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Find out moreCelia Imrie is an Olivier award-winning and Screen Actors Guild-nominated actress. She is best known for her film roles in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Calendar Girls and Nanny McPhee. On stage, she won Best Actress in a Musical for Acorn Antiques: The Musical and was nominated for Best Actress in Noises Off. Celia Imrie's upcoming films are A Cure for Wellness, Year by the Sea and Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie, all due for release in 2016. Her autobiography, The Happy Hoofer, was published in 2011.
Sail Away is a light-hearted Mystery set aboard a cruise ship written by actress and author Celia Imrie. Suzy the once famous actress is struggling to find work and accepts a role in a suspiciously amateur production of ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ with a small acting troupe that leaves her stranded in Zurich with her bank balanced cleaned out, with a job on a cruise ship her only option. Meanwhile, Amanda is preparing to downsize. As the removal van is pulling away from her new home, disaster! The purchase of her new flat has fallen through. Her two fully grown children can’t see past the end of their own noses to help offer any kind of support, leaving Amanda homeless. Thankfully a resolution is found but there is a delay of a few weeks before Amanda can move in, the perfect amount of time to (rightfully, in my opinion) spend some of the money set aside for her children from the sale on a holiday until she has somewhere to live. The stories of these two strangers become intertwined on the Blue Mermaid, a cruise ship that is larger than a small town, with just as many people on board. In an Oscar Wilde-esque case of mistaken identity takes place with a more serious crime and mystery undertone. The plot contains a number of twists and turns which leaves you guessing all of the particular nuances until the very end. The cruise ship is filled with a variety of nice and not so nice characters in order to diversify the story and offer some extra detail. In all, I enjoyed the book and would recommend. ~ Charlotte Walker
Once the hideaway of artists and writers, Bellevue-Sur-Mer is now home to the odd movie star and, as Theresa discovers, a close-knit set of expats. Settling to the gentle rhythm of the seaside, Theresa embraces her new-found friendships and freedom.
The witty and enchanting third novel from the well-loved actress and Sunday Times--bestselling author of Not Quite Nice and Nice Work (If You Can Get It) follows the hilarious antics of a group of retired expats in the South of France The beautiful town of Bellevue-sur-Mer, tucked between glitzy Monte Carlo and the plush red carpets of Cannes, is home to Theresa, Carol, William, Benjamin and Sally: five retired expats who have pooled their resources to set up La Mosaique, a divine little restaurant. But there is trouble in paradise: the friends are desperately struggling to make ends meet, and when the much hoped for sale of their Picasso mosaic falls through they realise it will take every bit of their talent and gumption to save La Mosaique. But with fussy customers, obnoxious cruise parties and a failing delivery van, it's certainly not going to be easy. On top of this, Theresa and Sally have their own distractions. Theresa's teenage granddaughter has gone missing, and the chap she's run off with sounds distinctly unsavoury; plus she's getting mysterious phone calls, and the strong sense that someone's watching her. Meanwhile, Sally's run into the Markhams: a grisly husband and wife pair of luvvies from her acting days, whose jibes are enough to send her on an ill-advised search for the limelight...
The witty and enchanting third novel from the well-loved actress and Sunday Times--bestselling author of Not Quite Nice and Nice Work (If You Can Get It) follows the hilarious antics of a group of retired expats in the South of France The beautiful town of Bellevue-sur-Mer, tucked between glitzy Monte Carlo and the plush red carpets of Cannes, is home to Theresa, Carol, William, Benjamin and Sally: five retired expats who have pooled their resources to set up La Mosaique, a divine little restaurant. But there is trouble in paradise: the friends are desperately struggling to make ends meet, and when the much hoped for sale of their Picasso mosaic falls through they realise it will take every bit of their talent and gumption to save La Mosaique. But with fussy customers, obnoxious cruise parties and a failing delivery van, it's certainly not going to be easy. On top of this, Theresa and Sally have their own distractions. Theresa's teenage granddaughter has gone missing, and the chap she's run off with sounds distinctly unsavoury; plus she's getting mysterious phone calls, and the strong sense that someone's watching her. Meanwhile, Sally's run into the Markhams: a grisly husband and wife pair of luvvies from her acting days, whose jibes are enough to send her on an ill-advised search for the limelight...
The deliciously witty, irresistibly indulgent novel from the top ten Sunday Times-bestselling author of Not Quite Nice follows the exploits of two women on board an Atlantic cruise ship Suzy Marshall and Amanda Herbert have both found themselves on a transatlantic cruiser by accident: struggling actress Suzy has had her play abruptly cancelled under rather suspicious circumstances; and Amanda's found herself homeless in rainy Clapham after her flat purchase falls through. But the ship has barely left the harbor before Suzy and Amanda realize that there's something very strange afoot indeed. Neither can predict the strange characters and dodgy dealings they will encounter - nor the unexpected rewards to reaped at high sea.
Sail Away is a light-hearted Mystery set aboard a cruise ship written by actress and author Celia Imrie. Suzy the once famous actress is struggling to find work and accepts a role in a suspiciously amateur production of ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ with a small acting troupe that leaves her stranded in Zurich with her bank balanced cleaned out, with a job on a cruise ship her only option. Meanwhile, Amanda is preparing to downsize. As the removal van is pulling away from her new home, disaster! The purchase of her new flat has fallen through. Her two fully grown children can’t see past the end of their own noses to help offer any kind of support, leaving Amanda homeless. Thankfully a resolution is found but there is a delay of a few weeks before Amanda can move in, the perfect amount of time to (rightfully, in my opinion) spend some of the money set aside for her children from the sale on a holiday until she has somewhere to live. The stories of these two strangers become intertwined on the Blue Mermaid, a cruise ship that is larger than a small town, with just as many people on board. In an Oscar Wilde-esque case of mistaken identity takes place with a more serious crime and mystery undertone. The plot contains a number of twists and turns which leaves you guessing all of the particular nuances until the very end. The cruise ship is filled with a variety of nice and not so nice characters in order to diversify the story and offer some extra detail. In all, I enjoyed the book and would recommend. ~ Charlotte Walker
Somewhere on the French Riviera, tucked between glitzy Monte Carlo and Cannes' red carpets, lies the pretty town of Bellevue-Sur-Mer. Sheltered from the glittering melee, it is home to many an expat - including an enterprising team who plan to open a new restaurant. Snapping up a local property and throwing themselves into preparations, Theresa, Carol, William and Benjamin's plans are proceeding unnervingly well. But when Theresa encounters a mysterious intruder, she begins to wonder what secrets the building is concealing. Meanwhile Sally, an actress who gave up the stage to live in quiet anonymity, has decided not to be involved. The famous Cannes Film Festival is on and she is far too busy entertaining unexpected visitors from her past, and an intriguingly handsome Russian. As the razzmatazz of the festival begins to spill over into Bellevue-Sur-Mer, its inhabitants become entangled in complex love triangles and conflicting business interests. With the race on to get the restaurant open in time, the gang find themselves knee-deep in skulduggery, and realise they can no longer tell who's nasty ... and who's nice.
Once the hideaway of artists and writers, Bellevue-Sur-Mer is now home to the odd movie star and, as Theresa discovers, a close-knit set of expats. Settling to the gentle rhythm of the seaside, Theresa embraces her new-found friendships and freedom.
'I've always been wilful... I've always been stubborn and always determined'One of our best-loved actresses, Celia Imrie would rather have been a dancer. As a child she planned to join the Royal Ballet and marry Rudolf Nureyev. Now she has become one of our finest and funniest performers, on stage, TV and screen - adored for her roles in Acorn Antiques and dinnerladies, as well as films including Calendar Girls and Nanny McPhee. In her hugely entertaining autobiography Celia Imrie recounts a life hurtling (not always intentionally) into adventures both on stage and off. Whether it's finding herself on stage with half the scenery stuck to her cardigan, or being kidnapped on her way to location, somehow she emerges from the chaos unscathed. Acting, she admits, is a mad, chaotic profession and it is her refreshing honesty, sense of mischief, fun and almost unruffled determination in the face of it all that makes this autobiography a never-ending delight.
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