The Valley Of Heaven And Hell - Cycling In The Shadow Of Marie Antoinette

In three weeks Susie cycles 500 kilometres through a little-documented area of France that is idyllic cycling territory, dining sometimes in luxury and often on weird makeshift meals in her tent. Along the way there are traumas, tantrums, epiphanies, occasional matrimonial disagreements and more than one glass of champagne. Susie and Terry follow the identical route of Marie-Antoinette and Louis XVI when they tried to escape the Revolution, and their journey back to their grisly executions. From Versailles, across Paris and through the Marne valley, Susie wobbles along behind her husband, visiting battlefields of WW1 and the vineyards and cellars of the Champagne region. Tens of thousands of readers have already discovered the joys of accompanying Susie on her past adventures. These include Best Foot Forward (Bantam 2003), a 900km solo walk from La Rochelle to Geneva, and A Perfect Circle (Bantam 2006), a 10,000 kilometre drive around the perimeter of France. 'It is unlikely that any other cyclist could be less competent than the author, nor be so unsuited to wearing skin-tight Lycra.' Susie Kelly"I’ve bought other books by Susie Kelly before. Like the best travel writers, I find that time passes quickly in her company. When it’s funny it’s laugh-out-loud funny, and when it’s sad it is heart-breaking."“This book manages to combine history, humor and the best of travel writing all in one. I loved it!”“So vividly written that you can almost feel the author’s sunburn!““Funny, touching, instructive and a darn good tourist guide.”“This book proved a terrific find! A seamless blend of information, entertainment, out loud guffaw inducement, and thought-provocation, Ms Kelly has the joyous knack of entwining story telling with enlightening education.”