Books on France
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Books on France |
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Site map Home page Travel France Holidays Info about France French artists Our books Order books |
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If you've traveled through this site, you may know by now by now that it grew out of our own books, A Normandy Tapestry and Selling French Dreams. Although this page gives information about other books on France that we consider to be outstanding, it is on our own books - A Normandy Tapestry and Selling French Dreams - that we are able to offer you a special deal. Of course you can either order one or both of them online, just like any other book on this page, or you can choose to save the cost of postage (about £2 per book) by ordering them directly from us, by post. We can afford to offer you this saving because a direct order cuts out the high cost of online credit card posting. So we save money and pass those savings on to you. We gain too, because we do not need to pay a third party's handling fees. You get great books cheap, and an ever expanding web site full of the most valuable information about France. So if you've found this site useful, like the sound of our books, and want to do us both a favour, click here. |
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Books for sale online
As far as learning French and Maps of France go, please refer to our site map where you will find pages specifically dedicated to these subjects
George East's books - post free!
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Fun at the Mill of the Flea
Sometimes known as the ‘other Peter Mayle’ ( the poor one, that is!), George East has been writing about he and his wife’s small adventures in France for more than twenty years. George and Donella’s love affair with France began when they bought a ruined water mill in Normandy and moved in to start a new life. The ultimate innocent abroad made so many cock-ups that he wrote a cautionary book to warn other would-be adventurers of the pitfalls. Home & Dry in France was to be the first in a series of six books about life in the very slow lane in rural France.
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The first book in the best-selling series begins with failed publican, dressmaker and professional bed-tester George East and his wife Donella acquiring a windfall from a shady deal and setting out in search of a picture-postcard cottage in Normandy. Tellingly sub-titled A Year in Purgatory, this enchanting book is a sometimes hilarious and always entertaining account of how one couple set out with a dream, and eventually ended up home and (fairly) dry at The Mill of the Flea. It has become a classic of its genre, and been enjoyed by an army of general book readers.
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The sequel to Home & Dry in France tells the story of our heroes’ attempt to survive a year living off the land and their wits at their dilapidated watermill in Normandy. Determined to make a go of living the good life, the Easts find themselves with a mentor as René Ribet moves on to their land in his ancient caravan. Their new friend promises to school them in the ways of the countryside and help them restore their ruined property and fortunes at the same time. To the innocents abroad he appears a godsend. To the locals in the nearby village, however, René Ribet is known as The Fox of Cotentin. Doomed schemes launched by the unlikely partnership include bottling the waters of their polluted stream and manufacturing the first ever garlic-flavoured car deodoriser. As the seasons pass, the couple finally realise that the real treasure has been all around them, all the time. |
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Once again, we visit the innocents abroad at home in the tiny Normandy community where time is cheap, good friends are priceless, and reluctant tractors are brought to life with a shot of home-brewed and highly illicit applejack brandy. Once again we meet local characters and members of the Jolly Boys Club like JayPay, the giant superchef and moustache-growing champion of all Normandy. Then there’s Old Pierrot, who claims to have magical powers and to have been on first name terms with William The Conqueror. Didier the dodgy dealer is still doing a roaring trade in blank Rubik’s cubes, and the doughty Madame Ghislaine is still battling to keep the village store, bar and school open and her husband sober. And, then of course, there is always René Ribet, the notorious Fox of Cotentin…. |
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The fourth collection of tall tales from master raconteur George East, French Flea Bites takes us through another eventful year in and around the tiny Normandy village of Néhou. Along with the regular cast of members of the Jolly Boys Club and other eccentric villagers and settlers, we meet a man who believes he died in 1979, an English lord who is trying to patent his chain mail underpants, and a lethal cat who becomes a werewolf at full moon. Elsewhere, a genetically mutated muskrat is decimating Reggie and Ronnie’s crayfish gang, and René Ribet (the notorious Fox of Cotentin) is drawing up plans to convert a giant compost heap into Néhou’s answer to The Millennium Dome. Obviously, all is quite normale at The Mill of the Flea… |
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The long-awaited fifth book in the Mill of the Flea series, French Cricket finds our heroes returning to La Puce after a two-year absence caused by family bereavements. Arriving to find their home in a sad state of disrepair, Donella sets about mending the broken cement mixer and restoring The Mill of the Flea to its former glory. . Without telling his wife the grim news, the ever-optimistic George has to cook up some new money-making schemes to avoid having to sell La Puce. As a long summer comes to bloom, we meet a weird array of new British settlers, and the latest members of the La Puce menagerie include a ballet-dancing goose refugee from the foie gras farm down the road, a duck which is afraid of water... and a giant eel called Elvis. Obviously, nothing changes at the Mill of the Flea! |
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French Kisses is (allegedly!) the last book in the Mill of the Flea series. I As usual, the owners of the Mill of the Flea are struggling to survive financially, and this time it is really serious. The dastardly bank manager is demanding the settlement of their overdraft, and if our hero cannot come up with a scheme to raise the money, the couple will lose their beloved home. George sets out on a quest to save their home of thirteen years, and predictably becomes involved in some very bizarre deals with Didier, the local and very dodgy general dealer. Sub-plots along the way involve the nobbling of the East's entry into the All-Cotentin Chicken Show, with the wily Réne Ribet stepping in to save the day and put one over on the rival village with his fox-like cunning. As the pace quickens, it looks as if nothing will save the Easts from leaving the Mill of the Flea. But as usual, there's a twist to the tale. Or is there....? |
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A Year Behind Bars is the 'prequel' to the Mill of the Flea series, and tells the story of one man's attempt to create the perfect pub. Having spent most of his free time in inns, taverns and good old-fashioned boozers, our fictional hero (who is quite like the author!), persuades his long-suffering wife to buy him a pub of his own for Christmas. Now, he thinks, he will be able to drink at cost price, and relax while entertaining customers and friends in his front room. Predictably, the scheme does not quite work out quite as planned. Along with the diary of a memorable year of rude awakenings, near-catastrophic incident and continual farce, the book also contains a number of brilliant cartoons illustrating the funny side of pub life, a host of fascinating facts about the Great British Pub, and a fun quiz for readers to check out if they may be suited to a life behind bars. A must for everyone who has at some stage thought how nice it would be to run a cosy little pub… |
Reference books on buying property and living in France
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Buying a home in France 2003-2004 By David Hampshire. This book is essential reading for anyone planning to purchase property in France and is the most comprehensive and up-to-date source of information availabe.
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The best places to buy a home in France A complementary book to David Hampshire's by Joe Laredo. This book is designed to help avoid costly mistakes and save time, trouble and money.
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| Living and working in France
Another book by David Hampshire, the best technical author in his field. Living and Working in France is the most comprehensive and up-to-date source of practical information available about everyday life in France. It's packed with over 450 pages of important and useful data, designed to help you avoid costly mistakes and save both time and money. |
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Buying French property to let This guide shows you how to maximize your investment by renting it out and how to avoid the pitfalls of the unprepared
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| The Rough Guide to France Quote from a reviewer: "Travelling in France is wonderful for the food and the cheapness of the hotels however many guides (such as Michelin Red Book) etc either cover a wide range of hotels and restaurants or only expensive ones. This book covers the affordable but good! having used it over the past two years I have stayed at some amazing little inns and eaten some superb food (and drunk some exceptional wine) at very reasonable cost." | The Vendee
Angela Bird's guide is a labour of love and is regarded as the bible for English speaking visitors to the Vendee (just south of Brittany). Well planned and comprehensive. Highly recommended.
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Michelin guide to Chateaux on the Loire |
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Lazy
Days Out in the Dordogne and the Lot Dana Facaros, Michael Pauls, Alex Manalatos |
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The
Independent Walker's Guide to France 35 Extraordinary Walks in 16 of France's Finest Regions (The Independent Walker Series) Frank Booth, et al / Paperback / Published 1996 Price: £7.99
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A guide to exploring France by
bicycle. There are 18 routes and over 20 mountain passes
described, along with colour photographs and route maps.
Background information is provided to make it easy for all cycle
tourers, however inexperienced, to plan their trip to France. |
Alan Rogers' France 2003: Quality camping and caravanning sites Sites are all over France and the book is split into easy to use sections each covering a different region of France. The sites are open for people who camp in tents and caravans and the text included descriptions of all facilities and area including important information about toilets and the distances to the nearest beaches. The fact that these sites are even in the book should be an indication that they are worth a look. Very useful. |
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