Ted Jones
“What’s this like?” we asked rather directly, “Absolutely brilliant” replied Jill, owner of the bookshop and savvy experienced reader. “You can delve into this book, stop and start whenever you want to and still enjoy a really good read without losing the thread”. Needless to say we purchased the book and have been delighted with it ever since.
When we discovered that the author actually lived in our part of the world, it became irresistible to ask if we could meet him and, with his agreement, undertake an interview for AMB Côte d’Azur. It was an immense pleasure when we received a positive reply back to say that he’d be more than happy to meet us.
We arranged to meet Ted Jones in Villefranche-sur-Mer where he and his wife Joan divide their time between this stunning seaside resort and Windsor, England. As we drove into this lovely port, we couldn’t help but understand why they chose it; just minutes away from Nice, the panorama is breathtaking; “Belle Epoque” style houses nestle in the cliffs, its harbour, created in 1295 by Charles d’Anjou, is one of the most beautiful along the Côte d’Azur and the sense of gentile tranquillity (granted not so in summer) pervades the whole town.
Ted is a journalist and travel writer. As a free-lance writer he has written numerous articles on business management that have been published worldwide. He also writes short stories and poetry (winning a number of awards) and the latter is clearly evident when he describes a particular place or person; there is a depth of feeling and touch of magic in his portrayal.
Born in Liverpool, Ted emigrated to New Zealand where he obtained a Bachelor of Economics degree. He qualified as a Chartered Accountant and worked in the film and computer industries in New Zealand and Australia, later returning to England to become Director of Marketing with a major computer manufacturer.
In 1977 he moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania as Director of Worldwide Communications, and in 1982 moved to St Paul de Vence to establish an international conference centre.
In 1988 he again returned to the UK and set up his own marketing consultancy, advising a number of major UK, US and French organizations on international marketing and advertising programmes. At the same time he took a BA Honours degree in Literature and Art, joined a local writers group in Slough, and began writing freelance for financial, travel, arts and general interest publications in the USA and UK.
Ted’s journalistic output is wide-ranging: as a writer for The Guardian he has published articles on subjects as diverse as modern jazz and horse-racing. But it is as a travel writer that he has made the greatest impact, with travel articles appearing in Living France, The Lady, France, The Guardian, Wanderlust, Riviera Times, and Choice to name just a few publications.
With such a gift for writing, it is therefore only natural that Ted would turn his hand to writing a book. Inspiration could not have been very far away in such a setting as Villefranche-sur-Mer.
As Ted explained “This book grew out of an article I wrote for France magazine about a footpath that circumnavigates the Cap Ferrat, a peninsula near my Riviera home. By the time I had passed through David Niven Square, sentier Jean Cocteau and boulevard Somerset Maugham, I had decided that there was also a literary article there. By the time the article appeared, I had expanded the concept into a literary guidebook covering the entire coast.”
The French Riviera: A Literary Guide for Travellers takes the reader on a tour from Hyères in the west to Monaco and the Italian Border in the east and recalls the lives and work of the writers who found inspiration there. Writers like Graham Greene, W. Somerset Maugham. F. Scott Fitzgerald, Guy de Maupassant, Charles Dickens, Sylvia Plath and so many countless others.
And like so much in life, one thing led to another as Ted soon discovered. While researching Jules Verne on Cap d’Antibes, he found that his house was now the Irish Consulate - and that the Honorary Consul General, Pierre Joannon, was a leading authority on Guy de Maupassant (he wrote La Riviera de Maupassant) - enabling Ted to research previously unknown information on this prolific French writer.
With a cast of more than 150 authors, the book is an incredible tour-de-force. Though taking several years of diligent research to complete, Ted guides the reader on a remarkable journey, where the lives and loves of so many writers unfold before us along the sun-drenched shores of the French Riviera. As we sit in Le Palmier and watch the yachts sail by we can’t but help ask “And is another book in the making?” With a decided twinkle in his eye and a wonderful grin he looks out across his beloved port: “I’ve been thinking about Corsica . . .”
Contact details:
Ted Jones
+44 (0)1753 841310
+44 (0)7710 146 589
+33 (0)4 93 01 86 14
+33 (0)6 33 08 91 29
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The French Riviera: A Literary Guide for Travellers
Published by:
I.B Tauris
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Photo Credit
Mike Pearcy
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Slough Writers Group
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