‘An artist in both line and words. . . with talents of gold’ OBSERVER
‘There is a way of traveling cheaply in France. One simply gets on a train, sits down in a first-class compartment and falls asleep’
When Ludwig Bemelmans encounters the dashing yet penniless Comte de St. Cucuface aboard a Paris train, he is swept into a deliciously absurd adventure through 1950s France. Under the Count's mischievous tutelage, Bemelmans assumes the role of a German prince, hoodwinking strangers with impeccable manners and effortless charm.
Together, the unlikely duo embark on a run of outlandish escapades, living lavishly on nothing at all. They dine in grand hotels, commandeer Rolls-Royces, outwit restaurateurs and enchant American millionaires with fantastical tales of their aristocratic pasts.
Brimming with quick wit and enlivened by charming illustrations, How to Travel Incognito captures a France suspended between fading elegance and the glitter of the new. Fictionalising Bemelmans's own improbable exploits, it's a reminder that the best journeys let us become someone else entirely.
‘An excellent storyteller’ THE TIMES
‘Bemelmans is always funny, insightful and dead on target’ ANTHONY BOURDAIN
‘A recommended purchase for adults, their children and possibly their children's children’ NEW YORK TIMES
