Frantic (Paperback)

~ Frances Lynn (Author) "Alice was born in a London hospital during the year of the Tiger and almost expired from a heavy chest cold, but thanks to the..." (more)
Key Phrases: loonie bin, bow show, bow maker, Charles Pollock, Julian Croney, San Francisco (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Seventies survivor Frances Lynn ruthlessly chronicles the psychotic highs and lows of Alice, a young English girl who escapes London at the tail end of the Sixties for a sojourn in San Francisco. She quickly discovers that the psychedelic world of tie-dye and joss sticks belongs to the previous decade when she becomes involved with a glitter daubed, sprawling theatre group, leftovers from the insular Haight-Ashbury crowd. Alice gets sucked in beyond her head, but just when the crazy theatre group's popularity overdoses, she goes over the top and is shipped back to London. By now, the early Seventies are in full decay, as is Alice. She continues her downward slide by falling in obsession with a fragmented member of the Art World. Their exhausting fling, fuelled by a cocktail of opiates is interrupted by repetitive bouts of insanity, like a San Francisco acid flashback. No holds are barred in this frantic saga of drug-fractured psyches - and it's hard to guess who will stagger on into the eighties. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From the Back Cover Alice was born in a London Hospital during the Year of the Tiger and almost expired from a heavy chest cold but pulled through to face another lifetime thanks to the hospital?s Intensive Care unit. After that start, the road went steadily downwards. Author Frances Lynn, herself a survivor of the steaming Seventies, bars no holds and pulls no punches when telling the story of a wayward girl staggering into the drug-infested circles in San Francisco and London on her way to doom and destruction About the Author Frances Lynn was born in London and grew up in Notting Hill Gate. Her first job was at the BBC, but left after a year in order to travel to San Francisco. When she returned to London, she became Britain?s bitchiest columnist on the defunct Ritz magazine, simultaneously doing freelance work for Fleet Street papers and the London glossies. Frances Lynn now lives in central London, enjoying life as a professional writer and author.

Product Details

• Paperback: 264 pages
• Publisher: Eiworth Publishing (October 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0955367220
• ISBN-13: 978-0955367229
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #6,950,531 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars She lived to tell the tale, July 3, 2009

By	G. Sams "greg sams "author Sun of gOd"" (London, England) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

There I was, down in the basement of Seed Restaurant in the psychedelic Sixties, dishing up the first organically grown natural foods to ever grace a British restaurant table. It was the cool place to eat, and the cream (and the whey) of the `underground' scene came through; one felt immense pride to be introducing them to wholesome living. That is, until Frances Lynn's book Frantic came into my hands.

Now I realize that once off-premises, many of my loyal customers proceeded to do everything possible to counter-balance their healthful experience at Seed, ingesting things that were definitely not macrobiotic and engaging in decidedly unwholesome behaviour. How could they! The brown rice obviously wasn't `speaking' to them.

Sure they had fun, and Frances spares no details in her rich and fulsome recounting of the wilder side of London and San Francisco in the late 60's/early 70's, so much so that I feel like I was there - and I was, but now know what part of "there" I was missing out upon. But at what price, the fun? After reading her book, I am not sure whether to feel left out of the action, or smug that I spent that time chewing each mouthful a hundred times. I can feel both.

Thank the muses; Frances unbelievably survived to tell the tale, managing to do so without glorifying her colourful characters. I'd rather laugh at their faults and foibles than feel sad for them, recognizing that had they got with the wholesome programme then Frances may never have written her very entertaining book. Would the world be a poorer place thereby?

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Early '70s Nostalgia, October 4, 2006

By	Craig A. Parke - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

From heroin to Lithium and back again..before finally arriving in a village called Sanity on the other side of Blissland.
There may be some survivors out there who could enjoy the powerful regression therapy this book has to offer.

An informative read for would-be celebrity hunters, historians, people with various degrees of bi-polar disorder, mental healthcare workers and most of all pre-teens who want to give their grand parents a heart attack.

Unless those grand parents belong to the afore-mentioned survivor group, in which case I suggest they get extra copies of FRANTIC to form a domestic study circle.

It's so full of visuals that reading it becomes like watching a movie. A fast and funny reading experience which left me wondering and pondering about what happened to all of us who lived through that purple haze era.

Written by screenwriting partners Ulla Ward de Mora & Craig Parke

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Frantic is a trip, July 30, 2007

By	Brett Nicholas Moore "author, Tales of Brothe... - See all my reviews

Welcome to the world of sex, drugs, and disintegration. Frantic chronicles the crazy journey of Alice, an English girl, who somehow survives the insanity of the drug circles in San Francisco and London during the early seventies. There are many off-the-wall moments in Frantic, and Frances Lynn captures them with superb humor and amazing clarity.

Alice, like Alice in Wonderland, is on a trip. There are many colorful characters along the way. But there are many pitfalls as well, including trips to the mental hospital and attempted murder. I would say more but I don't want to give anything away.

Alice is a character that is very likeable, due to her resilience, passion, and knack for seeing through people. Lynn exposes the shallowness and general attitude problems of her characters, while at the same time rendering them in a vulnerable desperate state. There's something ominous in the air which becomes more and more apparent as you read on. Yet, I still found myself laughing through these moments.
Frances Lynn, who also wrote the book Crushed, is an extremely witty writer, whose character descriptions are unlike any that I have read before. They are often merciless, but they are not cold blooded assassinations. There's a ring of truth to them, which is what makes them so funny. Regardless, I would hate to be at the receiving end of Frances's pen.

Frantic is a great story that I highly recommend. Even for those who did not live through that period, this book will entertain you simply because it's such a spirited and hilarious ride.