Fast and Louche

by Jeremy Scott

PG Wodehouse wrote that "The 3 essentials for an autobiography are that its compiler shall have had an eccentric father, a miserable misunderstood childhood, and a hell of a time at his public school." Jeremy Scott had them all, and went on to working as a gigolo, tangling with Lord Lucan, and having Paul Newman's daughter fall in love with him. Born into the eccentric decaying upper classes, Scott had a spectacularly successful life in advertising in the 1960s and 1970s until reinventing himself, first in Provence, and then as an ascetic, whose life was saved by Marcus Aurelius.

Genres: Biography

320 pages, Paperback

First published September 30, 2002

Reviews

[KEVIN · Rating 5 out of 5]

Entertaining and very well written candid memoir of a public school boy who enjoyed a moneyed jet set lifestyle throughout the sixties and dropped out in the seventies. After which his life became an erratic downward spiral of misfortune and wrong turns. The most enjoyable sections of the autobiography are those which recount his interactions with his Father. These are often hilarious as his Father is a man out of his time; a grumpy unintentionally comedic character totally lost in the modern world.

[Bruce Whitfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, I didn't quite know what to make of the book for a start, but strangely it's a bit like as a child reading Enid Blyton's book...The Far away Tree, because ....it is undoubtedly an autobiography of almost compelling reading and it draws you to "climb" into it further as the author races through his life with a support cast drawn from his many contacts made over the decades. The author's story sometimes take on almost surreal texture as he weaves his way from good to bad and bad to good and then perhaps to a state of just wondering what's at the end for Jeremy. I won't spoil it for incoming readers except to say that it's a true story, a story that might even shock you in parts, but having said that, I very glad to have come across Fast and Louche.

[Sarah Low · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unapologetic recounting of a simultaneously privileged and deprived childhood followed an adult life lived to excess . Excess of drugs, cars and (other people’s)) money through the sixties and seventies. A wild ride - he knew everyone and partied around the world - until he stepped back and retreated to rural France . A wonderful telling of the life of a very flawed man.
I picked this book up as I am fascinated by his father J. M. Scott - the famous arctic explorer. He could however not be more different from his father .

[Kevin Mannix · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an amazing varied life this man lived.

[John Winter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Better than I thought it would be - there is a lot of name dropping here, but a lot of honesty too.

[Catachresis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb memoir of a life spent on the Cote D'Azur following a Scottish Highland childhood.

Superbly written and wry, with a touch of philosophical reflexion.

Well worth your time.