Embark on a delightfully absurd vacation with the author of the Madeline books and Hotel Splendide as he blunders his way through 1950s France!

“A man of wit, taste and talent, Ludwig Bemelmans has earned a grateful public.” –The New York Times

In this madcap fictionalized memoir, Ludwig Bemelmans blends picaresque fantasy with his trademark sparkling humor to create an enchanting travelogue that armchair travelers everywhere will enjoy!

When Bemelmans meets the dashing but destitute Comte de St. Cucuface on a Paris train, he is swept into a deliciously absurd adventure across postwar France. Under the Count’s tutelage, Bemelmans learns to hoodwink strangers with immaculate manners and effortless charm, adopting the persona of a German prince and joining his new companion on a series of outlandish escapades.

Together, the unlikely pair travel in extravagant style, living lavishly on nothing at all. They dine in grand hotels, schmooze millionaires and outwit restaurateurs, spinning elaborate tales of faded aristocracy and glorious pasts for the brash nouveaux riches eager to believe them.

Brimming with Bemelmans’ quick wit and whimsical black and white illustrations, this beautifully rendered, fictionalized romp from the beloved creator of Madeline captures a France poised between eras, where the old-world elegance of a vanishing class lingers amid the glitter of the new.

A mischievous ode to self-invention and appetite, How to Travel in Incognito is an outlandishly funny how-to guide to holidaying without a first-class ticket, but with ample gumption for a life of deluxe adventure.