The Road to Villa Page: A He Said/She Said Memoir of Buying Our Dream Home in France

by Cynthia Royce, William James Royce

The Road to Villa Page: A He Said/She Said Memoir of Buying Our Dream Home in France is the first in a series of books that captures the experience of living in the Dordogne region of France, as filtered through the eyes of an American family from a “he said, she said” perspective. Our story begins with falling in love with France, specifically the enchanting Dordogne. We weren’t the first and we won’t be the last. The region was an inspiration to prehistoric man, as the earliest known works of art are to be found in the nearby caves of Lascaux. From the 1000 chateaux perched on towering cliffs overhanging the meandering Dordogne River to the countless plus beaux villages (most beautiful villages) dotting the region, it is truly a magical place.

The first book is a roller-coaster ride of the ups and downs of making the dream a reality, beginning with, Oh my God, are we really doing this?! To looking for the home, getting a loan, wading through the red tape of actually moving, and studying French! Finally, the most important part of making “our” dream come true, adopting a baby girl to make the journey complete.

Genres: Travel, Memoir, Humor, Nonfiction, France

153 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 18, 2020

About the author

Cynthia Royce (aka Cynthia Deming) was the Executive Creative Consultant on In Heat of the Night. Thirty-three episodes later, Cynthia left the show and went on to write for Murder, She Wrote, Diagnosis: Murder and Colombo. She transitioned to being a travel writer/photographer and contributed to such magazines as Wine Spectator and Orange Coast Magazine as well as a coffee table book on hotels in the south of France: Hospitalité dans le Sud de la France. Cynthia taught photography at several private schools in Los Angeles and at the prestigious British school, Downe House, located in the Dordogne. Cynthia has had photography exhibits in the United States and France and is currently working on a photography book: Souvenirs of the Dordogne. The Road to Villa Page is her first foray into non-fiction literature.

Reviews

[Randal White · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charming. Hollywood couple move to France to escape the American rat race. Entertaining, easy to read. I enjoyed it.

[Glenda Purdie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Viva la France

Having just purchased an old .. 12th century chateau in Dordogne, France, (built by the Knights Templar) unseen due to the vagaries of Covid 19 pandemic, I was most interested to read about the true life experiences of the authors. I found it most enlightening and had many a chuckle and made copious notes on towns, restaurants and experiences they encountered along their journey. Looking forward to reading ‘Bonjour Villa Page’ and hoping this might prepare us for our own adventure, whenever that may be and, fingers crossed, that we will find it the wonderful adventure that we are looking forward to.. after all, ‘Life is short, no need for it to be boring’.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an interesting concept, each of this couple alternating the chapters. They had a good story to tell but sometimes I found it a bit disjointed and hard to follow. Despite the grammatical errors and typos like spelling Saddam Hussein as Sadam and waive instead of wave, I enjoyed their story.

[Hessah · Rating 4 out of 5]

An American Hollywood couple decided to take decision that will change their lives for ever; immigrate to another country. The usual immigration stories revolves around choosing a country that is considered cheap for retired expats but the Hollywood couple who enjoyed a meaningful success decided to immigrate to France. As the Royce explained in their delightful diary their main reason to leave the LA in particular and the USA in general is the drastic social change with states /local counties having different opportunities and quality of education. The sheer percentage of homelessness across all cities with industrial/tech cities taking a sad hit.
The Royce’s acknowledged that France is not perfect snd is dealing with similar problems, albeit in a lower scale that has only increased with illegal immigrations/crossing, but with a political sphere that is less polarizing than America.
Also, the Royce’s wanted to start a family. They wanted to bring up their adopted daughter in a healthier environment than the USA. The writing style is what made this book a hit, it wasn’t pedantic and quite frankly it felt like reading someone’s dairy. It was authentic with hilarious incidents - not to the Royce’s - as they navigated their immigration, adoption process, buying and renovating their dream home. None of the above sailed smoothly with each step introducing headaches and doubts. Nevertheless, they worked hard with exceptional resilience and patience for which you can’t but root for them to make it.

[Patti St · Rating 5 out of 5]

America to France

I am not a fan of alternative point of views, but it works in this memoir. The chapters alternate from Bill Royce's experience to his wife's, and back. The stories were fun to read, moving quickly from unique characters to home renovations of a 400 yr old house. I had a nice surprise with the mention of my local town, Covington, Georgia. I didn't see that one coming or the mention of our favorite breakfast haunt, Mamie's. The writers keep us interested in their exploits of buying a home in France, the crooked people along the way, while welcoming a new baby into the midst of chaos. I am looking forward to book two. To the authors, I invite you to join other memoir authors and readers in the Facebook group called We Love Memoirs. You would be welcomed by other ex pats and fans of memoirs like yours.

[Marcia Hunter · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was not thrilled with this book. It seemed very scattered and left out details that one would want to know to understand the story more completely. I was really bothered by the anti American slant to the story. Thank God all of the USA is not like their lives in California. On the one hand, the authors seemed to have lots of money to spend on life, trips back and forth and renovation—thanks to the jobs they had and US capitalism. On the other hand, the French citizens complained that their children all had to move away because surviving financially was difficult in France. I would not read the sequel to this. Their are much better ones from which to choose.

[John McDaniels · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very fun read by two polished writers - a welcome change for what can be very pedestrian writing. This is so much more than a story of two hapless Americans who restore a ruin in France. In this first book, we get the backstory of how these two successful writers leave the world of primetime network TV for the simple life. Ha! From the clever he said/she said format they tell you the story of buying his Dream Home. The next book takes us on their -- what promises to be -- hilarious/touching/scary/thought-provoking journey. I'm hooked!

[Carol Rode · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book

It was a good read, but I have read better. A short story, I didn't find anything funny to laugh at. Seems like they were scammed a few times, Over construction work . Not sure if they got their money back, didn't go into all the detail of what was done. Seemed to skip around some things so at times it was hard to follow. And then to remember who was doing the talking him or her. Yet I still gave it 5 stars cause I've read worse.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A memoir about an American couple moving to France and restoring a 200+ yr old home told in alternating view points. I had high hopes but the book was so uneven that it became difficult to finish. It's a style preference - I liked his, but didn't care for hers.

I still gave it 3 stars because I enjoyed all the details the husband shared about renovating the house and settling into their French community.

Probably not going to read the sequel.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

About a couple that move from LA to the middle region of France. Buy a place, fixing it up, meeting the neighbors, eating the food, etc, etc. Maybe I've read too many of these.
The author made many good points about the pace and type of life they were trading in and I have highlighted those to share within Kindle Highlights.

[Kay · Rating 2 out of 5]

An American couple buys a home in France. Told alternately from each of their perspectives, the story of their challenges and their successes unfolds. I liked the idea of it, but it seemed very scattered and hard to follow.

[Janine Sutter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read, great pictures

I enjoyed this book about deciding to relocate to France. However, the political connects through were distracting and out of place.

[Carrie L. Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

And the Adventure has just begun!

I like the "He Said, She Said" style of this story. A good to keep things in perspective, I think. Can't wait to read more!

[Catriona · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this authentic read, pitfalls included from fertility to French country life.

[Victoira Gerent · Rating 3 out of 5]

Done

[Melonie Hewitt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting story, I wish it was a bit more structured and detailed but I did enjoy it.

I found the story hit on some challenges that many couples face.

[Dianne Oliver · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5

[Terry Lynn Corsello · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well written ,a little jumpy