I don't know. This book felt confused. Started with some lighthearted exploration of attitudes towards sex in French society (vs "Anglo-Saxon", as she calls Brits/USians) and then veers into discussion of their legacy of colonialism and inability to admit their problems with banlieues, with interviews with people high up in their justice system and secret service. I don't know what she was going for here, but it felt disjointed. I would have loved a deeper exploration of how French politics got the way it is, but this wasn't it. The stuff about collaboration in WWII in particular deserves more than a chapter or so. It just felt like an overly-long personal essay with speculation and political sentiments that I would leave out (if it were me).

I went in expecting a kind of silly holiday read with a few interesting tidbits about French culture, but that's definitely not what I got. I had fun in parts, but overall I'm not going to recommend this. I'm pretty sure there will be better observational books and serious historical/sociological texts rather than this one that doesn't do either particularly well. ( )

I often wonder why the English still have this obsession with trying to decode "Frenchness". Are there books by French authors that attempt the same thing about Britain? After all London is famously the 5th biggest French city; are there books about the quirkiness of living in Peckham? The secret life of Wandsworth?

Somehow I doubt it. So why this perpetual fascination with the otherness of France? Anyway this is an interesting enough read which doesn't reveal any secret life but is an entertaining enough memoir of the differences in attitude Ms Wadham encounters amongst Parisians of certain intellectual class compared to what she experiences in England. Its quite funny if a little stereotypical on the subject of French attitudes to sexual morality; a private matter Ms Wadham believes. One wonders what she would be making of the current Hollande scandals?

So a fairly light but worthwhile read. Now - where did I put that copy of "Life Among the Cockneys"? ( )

Interesting member of the English-in-France genre, taking a more serious, socio-political viewpoint than many (although still funny and talking a lot about gender relations etc. as well as racism, war and geopolitics!) and involving the author's own story only really as a framing device and to illustrate one of her points. Very interesting on racism and attitudes to WWII and the role of the French in their own fates at that time. ( )

Enjoyable for the most part, The Secret Life of France will appeal to anyone who wants to know more about that country, its people and its culture. Written by a British woman who has lived in France for over two decades, it starts out with some fairly juicy chapters on French attitudes to relationships, femininity, sexuality, motherhood, education and the "cult of ideas" that has elevated French intellectuals to a sacrosanct cultural position. In the second half of the book, however, things get a little odd. The chapters to do with history (particularly WW2), foreign affairs, immigration, post-imperialism and modern politics have a far more serious tone. The author has a background in journalism, and this part of the book reads as if she wanted to put her years of research to use - whether it suited the overall structure of the book or not.

But despite this awkward structuring, the book remains quite interesting. Not sure if I entirely agree with her analysis, mind - the chapters on French womanhood, in particular, left me doubtful. And one of the book's central arguments - while bold - is controversial. The author contends that the very qualities the Anglo-American world most admires about France - its love of beauty, fine things and the "good life" - have left it decadent and unprepared to weather hardship. This weakness, in turn, helped leave it open to invasion and collaboration during WW2. (Naturally, she contrasts this outlook with that of her native Britain, whose "Bulldog breed" are inured to suffering as a result of living on a cold, grey island where the food is bad and it rains much of the time.)

Still enjoyed this book though, despite these shortcomings.