We lived on a converted barge in Le Port Marly on the branch of the Seine that flows from the Bougival lock and we rowed by his boat almost daily. Rosemary, the "better half" of the couple who owned La Péniche Black Moon used to type up Wharton's manuscripts, so I wouldn't be surprised that she did her part in the early stages of this book that was published in 1996.
The boat was quite a shambles in the early 80's and one striking feature was a large aviary aboard. We were not surprised to learn that it was Birdy's boat.
So, this book, Houseboat on the Seine, will be going on our wish list. According to the reviews it is more about Wharton's 20-plus years' struggle of fixing up the boat rather than about his life. The review from Publisher's Weekly did mention "generous dollops of humor and local color" which we will probably find interesting and can relate to, along with the toils of boatbuilding in France :)
