Richard Wiles

Hot-air balloonist, lapsed llama-keeper, saxophonist, guitarist, illustrator and perennial optimist: Richard Wiles weaves these disparate elements into his humorous tales of a Brit on the loose in rural France.

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​Author of bestselling travel genre book Bon Courage! (2003/2013), its sequel Bonne Chance! (2006) and currently writing the third in the trilogy La Source!

 

Under his own publishing imprint, Plátanos Publications, he has created La Source! Bilingual Dictionaries, a series of English-French sourcebooks – Dictionary of French Tools & Materials was the first to be published, with Dictionary of French Gardening Terms being the latest.

In addition to his current series of humorous travel books on his life in France, Richard has written about home interest topics for more than 45 years, and is an authority on period home renovation. He has contributed to major magazines, including Ideal Home, House Beautiful, Traditional Homes, Period Living, Practical Householder and Do It Yourself. He also developed successful partwork magazine series including the best-selling Garden Magic and Plant Magic, established and ran the photographic features syndication agency Houses & Interiors for more than a decade.

 

Richard is also the Editor and Designer of the bi-monthly Aerostat magazine, the journal of the British Balloon & Airship Club.

 

He has also originated, edited and contributed to almost 50 books on aspects of social history covering the last 150 years, based on fascinating, often rarely seen images hand-picked from the archives of major international photographic libraries.

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