{"product_id":"detour-de-france-michael-simkins-9780091927530","title":"Detour de France: An Englishman in Search of a Continental Education","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 their 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. Armed only with \u003ci\u003e50 Useful Phrases in French\u003c\/i\u003e, 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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Michael Simkins\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0091927536\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780091927530\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Ebury Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 06\/01\/2010\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 312\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.44lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 7.60h x 4.90w x 0.90d","brand":"Michael Simkins","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":44075944575231,"sku":"9780091927530","price":21.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_bc93b5d7-839b-4d3c-8531-a7d45e7dd0dd.jpg?v=1685462325","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/detour-de-france-michael-simkins-9780091927530","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}