of a town or lively village is important. Huelgoat has quite an American colony, probably because there are resources and all-year-round activities, unlike many other villages.
ATB: While commercial interests in particular have found it convenient to simplify and even caricature the Breton experience, for me today, the embrace of the “…intensely complex and challenging to preconceived notions” nature of the place is part of why I love it (taken from the publisher’s description of your book Brittany - A Cultural History). Does that understanding of Brittany still resonate with you and your work?
WM: Yes, because the more one scratches the surface of Brittany and its past, the more layers of complexity emerge, and the true satisfaction for me is understanding why and how things are as they are. Take the black and white Breton flag, for example. For many this is the ultimate symbol of Brittany with its reference to an independent ducal past before the official union with France in 1532. But the flag itself was designed in the 1920s against the background of nationalism, later tainted by collaboration during WWII, and many Bretons do not feel it speaks for them. Different points of view, and why not, but it’s better to know the history and make informed choices. My book Brittany, A Cultural History, was written with the intention of exploring some of these complicated issues for greater appreciation of what’s involved.
ATB: What special recurring events in Brittany are the most special to you, and which ones would you suggest for a visitor?
WM: I am not a great festival goer as I don’t do well in crowds, but I love the simple Pardons when a handful of locals celebrate their patron saint with a procession and then enjoy a fest deiz with music and dancing, as they have done all their lives. Visitors should certainly try to get to the great Festival Interceltique in Lorient held every August and the Vieilles Charrues music festival in Carhaix. I would also recommend the Journées du patrimoine every September (all over France) where all kinds of historical buildings, including unusual private venues, are open to the public. Honestly, there are so many events in Brittany, it’s impossible to do justice to the calendar here. There will be something for every interest – you can get your motorhome blessed by a bishop, see how many crêpes you can eat or draw cartoons at the Quai des Bulles festival in Saint Malo.
ATB: "The earth is the genius of our life,” author Wendell Berry writes. “The final questions and their answers lie serenely coupled in it." In all of his novels, such as A Place on Earth, the central character is not a person but a place: Port William, Kentucky, and the farmlands and forests that surround it, and the Kentucky River that runs nearby. Do you feel that Brittany, or more specifically even, the Monts d’Arrée, hold a similar place in your work?
WM: Definitely. The spirit of place is the theme of all my work, prose or poetry. I am more influenced by and more attached to place than to people. Strange, but true! I have found companionship, comfort, challenge and creativity in my surroundings, particularly on the moors or in the deep forest where I live. There is no sense of being alone for me when outside in nature, and, when I write, this connection underpins everything. There’s a special energy in the land here that resonates with me, but looking back I can see that the importance of place has been a theme all my life.
ATB: Lovely! We are so glad that you took this opportunity to speak with us. How can our readers find you and yur work out in the world?
WM: Here in France I continue to give talks and occasional guided visits to important sites, as well as attending a few book-fairs each year. Please have a look at my Substack site (wendymewes.substack.com) where I publish new text every Friday in the form of articles or my Vestiges series on pieces of evidence for discovering the region’s past. Details of all my books and activities can be found on my main website (wendymewes.com), together with an email contact. My main publishers’ website (which ships to the US) is reddogbooks.com.
I have been blessed with many supportive readers over the years and appreciate the warm enthusiasm for Brittany found widely in America. Books can be ordered in the usual way from any bookshop in the US or online marketplaces. I am hoping to work on some new ventures soon, including podcasts and poetry, still striving to do justice to my adopted homeland. Whether another book will emerge from the Breton mist of the Monts d’Arrée, you never know…
ATB: Wendy, we look forward to keeping in contact with you, and of course feel free to come back to ATB to share news about your latest projects. Kenavo!
