A reader's journey along the French Riviera, from Hyeres and Saint-Tropez to the Italian border, introducing the lives and work of writers who passed this way.
The sunlight and calm of the French Riviera have been a magnet for writers since the fourteenth century. The Cote d'Azur has provided the inspiration and setting for some of the greatest literature of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
From distinguished Nobel laureates to new authors who found their voices there, Ted Jones's encyclopaedic work covers them all: writers such as Graham Greene and W. Somerset Maugham, who spent much of their lives there; F. Scott Fitzgerald and Guy de Maupassant, whose work it dominates.
The book also includes the countless writers who simply lingered there, including Louisa M. Alcott, Hans Christian Anderson, J.G. Ballard, Samuel Beckett, Arnold Bennett, William Boyd, Bertholt Brecht, Anthony Burgess, Albert Camus, Bruce Chatwin, Joseph Conrad, Charles Dickens, T.S. Eliot, Ian Fleming, Ernest Hemingway, Aldous Huxley, James Joyce, Rudyard Kipling, D.H. Lawrence, A.A. Milne, Vladimir Nabokov, Dorothy Parker, Sylvia Plath, Jean-Paul Sartre, George Bernard Shaw, Robert Louis Stevenson, Anton Tchekhov, Leo Tolstoy, Evelyn Waugh, H.G. Wells, Oscar Wilde, P.G. Wodehouse, Virginia Woolf and W.B. Yeats - and many others.
Rezensionen / Stimmen
The ultimate travel book for anyone who likes sun and literature. I found it irresistible. -- Peter Mayle There are two views of the French Riviera. One says it is an overdeveloped blot on the landscape; the other that it is the epitome of style. If you veer towards the latter, and enjoy literary history, this book is for you. Drawing on the stories of more than 150 writers, Jones does a great job of buffing up the legend. -- Anthony Sattin * Sunday Times, Books of the Week * Thoughtful, entertaining and vivid, Jones's The French Riviera sweeps us along the coast ... Jones's book is sad only because it reminds us of how much of the Riviera's tranquil beauty has been sacrificed. The list of literary lovers of the Riviera almost beggars belief. It is delightful to have their eloquent, acerbic, lyrical responses collected here, in a book that deserves to become a favourite with all travellers. -- Miranda Seymour * Sunday Times * There is much to relish. The author is assiduous in recording who wrote what where and when, in seeking out memorial plaques and mourning lost landmarks. -- E. S. Turner * Times Literary Supplement * A vivid guide to the Cote d'Azur in the eyes of some of the greatest writers of their time. -- Jane Meys * Daily Mail * Certainly among the best of recent books on the area. Jones has done a lot of research and presents his results in a clear and lively style. The book will appeal obviously to those with literary interests but it's also designed to please those who enjoy Sunday paper-style gossip (broadsheet, of course). -- Patrick Middleton * The Riviera Reporter * Unsurpassed in literary name-dropping. -- David Armstrong * San Francisco Chronicle * Some travel guides offer the basics. Others, such as Ted Jones' The French Riviera, weave the works of other literary giants into a narrative that gives a sense of history of a place. Jones' book provides glimpses of works by writers such as Agatha Christie, Joseph Conrad, Ian Fleming, Aldous Huxley, Ernest Hemingway, Victor Hugo and James Joyce and their feelings about the French Riviera. * Salt Lake City Tribune * With a cast of more than 150 authors, the book is an incredible tour-de-force. Through taking several years of diligent research to complete, Ted guides the reader on a remarkable journey, where the lives and loves of so many writers unfold before us along the sundrenched shores of the French Riviera. * www.amb-cotedazur.com * Part travel-guide, part biography, the elegant text retraces the footsteps of some of the world's greatest literary geniuses. Enough to tempt even the strongest-willed to book a ticket. Snap up a copy of Ted's book. ... The literary world's answer to Heat magazine, Ted uncovers endlessly fascinating material. * Slough & Windsor Express * The palm-fringed beaches of Cannes, Nice, Monaco and the other magical Mediterranean coastal towns and villages of sun-swept southeastern France are lovingly described by travel journalist Ted Jones. * Frequent Flyer Magazine *
Ted Jones is a writer and journalist who specialises in travel and the arts. He divides his time between Villefranche-sur-Mer on the French Riviera, and Windsor, England.
Acknowledgements
Map
Preface
Introduction
Hyeres: Gateway to the Riviera
Cannes: City of Festivals
Antibes: The City Opposite
The Back Country: The Balcony of the Mediterranean
Nice: The Heart of the Riviera
Cap Ferrat: Almost an Island
Monaco: City of Millionaires
Menton: Sanatorium Citu
Epilogue
Author Profiles
Bibliography
Index
