Description
Book SynopsisAn 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.
This gentle comedy trilogy 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.
Trade ReviewPRAISE 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 infectious’ Daily Telegraph
‘His gift of story-telling is obviously innate. Rarely does one come on so satisfying an amalgam of plot, characterisation and good writing’ Punch
‘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 them’ New York Times
‘What counts for most in the story, as it did for Mr Finchley, is his mounting pleasure in vagabondage and the English scene’ The Times
‘There is such a gentle humour in the book … Mr Finchley is the ideal Englishman’ Daily Sketch
