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‘Everything happens in France’, where writers and artists are very much respected - eloquence and rhetoric being highly prized - yet where they really do say oh la la ! Not only do the French consider their language to be the most elegant, they believe their culture, ‘to be the most refined, their diplomacy to be the most diplomatic, their wines to be the most aristocratic, and their gastronomy to be the most subtle and interesting.’ (Peter Mayle, The Guardian, April 5th 2004).

   We may not agree with all of the above, but taking into account the French way of life and the country’s gloriously varied landcape: mountains, beaches, forests, lakes, chateaux, it’s not surprising that although the French rarely admire the way their country is run, they indubitably appreciate what they have. And so do the thousands of foreigners who visit France, and the Francophiles - many of them artists, and English speaking - who have made France their home.

Welcome to Issue 8, my first issue of The French Literary Review as editor. I hope that contributors and subscribers will find something of interest here and that they, as well as new readers, will be encouraged to contribute work which reveals something of the way they feel about France and/or the French. In the words of Jean-Pierre Claris de Florian, Rien n’est vrai comme ce qu’on sent - nothing is as true as what one feels. And, I might add, nothing is more enjoyable to read.

I very much look forward to receiving your contributions.

Barbara Dordi
Editor
October 2007

*François de LA ROCHEFOUCAULD, Maximes, Réflexions morales