The Last Travels of a Fat Bulldog - Softcover

Courtland, George

Softcover

ISBN 10: 034911501X ISBN 13: 9780349115016

Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group, 2002

Synopsis

In his final collection of reports, Queen's Messenger George Courtauld describes his recent visits to places including Mongolia, the Persian Gulf, Chile, Oman, and Thailand. He is, as ever, interested in everything he encounters, from flora and fauna to art, architecture, and history. But it is above all the quirks and eccentricities of his favourite species, Homo sapiens, that delight him most.

About this title

About the Author:

Farmer, ex-business man and a Queen's Messenger for the last fourteen years, George Courtauld is a keen amateur of botany, history and the arts in general. He divides his time between his farm in Essex and the rest of the world.

Review:

'The final, brilliant collection of dispatches from Her Majesty's Mesenger George Courtauld is here. Recalled from official retirement from the Foreign Office, he romps hilariously through the remoter part os Asia, Africa and Latin America.' TRAVELLER 'Completely readable ... Almost every page has some passage that makes one want to laugh aloud. Witty and entertaining' TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT 'George Courtauld is an inveterate sightseer and his account of his travels, totalling over a quarter of a million miles a year, is lively and hilarious. It's a thumping good read' SUNDAY TELEGRAPH 'Up until his recent retirement, George Courtauld worked for the Foreign Office as a Queen's Messenger. If you're not sure what that is, reading this book will leave you none the wiser, for Courtauld--bound by the Official Secrets Act--confines his subject matter to places and people. This adds an air of mystery to the book, and leaves room for more of the Fat Bulldog's tales. Fans of Courtauld's previous books The Travels of a Fat Bulldog and The Fat Bulldog Roams Again will already know the drill, but will be sad to know that this third instalment is to be the last. Reading this book is like reading choice extracts from a most extraordinary diary. In Zambia, Courtauld is taken out to "spot game" at one of the biggest national parks in the world. His host, one Colonel Hawfinch, describes their guide as an "armed incompetent" and his driver as "too stupid to understand my comments on his wretched driving". This is confirmed when the vehicle stalls before 200 charging buffalo and the guard accidentally disconnects the headlamps. As entertaining as these anecdotes are, what really brings them to life is the author's brilliant use of language. The South African wildebeest, for example, is described as "a ridiculous antelope with a long face and a funny little pair of horns perched on the top of its head like a girl's sunglasses pushed up into her hair.' - Darren King, Amazon.co.uk

About this edition

• Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 034911501X
• ISBN 13: 9780349115016
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 208