When Ludwig Bemelmans encounters the dashing yet penniless Comte de St. Cucuface aboard a Paris train, he is swept into a deliciously absurd adventure across postwar France. Under the Count's gleeful tutelage, Bemelmans adopts the persona of a German prince, mastering the art of hoodwinking strangers with immaculate manners and effortless charm.Together, the unlikely duo embark on a run of outlandish escapades, living extravagantly on nothing at all. They dine in grand hotels, befriend millionaires, outwit restaurateurs and regale nouveau-riche Americans with fantastical tales of their aristocratic pasts.First published in 1952, this autobiographical travelogue from the beloved creator of Madeline brims with quick wit and whimsical illustrations. Bemelmans captures a France poised between eras, where fading old-world elegance mingles with the glitter of the new. Madcap, urbane and laugh-out-loud funny, it's a charming reminder that the most memorable journeys are the ones that let us become someone else entirely.



Ludwig Bemelmans (1898-1962) was a writer and illustrator. He emigrated from Germany to America in 1914, at the age of sixteen, and initially worked in the New York hotel industry before becoming a full-time cartoonist and writer. As an illustrator, he made frequent contributions to the New Yorker and Town and Country and also worked as a screenwriter for MGM. He published many books for both children and adults, including the beloved Madeline children's books.