Anne-Marie changed people’s hearts. It was true, everything at Escures intimated high morals. There were certain things that one could neither do nor think in front of her.

Henri Pourrat (1887–1959)
Author of Gaspard des montagnes

“If Anne-Marie inherited a certain stiffness of character from her father, from her mother she inherited the submissiveness that makes people accept and even love what could not be otherwise. — You’re the eldest, so you’ll be the woman of the house. You’ll have the servants say their prayers every evening, you’ll look after the linen, clothes and provisions, as I’ve shown you, and you’ll see to it that everything runs smoothly. You’ll have to stop thinking about yourself, my Anne-Marie, and start thinking about your father and sister. I’m leaving them to you, and you’ll take my place. Anne-Marie took care of everything, from pressing walnuts for oil to spinning wool and hemp, and even preparing remedies: St John’s wort for eye ailments and lily petals for burns. On a country estate, you only had to sell, never buy anything except iron and salt. The little girl, as much as she could, tried to do as her mother had done in the household.”

Henri Pourrat (1887–1959)
Author of Gaspard des montagnes