When Eric Idle bought a crumbling stone shack in the hills of Provence in 1971, at the height of Monty Python fame, the world could not get enough of him. Fifty-five years later, the 83-year-old comedian has written a book about what happened in the quiet — and Vroman’s Books is bringing him to the Pasadena area to talk about it.
Idle’s new memoir, Idle in Provence: A Brief History of Thyme, publishes September 8 from Harper Select, an imprint of HarperCollins. His appearance on October 10 at the Arcadia Performing Arts Center is one of nine confirmed stops on a US book tour that opens September 29 at Symphony Space in New York City and runs through late October, according to the publisher.
The book chronicles Idle’s decades-long effort to transform a property with no electricity, no water, and no road into what he affectionately calls his “Shackeau.” What began as a retreat from Python fame became a gathering place for friends including George Harrison and Robin Williams, and a backdrop for songwriting, family life, and what the publisher describes as “the recurring indignities of French plumbing.”
“This new book, Idle in Provence, is about what I did in the shadows, when I escaped the crowds, took off the grease paint, removed the silly costumes and became a poor forked animal on a tiny ball circling a star for a brief moment in a ginormous expanding Universe,” Idle said in an exclusive book announcement with People Magazine, according to the press release.
“France gave me peace and wisdom, gave me the time to learn the names of some stars and constellations, as well as help me understand my place on the surface of a revolving and occasionally revolting planet,” he said.
Idle is among the most prolific members of the six-person comedy troupe that created Monty Python’s Flying Circus for the BBC in 1969. He went on to write the Tony Award-winning musical Spamalot, adapted from Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and created The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash, which the publisher describes as the first mockumentary. His previous memoir, Always Look on the Bright Side of Life, was a New York Times bestseller.
The tour features a mix of solo appearances and special conversations with acclaimed guests. At the New York stop, Idle will appear in conversation with New Yorker staff writer Adam Gopnik. At the Santa Monica date on October 22 at the JAMS
Performing Arts Center, he will be joined by “Weird Al” Yankovic. Other confirmed stops include the Saratoga Book Festival on October 1, the Chicago Arts & Humanities Festival on October 4, the Palm Springs Cultural Center on October 13, Book Passage at Dominican University in San Francisco on October 25, Revolution Hall in Portland on October 27, and the Neptune Theatre in Seattle on October 29.
Idle in Provence will be available in hardcover, ebook, and audiobook formats, with Idle narrating, according to the publisher. Media inquiries may be directed to Kevin Smith, senior publicity director, at kevin.smith@harpercollins.com.
Eric Idle: Idle in Provence takes place on Saturday, October 10, 2026, at the Arcadia Performing Arts Center, 188 Campus Drive, Arcadia. The event is presented by Vroman’s Books, the Pasadena institution founded in 1894 that is Southern California’s oldest independent bookstore. Event time and ticket prices had not been announced as of press time. On-site parking is available on the Arcadia High School campus. For ticket availability, tour details, and preorders, visit harpercollinsfocus.com/harper-select/books/idle-in-pro vence or idleinprovence.com. For questions, contact Vroman’s Bookstore at (626) 449-5320 or visit vromansbookstore.com, or reach the Arcadia Performing Arts Center box office at (626) 821-1782.
