In this candid and funny account of her escape from English boys and her love affair with a Frenchman, Lucy Wadham describes the mutual bafflement and fascination that characterised both their subsequent marriage and her unfolding relationship with France. Using her own personal experiences over 25 years, Lucy offers a rare, insider’s view of a nation that may be deeply incompatible with ours but is also, she thinks, chronically misunderstood.

The Secret Life of France

In The Secret Life of France, Lucy leads us on a journey through the French moral maze, and examines French attitudes to a range of subjects from marriage and adultery to work and race relations. By taking apart the clichés she helps us gain a better understanding of this nearest and most alien of neighbours, and suggests that on some matters we have much to learn from them.

‘Lucy peels off layer after layer of French convention, prejudice and sheer unimpeachable style to lay the nation’s psyche bare, as juicy and satisfying as a steak served bleu.’ Hugh Fearnley-Wittingstall

‘Hugely enjoyable, elegant and intelligent.’ Edward Stourton

Lucy Wadham

Lucy Wadham was born in London and educated at Oxford. She has lived in France for the past 25 years. She is a columnist for Prospect Magazine and works for The Sunday Times and has written three novels. This is her first work of non fiction.

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