It is 1919. On a summer's night in Normandy, a new-born baby is left in a basket outside the home of Albert and Jeanne Arnaud. The childless couple take the foundling in, name him Jean, and decide to raise him as their own, though his parentage remains a mystery. Though Jean's life is never dull, he grows up knowing little of what lies beyond his local area. Until the day he sets off on his bicycle to discover the world, and encounters a Europe on the threshold of interesting times... AUTHOR: Michel Deon was born in Paris in 1919, he is the author of more than fifty works and one of forty members elected by L'Academie Francaise to serve for life. REVIEWS: 'He takes the world which died between the wars and patiently dissects it for us' ? Magazine litteraire 'An imaginative adventure that is both captivating and moving' ? Pierre Moustiers 'A welcome addition to the literature of the inter-war period' ? Le Monde
