Trespass

Trespass is a 2010 novel by British author Rose Tremain. The novel is set in a small town in Cévennes and concerns two pairs of mixed gender dysfunctional adult siblings, one French and one English who become entangled in a dispute over property. Plot Audrun is an elderly woman who lives in a small shack she has inherited in a small town in Cévennes where she has always lived. Her older brother terrorized her when they were children and as an adult lives a lonely life in their childhood home, which he has partially ruined through hoarding. When he asks Audrun to come help him clean out the house she discovers that he has plans to sell it for roughly half a million euros. Anthony Verey is an elderly antiques dealer who is quickly becoming insolvent. Realizing his life is stagnating he calls his sister, Veronica, who is living in Cévennes with her lover, Kitty, while they collaborate on a book. To Kitty's distress, Veronica offers to let Anthony stay with them indefinitely until he feels better. Anthony forms the idea of buying a home near Veronica and permanently resettling. Aramon, Audrun's brother, continues to make her life hell, telling her that the small shack she built near their childhood home is an eyesore and if any of it crosses onto his property line he will tear it down. Because the shack was hastily built Audrun is unsure of its legality. She begins to contemplate murdering her brother.