Product Description

Though happy enough with his lot, Michael Simkins has never truly shaken the nagging doubt - helpfully upheld by his partner Julia - that he somehow lacks worldly sophistication. While she spent her teenage years as a nanny on a boat moored at Cannes, his utter lack of travel experience (Weymouth, Cleethorpes and a day trip to Dieppe) still has the power to shock people into leaving dinner parties early. So as he hits middle-age, Michael takes up the challenge of broadening his horizons. He decides to improve himself in the same way English gentlemen lacking refined edges have for centuries: by learning from our more cultured French neighbours. Michael, an English provincial ingenue, sets off to discover just what the Gallic nation can teach him and the rest of us Anglo-Saxons about living the good life with equal parts elan and savoir-faire. Armed only with 50 Useful Phrases in French, he waits to see if his odyssey from La Manche to the Riviera will finally turn him from the scotch-egg eating spawn of Anne Widdecombe and John McCririck into the champagne-sipping love child of Serge Gainsbourg and Catherine Deneuve. Julia is saying a prayer for him at Lourdes.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #10716 in Books
• Published on: 2009-05-07
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

About the Author
Michael Simkins trained at RADA. He has appeared in more than 70 plays, stage highlights include A View from the Bridge at the National Theatre as well as musicals Chicago and Mamma Mia. He also directed Alan Ayckbourn's Absent Friends at the Greenwich Theatre. He has made countless TV appearances - recent credits include Foyle's War and My Family - as well as turns on the silver screen in such films as Mike Leigh's Topsy-Turvy. He has worked with luminaries as diverse as Anthony Perkins, John Malkovich, Michael Gambon and Buster Merryfield. He lives with his actress wife Julia in London.

Customer Reviews

Tres bonne!
I read Michael Simkins first book about acting and I thoroughly enjoyed it and watched out for more. I thought that Fatty Batter was even better than his first and so when his latest book Detour de France was featured in the papers I got it straight away. I wasn't disappointed. Having holidayed in the South of France last year there were flashes of recognition throughout the book and his description of some of the events and places was tremendous. I particularly liked the description of his visit to Lourdes which held back on the humour and was the more powerful for that. This is a great book and if you are going to France, (or anywhere else this summer) it would be perfect holiday reading.

Funny, moving, sad, tragic - and more.
Some books are so brilliant and cover so much ground you just don't want them to end. A terrific piece of work. This French adventure is laugh out loud funny as well as being movingly and poignantly told, as the author searches for home truths from abroad. Travel broadens the mind and as you journey through this beautifully crafted travelogue there is much to embrace; comic and tragic, funny and sad. You will even think better of the French! I loved Michael Simkins' earlier memoirs on acting and cricket - truthfully told and very (very) funny. If you are a fan of Bill Bryson (and who isn't?) you will adore this English counterpart; Michael Simkins. A wondrous read and a rare treat!
Jamie Hayes

...into the French Psyche in a short time
Living here there is rarely a dull moment especially as we do not live in an English Commune. This book gives many examples of what we see/experience in our everyday life here and caused us many laughs. Our biggest laugh was at the ex-pat cricket match and the Scotch Eggs-no thanks!!!!!!!!!!!We receive an English Newspaper of French News monthly (worth its weight in gold as to what we can claim on Income Tax!) and groan at the number of people complaining about French ways, laws and lack of foods such as Baked Beans and Marmite.
This however is France and the author has captured it.
To fully appreciate it I think you need to have some knowledge of the French/France. In a short space of time the author has managed an insight into the French Psyche-for a more detailed look try "The Discovery of France" by Graham Robb.