The Narrow Boat Books
4 primary works
Book 1
Narrow Margins - a laugh-out-loud book which proves that lean times can sometimes be a very positive thing.
Faced with the loss of everything following the collapse of the Rover Group, Marie Browne moved her long-suffering husband Geoff, chaotic children and smelly, narcoleptic dog on to a houseboat in search of a less stressful, healthier, alternative way of life.
Strapped for cash, the family buy a decrepit 70ft barge called Happy Go lucky which had been run as a floating hotel. Outdated and in need of a complete refurbishment, Happy becomes their floating home. First they need to learn the ropes and many pitfalls beset their adventures.
As they come to terms with living on a narrow boat, readers gain a fascinating insight into life in the slow lane.
Book 2
In her debut memoir Narrow Margins Marie Browne saved her family from financial ruin by moving her long-suffering husband three children and a dog on to a houseboat called Happy Go Lucky in search of a less stressful, alternative way of life.
Now in Narrow Minds the family find themselves sucked back into normality, they're pretty much back where they started, horrible house, no boat and the kids are beginning to threaten mutiny.
Facing perky postmen, ice skating cows, psychotic villagers and outraged rodents, they're running out of time, their financial situation is getting desperate and there's every chance life has conspired against them to make sure they never get back afloat. Until they find the answer to their dreams lies with Minerva, a narrow boat even more run-down than the first. This hilarious follow-up shows the lengths to which a desperate woman will go just to restore her preferred lifestyle.
Book 3
“Oh, you live on a boat? That must be really cold in the winter...” Or, “Oh, you live on a boat? It must be great being so close to nature...” Or, “Oh, you live on a boat? It must be fantastic to be able to go wherever you like, whenever you like...”
Narrow Escape sets out to dispel these commonly held public myths.
From how to avoid assassination by ninja stealth ducklings, through definitive proof that kittens are aliens and the best way to sleep at forty-five degrees, to the importance of having the right boating equipment; (a child’s plastic sledge and a never ending supply of cotton wool balls). This month by month account of one family’s liveaboard year takes a firmly tongue in cheek look at what it takes to enjoy the `idyllic’ lifestyle.
Book 4
Peace and tranquillity. For once nothing terrible is happening. After years of dodgy moorings, ankle-deep mud, exploding toilets and all the other normalities of live-aboard life, the Brownes now seem to have found the perfect spot in which to park Minerva, their aging narrowboat. Marie and family finally find the time to work on the outside of the boat and even take a holiday or two. It looks as though life has finally taken a turn toward 'normal'.
Not a chance.
From the ballistic qualities of false nails, unintentionally turning oneself blue, why yoga and wet paint don't mix and why happy family holidays are, at best, a lie, Marie examines the dangers of becoming too settled and what can happen if you take your eye off the ball.