France Trilogy

The 'France Trilogy' is a tribute to literature and an original ode to the most important of life’s pleasures.

The first book, 'Paris Return', is a literary travel guide in which Van Loo sets out on the trail of the greatest of French writers. As well as presenting an extensive overview of 19th century French literature, he guides the reader around the places that inspired Balzac, Hugo, Flaubert and many others. In 'Like a Cook in France' he submerges himself in the country’s culinary past, fishing up forgotten pearls. The combination of literary recipes and culinary stories is the product of many years spent browsing through centuries-old cookery books. 'Oh Vermillion Slit!' entices us on an intriguing journey through the erotic texts of mainly French authors. From Rabelais and de Sade to Nin and Houellebecq, they defied censorship and wrote about the most intimate things without restraint. Van Loo’s sensual history of pornography and erotica explains how our view of sexuality has evolved.