A new chapter for flit-litters - Times Online
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A new chapter for flit-littersTimes Online, UK - Aug 30, 2008... in Bulgaria or Downhill in Dubai: Skiing in the Desert. Also, the literary output from North America, the third most popular destination for Britons, ... |
A new chapter for flit-litters - Times Online
And now, somewhat to our surprise, we had done it . We hadbought a house, taken French lessons, said our goodbyes, shipped over ourdogs and become foreigners.”It all happened because of a property. Mayle, a professional adman, and hiswife, Jennie, “saw it one afternoon and had mentally moved in by dinner”. Itdidn’t just mark the beginning of their new life in the Provençal hills – italso kick-started the British invasion of France and a whole new literarygenre: flit lit. IsabellaDusi went off to Montalcino, a medieval hilltop village in Tuscany, for hertwo-book deal, as did the American author Frances Mayes, whose Under theTuscan Sun was taken up by Hollywood and made into a film in 2003. ChrisStewart decamped to Andalusia, Anna Nicholas went from Mayfair to Mallorca(A Lizard in My Luggage) and Alex Browning went Shooting Caterpillars inSpain. Such escapism was perfect poolside reading and sucked in commuterswho fantasised about leaving behind the daily grind.A Year in Provence became an international sensation after serialisation inThe Sunday Times. It was translated into 17 languages and went on to sellmore than 1.5m copies – not bad considering it had an initial print run of3,000.So, what will it cost to follow in Mayle’s footsteps now? Head down to thesun-baked terraces and lavender fields of Provence and you’ll be lucky topick up a ruined farmhouse with some land. But almost everything has beenrenovated. Today, you have to pick something that was renovated, say, 20 or30 years ago, and redo it.”Prices for a 300-square-metre property, says Janssens, range from £1.2m up to£2.5m. He is selling a renovated 18th-century mas near Goult with a view ofthe Vaucluse mountains. The fourbed house with pool, staff flat and largegardens is for sale for £2m (020 8576 5582, www.winkworth.co.uk). Janssens picks the Drôme Provençal, known for its olive trees, where valuesare 30% less than southern Provence, as the next destination on the Mayletrail. A milder climate may costyou 20% more, but then you can grow lemons, avocados and olives.”Finding wrecks to do up in central Italy is altogether more difficult. After10 years in Italy, she went to Morocco and Algeria, where she ended up on adate farm in an oasis, and the resulting book, A Handful of Honey, has justbeen published.The shelves may be groaning with flit lit, but there are a few gaps. There’syet to be A Year in Bulgaria or Downhill in Dubai: Skiing in the Desert.Also, the literary output from North America, the third most populardestination for Britons, has yet to take off. Perhaps the commonlanguage doesn’t allow for comic misunderstanding; then there’s the lack ofold stone houses to do up. Or perhaps, dare I say it, Florida doesn’t appealto the budding man of letters.Rural France, it seems, still exerts the greatest pull. Among the latesttitles is The Field by the River by Ken Burnett, which combines an interestin natural history with the “let’s move to France” genre, recording thewildlife in the field adjoining his 350-year-old house in Brit-tany. Andthis week sees the publication of Chateau Monty: A Corking Wine Adventure byMonty Waldin, the enfant terrible of the organic wine world. Needless tosay, at the start of his new career abroad, he is hurtling towards 40. He now lives in a 1930s semi in Tuscany with an allotmentand a garage-cum-office built of straw bales. I’m sureMayle will raise a glass of vino.Flit lit: the rules1. Buy a property – it can be a maison-de-maître, chateau, cortijoor finca, whatever you like or the locals call it, but it must be awreck2. Choose a location or business proposal that hasn’t yet been written about:a brothel in Bulgaria? Make one stunningly rude and hilarious faux pas4. A team of workers must down tools in a Mediterranean-style huff, leavingyou stranded. You will then be saved by a local hero with a ruddy face androbust language who will initiate you into the secrets of village life5. Take up a hobby: boules, cooking, flamenco or truffle-hunting. Never suggest it is lonely or that you miss anything more than marmaladeand baked beans. The holiday spirit must reign supreme, but be rude aboutEnglish tourists who dream of moving abroad7. Take a hard look at the market with our indispensable guideThe ten most common pitfalls when buying abroad... Globrix Property Search - find property for sale and rent in the UK.Visit our classified services and find jobs, used cars, property or holidays. Use our dating service, read our births, marriages and deaths announcements, or place your advertisement.Copyright 2008 Times Newspapers Ltd.This service is provided on Times Newspapers' standard Terms and Conditions. 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