John Rigbey

Of Paradise and Miss Jane Pollitt John Rigbey

"OF PARADISE AND MISS JANE POLLITT" is John Rigbey's second visit to St. Laurent-des-Anges, in South-West France, and again he makes us laugh and cry and - above all - he entertains. Following her death, it is discovered that the mayor's mother, Madame Sophie Allard, has left a large inheritance to long-time ex-pat, eccentric Jane Pollitt. The mayor's fury and his determination to defy his dead mother's wishes, serve to introduce a series of carefully drawn characters, both French and English ex-patriots. Those who have read "Of Paradise and Pigs" will recall priggish self-appointed doyen of the local Brits, Norman Titley, and pork butcher's wife and supreme gossip Madame Chantale Danne; add to these a host of others, including a former West End director of Soho fringe "theatre" shows and his friend, and combine the whole with the annual ex-pats' pantomime you have another hilarious book by this popular writer. "OF PARADISE AND MISS JANE POLLITT" is certainly satirical but never unkind. Crafted by an author who has spent a large part of his life in France, it is drawn from his personal experiences and observations. As a reviewer of "Pigs" wrote: "A very funny, and at times cringingly true, snap shot of life in France!!"