A salacious story in The Independent describes “The Alpine Shepherd and the Parisian”: A French Alps hermit, described as simple, owned rundown property that could be used for ski chalets. The property was coveted by a wealthy jet-setting Parisian woman. She duped the hermit into marrying her, though they live in two different worlds; she occasionally visited him. Then the hermit mysteriously dies in a road accident, in a car driven by the woman’s accomplice. But when the hermit’s will is unveiled, it deliberately leaves her nothing.
Bill Porter in China
American writer Bill Porter (published occasionally as Red Pine) translates Chinese poetry and pursues the world of Chinese hermits as an independent scholar. Here is a fine article from January 2013 from Chinese documentary television, which concentrates on Porter’s October 2012 literary tour of China and the positive reception it received.
URL: http://english.cntv.cn/program/documentary/20130110/108722.shtml