Mr Finchley Goes to Paris
By (Author) Victor Canning
Duckworth Books
Farrago
16th May 2019
18th April 2019
United Kingdom
General
Fiction
Humorous fiction
Narrative theme: Coming of age
Narrative theme: Sense of place
Historical fiction
Historical adventure fiction
823.912
Paperback
224
Width 129mm, Height 198mm
Book 2 of the classic trilogy of humorous rural adventures through pre-war England. An ebullient Mr Finchley is about to propose marriage to a lady he had rescued from mishap, when he is sent to Paris by his firm. There he manages to upset a boat, adopt a stray orphan and get himself kidnapped. The fine tangle he gets into takes some unravelling! Only when eventually back in London does he complete the proposal of marriage that was interrupted at the start. Jerome Jerome meets Mr Bean in this gentle comedy series, which was a runaway bestseller on first publication in the 1930s and retains a timeless appeal today. It has been dramatized twice for BBC Radio, with the 1990 series regularly repeated. AUTHOR: Victor Canning was a prolific writer throughout his career, which began young: he had sold several short stories by the age of nineteen and his first novel, Mr Finchley Discovers His England (1934) was published when he was twenty-three. Canning also wrote for children: his trilogy The Runaways was adapted for US children's television. Canning's later thrillers were darker and more complex than his earlier work and received further critical acclaim.
PRAISE FOR THE CLASSIC CANNING SERIES
Quite delightful, with an atmosphere of quiet contentment and humour that cannot fail to charm The longer we travel with Mr Finchley, the better we come to love him. He makes us share his bread and cheese, and beer and pipe. His delight at the beauties of the countryside and his mild astonishment at the strange ways of men are infectiousDaily Telegraph
His gift of story-telling is obviously innate.Rarely does one come on so satisfying an amalgam of plot, characterisation and good writingPunch
A paean to the beauties of the English countryside and the lovable oddities of the English character [Mr Finchley] runs into one astonishing situation after another, sticking gamely to his resolve that he must take things as they come and accept themNew York Times
What counts for most in the story, as it did for Mr Finchley, is hismounting pleasure in vagabondage and the English sceneThe Times
There issuch a gentle humour in the book Mr Finchley is the ideal EnglishmanDaily Sketch
Victor Canningwas a prolific writer throughout his career, which began young: he had sold several short stories by the age of nineteen and his first novel,Mr Finchley Discovers His England(1934) was published when he was twenty-three. It proved to be a runaway bestseller. Canning also wrote for children: his trilogyThe Runawayswas adapted for US children's television. Canning's later thrillers were darker and more complex than his earlier work and received further critical acclaim.