By 1985, Andrew Kaplan successfully published two thrillers. The second, “Scorpion,” sold well. Kaplan asked the question that many writers ask after early success: Do I quit the day job and write full time? A wife and 2-year-old child made him reluctant to take that step. Then the day job quit Kaplan, and he was unemployed.
“Once Upon a Villa: Adventures on the French Riviera” tells what happened next. Stuck at home, unable to drive due to a broken foot, Kaplan could not job hunt and was frustrated. His wife, Anne, asked him what he would do if he could do anything. His dream was to move to the French Riviera for a year and write full time. Anne also wanted to live in France.
Luckily, Mr. Kaplan received a severance package. He sent his literary agent an outline of a new thriller, eventually named “Dragonfire,” asking her if it was marketable. Using his sample chapters and the outline, his agent sold the book to a London publishing house. After receiving a sizable advance, using his savings, and selling his Southern California house, the family had enough money to move and live in France for a year. All he had to do was write the novel.
Adventures of an American family abroad follow: They rented a villa on France’s Mediterranean Coast, initially in Cap d’Antibes (previously rented by Roman Polanski) and later, one in Èze near where Nietzsche wrote “Thus Spoke Zarathustra.” Kaplan settled down to write his book.
“Once Upon a Villa” captures the struggles that a Middle American couple experience while living and working in the billionaire’s playground of the Côte d’Azur. Getting the residence permit to remain a whole year led to a prolonged struggle with the French bureaucracy. The Challenger explosion, the American bombing of Libya, and Chernobyl all occurred during the Kaplans’ stay. Chernobyl created the same anxieties that COVID would spawn in 2020, the perils of invisible radiation substituting for invisible viruses.
It also shows the spirit of everyday life in France: searching for the perfect bouillabaisse, learning the intricacies of bicycle racing, and finding incredible baguettes baked by an 80-year-old village baker. The Kaplans encounter Americans on the lam, eccentrics of all sorts, and form enduring friendships with the local French. Kaplan also recounts his efforts writing his novel.
“Once Upon a Villa” is a delightful read, humorous and poignant. It portrays the dreams, struggles, adventures, and successes of a young American family abroad.
