> Skip to content
[]
  • Published: 1 September 2026
  • ISBN: 9781529976823
  • Imprint: Ebury Press
  • Format: Trade Paperback
  • Pages: 320
  • RRP: $40.00
Categories:

Idle In Provence

A Brief History of Thyme




A hilarious and heartwarming memoir of Monty Python legend Eric Idle's fifty-year quest to build the perfect home in Provence.

In 1971, two years after the launch of Monty Python’s Flying Circus made his comedy troupe global superstars - and made all their lives a little more complicated - Eric Idle decided to buy a ramshackle property in the south of France.

In search of a simpler, quieter life, what followed was a story akin to A Year in Provence, but with more disaster, more heartbreak, more laughs - and much more spam.

A tale spanning a fifty-year quest of home-building, friendship-making and bad-French-learning, Idle in Provence is a hilarious, tender and unforgettable memoir of Eric Idle's very own escape to the country.

  • Published: 1 September 2026
  • ISBN: 9781529976823
  • Imprint: Ebury Press
  • Format: Trade Paperback
  • Pages: 320
  • RRP: $40.00
Categories:

About the author

Eric Idle

Eric Idle is a comedian, actor, author, and singer-songwriter who found immediate fame on television with the sketch-comedy show Monty Python’s Flying Circus. Following its success, the group began making films that include Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Monty Python’s Life of Brian, and Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life. Eric wrote, directed, and created The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash, the world’s first-ever mockumentary, as well as the Tony Award–winning musical Spamalot. His memoir Always Look on the Bright Side of Life was a New York Times bestseller.

Also by Eric Idle

See all