Red Stag

Guy de la Valene was born and raised in France. His earlier books include For a Handfulof Feathers, and Making Game: An Essay on Woodcock. He is the also the author of the forthcoming The Fragrance of Grass. His articles have appeared in Sports Afield, Field & Stream, among other publications. He lives on an 800-acre farm. Red Stag is his first novel.

"[This is] a debut with the feel of a nineteenth century novel. De la Valdene's description of the Norman forests and wildlife are rich and graceful, and he expertly captures the shades of difference between the privileged life of the aristocracy, town life and Vincent's sheltered existence."--Publishers Weekly"Guy de la Valdene's Red Stag is beautifully written; it is both a fine sporting novel and literature."--Jim Harrison"Red Stag is a gripping, deeply felt story embedded in a cherished and closely observed world still ruled by the laws of nature."--Tom McGuane"A highly appealing first novel. The novel's pleasures derive largely from de la Valdene's ability to bring an idyllic rural community convincingly to life. De la Valdene has also peopled the novel with a variety of vividly drawn characters. Part love story, part coming-of-age adventure, and part pastoral, this offers many old-fashioned pleasures--including a certain rustic, romantic charm. Highly recommended."--Library Journal "This is an absolutely beautiful book, whose intelligence and wit are testaments to the grandest storytelling. Reading Red Stag is like walking outside on the most glorious October afternoon of your life--you are moved by grandeur. The writing in this book lights up like a cathedral in your head. Guy de la Valdene is a masterful writer."--Doug Stanton, author of In Harm's Way "Red Stag is one of the best novels I have read in years: a story set in the beautifully evoked deep countryside of Normandy, a landscape that surrounds the characters the way a river does a trout."--Field & Stream "Red Stag is a lovely novel that offers an intimate glimpse into a rarified, forgotten world. A story of friendship and family, loyalty and betrayal, revenge and forbidden love, it is beautifully written, full of heartbreak and longing, and the final brutal solace of the natural world." -Jim Fergus, author of One Thousand White Women