When Charles Timoney and his French wife were both made redundant in the same week, they decided to try living in France for a year or so. It proved much harder than expected. Charles's O level in French was little help when everyone around him consistently used a wide variety of impenetrable slang and persisted in the annoying habit of talking about things he had never heard of. But they stayed. Two decades and two thoroughly French children later, An Englishman Aboard is Charles's third book on his experience of France, the French people and the French language- Pardon My French- Unleash Your Inner Gaul, A Certain Je Ne Sais Quoi- The Ideal Guide to Sounding, Acting and Shrugging Like the French and now An Englishman Aboard.
A witty, clever read that's peppered with endearing and thoughtful observations on the French disposition. His gently self-deprecating anecdotes amuse and charm, as mishaps and blessings befall him. Timoney's conversational tone welcomes you along as he amiably shares his experiences as if you were old pals swapping anecdotes over a bottle of wine. Five stars * French Entree * There are new year's resolutions and then there are those rash decisions that come after the last bottle has been drunk on the last night of the year. The journey down the Seine that Charles Timoney describes in his third book about France stemmed from the latter ... a charming story of life along the river ... that lingers in the mind * Sunday Times (Books of the Month) * A wonderful view of France as seen from the water, and through the eyes of a genuinely funny writer - I laughed out loud -- Philip Marsden (author of The Levelling Sea)