Occasional Scribbles

The extraordinary tale of blog diarist Catherine Sanderson, known as Petite Anglaise, gathered force with the publication of her book, of the same name.  What began as an online ‘slice of life’ –  Catherine’s life in Paris, has become a best selling book.  The astonishing thing is, that out of the millions of blogs that go unnoticed, this one should merit such attention.  If the truth be told, whilst Catherine writes interestingly about her life, loves, and difficulties, there are a million other people who do the same.  What appears to have been the spark that brought her diary to a wider audience was an unfair dismissal case she brought against her employers when they fired her after realising they were being written about in her blog.  She maintains that she has been careful in keeping the anonimity of this company and indeed her close family and friends.  No where does she come close to revealing anyone’s identity and so it came as a shock to her that her employer ‘let her go’.  

In some ways, it was all rather fortuitous as she has been able to expand her talent as a writer by writing full time.  She says she is going to write a novel next, being easier than a diary since she had to obtain everyone’s consent who appeared in the book, prior to publication.

Several things appeal to me about Petite’s blog and book.   She writes with an engaging style and also makes good use of the raft of material that stems from her daughter, Tadpole.  She manages to convey the essence of Tadpole so well and is good at bringing to the page, her daughters delightful characteristics and witty exclamations and conversation.  It is not always easy to recreate the amusing things that small children say but Catherine does it well.  I am often reminded of my own children when they were younger when reading about hers.  Her use of French phrases is also appealing and creates the atmosphere of being in France.  When reading of her life, one cannot help but be rather impressed at her bravery in exploring her feelings and talking about such intimate things in such a public way. 

I cannot imagine that many people would not have heard of Petite Anglaise, but if you are one of the few who have not, I fully recommend that you get straight over to her blog and also get a copy of her book.  Bon chance Petite!