Illustrator and linguist from near Peterborough complete French book project during lockdown

Collaboration aims to help anyone learning the language sound more natural
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

The pandemic lockdown has meant many changes and restrictions for everyone, but a professional linguist and illustrator were determined to make their time a positive one.

In a collaboration of their very different talents, Clare Jones and Tamsin Edwards concentrated on completing the project that they had been working on, to proudly publish their informative but fun language-learning guide, Mustn’t Push Granny in the Nettles: 200 French Expressions.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Clare - from Oundle - is a passionate Francophile, and has designed the book to help anyone learning French at home, school, evening class or university, to get truly acquainted with the richness of the language.

The fun language-learning guide, Mustnt Push Granny in the Nettles: 200 FrenchExpressionsThe fun language-learning guide, Mustnt Push Granny in the Nettles: 200 FrenchExpressions
The fun language-learning guide, Mustnt Push Granny in the Nettles: 200 FrenchExpressions

Clare said: “Make your French sound more natural and understand more of the figurative language the French use every day, such as Il ne faut pas pousser mémé dans les orties!” Literally translated the expression is ‘you must not push granny in the nettles’! Its meaning is not to push things too far."

Clare’s book has been diligently researched and includes 200 expressions on food and drink, love, laughter, health and happiness. Her aim is to help lovers of the language learn to speak like the French.

It allows readers to deepen their knowledge by understanding the origins and cultural significance of the idioms, and has a fun multi-choice quiz at the end of each chapter.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Wanting the book to be humorous as well as educational, Clare enlisted the talents of Raunds artist Tamsin Edwards, whose illustrations are known for their charming quirkiness.

Clare JonesClare Jones
Clare Jones

Tamsin said: “It is important not to make learning dry and difficult, so I very much designed the images to have the emphasis on fun.”

Dotted throughout the pages, the quirky descriptive pictures help keep the reader’s mind focused.

Mustn’t Push Granny in the Nettles is their second book together, the first in the series being Je mourrai moins bête: 200 French expressions to help you die less stupid, which has just been released as a second edition.

Both books are available as an e-book and paperback on Amazon.

For more information and to download a chapter of the first book for free, visit here

Related topics: