One summer night in 1808, Sobran Jodeau sets out to drown his love sorrows in his family's vineyard when he stumbles on an angel. Once he gets over his shock, Sobran decides that Xas, the male angel, is his guardian sent to counsel him on everything from marriage to wine production. But Xas turns out to be a far more mysterious character. Compelling and erotic, The Vintner's Luck explores a decidedly unorthodox love story as Sobran eventually comes to love and be loved by both Xas and the young Countess de Valday, his friend and employer at the neighboring chateau.

One summer evening in 1808, Sobran Jodeau stumbles through his family's vineyard in Burgundy, filled with wine and love sorrows. As Sobran sways in a drunken swoon, an angel appears out of nowhere to catch him.Once he gets over his shock, Sobran decides that Xas, the male angel, is his guardian sent to counsel him on everything from marriage to wine production. But Xas turns out to be far more mysterious than angelic. Compelling and erotic, The Vintner's Luck is a decidedly unorthodox love story, one that presents angels as fierce and beautiful as Milton's, and a vision of Heaven, Hell, and th

One summer evening in 1808, Sobran Jodeau stumbles through his family's vineyard in Burgundy, filled with wine and love sorrows. As Sobran sways in a drunken swoon, an angel appears out of nowhere to catch him.Once he gets over his shock, Sobran decides that Xas, the male angel, is his guardian sent to counsel him on everything from marriage to wine production. But Xas turns out to be far more mysterious than angelic. Compelling and erotic, The Vintner's Luck is a decidedly unorthodox love story, one that presents angels as fierce and beautiful as Milton's, and a vision of Heaven, Hell, and the vineyards in between that is unforgettable. The Vintner?s Luck is a huge bestseller in New Zealand. It has sold over 50 000 copies in New Zealand and over 100 000 copies worldwide. The Vintner?s Luck was published in the US by Farrar, Straus and Giroux and Picador US, and in the UK by Chatto & Windus and Vintage. It has been published in German, Dutch, Norwegian, Spanish and Hebrew. It won the Deutz Medal for Fiction at the 1999 The Montana NZ Book Awards, where it also received the Readers' Choice and Booksellers' Choice awards. It was longlisted for the 1999 Orange Prize for fiction (UK) The Vintner?s Luck won the 2001 Tasmania Pacific Region Prize, and a film directed by Niki Caro is currently in production.

A 19th century French winemaker is visited by a male angel and falls in love. The angel visits him once a year and the friendship leads to a triangle involving the winemaker's wife. By a New Zealand writer.

Burgundy, 1808. One night Sobran Jodeau, a young vintner, meets an angel in his vineyard- a physically gorgeous creature with huge wings that smell of snow, a sense of humour and an inquiring mind. They meet again every year on the midsummer anniversary of the date. Village life goes on, meanwhile, with its affairs and mysteries, marriages and murders, and the vintages keep improving - though the horror of the Napoleonic wars and into the middle of the century, as science marches on, viticulture changes, and gliders fly like angels. Longlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction.

A novel of angels, wine, and love without boundaries set in nineteenth-century Burgundy. One summer night in 1808, Sobran Jodeau sets out to drown his love sorrows in his family's vineyard. Drunk, he stumbles on an angel: "Someone had set a statue down on the ridge. Sobran blinked and swayed. For a second he saw what he knew--gilt, paint and varnish, the sculpted labial eye of a church statue. Then he swooned while still walking forward, and the angel stood quickly to catch him." Once he gets over his shock, Sobran decides that Xas, the male angel, is his guardian sent to counsel him on everything from marriage to wine production. But Xas turns out to be a far more mysterious character. A favorite of both God and Satan, he is, unlike other angels, allowed to go freely about the world, collecting earthly roses for his garden. Sobran and Xas agree to meet on this night every year of Sobran's life, and eventually man and angel fall in passionate love, complicating both their lives. Compelling and erotic, The Vintner's Luck explores a decidedly unorthodox love story as Sobran eventually comes to love and be loved by both Xas and the young Countess de Valday, his friend and employer at the neighboring chteau.

One summer night in 1808, Sobran Jodeau sets out to drown his love sorrows in his family's vineyard. Drunk, he stumbles on an angel: "Someone had set a statue down on the ridge. Sobran blinked and swayed. For a second he saw what he knew--gilt, paint and varnish, the sculpted labial eye of a church statue. Then he swooned while still walking forward, and the angel stood quickly to catch him." Once he gets over his shock, Sobran decides that Xas, the male angel, is his guardian sent to counsel him on everything from marriage to wine production. But Xas turns out to be a far more mysterious character. A favourite of both God and Satan, he is, unlike other angels, allowed to go freely about the world, collecting earthly roses for his garden.

Burgundy, 1808, and one midsummer night a young vintner named Sobran Jodeau meets an angel in his vineyard. They meet every year thereafter; and despite the vicissitudes both of world history and village life, the vintages keep improving.

A tale of love, wine and angels, The Vintner's Luck was published in 1999 around the world in numerous editions and languages. It won the Deutz Medal for Fiction at the 1999 Montana New Zealand Book Awards, where it also received the Readers' Choice and Booksellers' Choice awards, was longlisted for the 1999 Orange Prize, and won the 2001 Tasmania Pacific Prize. Burgundy, 1808. One night Sobran Jodeau, a young vintner, meets an angel in his vineyard: a physically gorgeous creature with huge wings that smell of snow, a sense of humour and an enquiring mind. Every year on the midsummer anniversary of the date, they meet again. Village life goes on, meanwhile, with its affairs and mysteries, marriages and murders, and the vintages keep on improving--through the horrors of the Napoleonic wars, and into the middle of the century, as science marches on, viticulture changes, and gliders fly like angels. Elizabeth Knox is the author of ten novels - most recently The Absolute Book - a trilogy of autobiographical novellas, three fantasy novels for young adults, and a collection of essays. She has received many honours, including the 1988 PEN Best First Book Award for After Z-Hour, the 2006 Esther Glen Award for New Zealand children's literature for Dreamhunter, and an American Library Association Michael L. Printz Honor Award for Young Adult Literature in 2008 for Dreamquake. She held the Victoria University of Wellington Writers Fellowship in 1997, and the Katherine Mansfield Memorial Fellowship in Menton in 1999. She was an inaugural New Zealand Arts Foundation Laureate in 2000, and was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2002. She lives in Wellington with her husband and son.

Victoria University Press is proud to publish this limited edition of The Vintner's Luck to celebrate its ten year anniversary. This signed, numbered edition of 1000 copies is beautifully designed by Sarah Maxey. The Vintner's Luck was a huge bestseller in New Zealand. It has sold over 50 000 copies in New Zealand and over 100 000 copies worldwide. The Vintner's Luck was published in the US by Farrar, Straus and Giroux and Picador US, and in the UK by Chatto & Windus and Vintage. It has been published in German, Dutch, Norwegian, Spanish and Hebrew. It won the Deutz Medal for Fiction at the 1999 Montana NZ Book Awards, where it also received the Readers' Choice and Booksellers' Choice awards. It was longlisted for the 1999 Orange Prize for fiction (UK) and it won the 2001 Tasmania Pacific Region Prize. The Vintner's Luck is at present being made into a film, starring Keisha Castle-Hughes, by award-winning NZ director Niki Caro, which is due for release next year. Elizabeth was born in 1959. She studied at Victoria University of Wellington and attended Bill Manhire's Creative Writing course. She is one of New Zealand's most successful writers and has a keen readership both in New Zealand and overseas. Daylight has had critics in the US comparing Knox to the queen of the vampire novelists, saying Daylight is ?on a par with the best Anne Rice has to offer? and calling it an ?illuminating tour-de-force?, while Metro called it ?mysterious, thrilling, erotic'. Her 2001 novel Black Oxen was published simultaneously in the US, the UK and NZ and was a NZ number one bestseller. Billie's Kiss made a spectacular entry into the NZ bestseller list on the strength of one afternoon's sales and then shot straight to number one in the following list. It was also shortlisted in the 2002 Montana NZ Book Awards.

Aan het begin van de 19e eeuw ontstaat een bijzondere relatie tussen een jonge Franse wijnboer en een engel.