The Siege of Paris began nearly exactly 151 years ago, on September 19 1870. That day, the city was entirely surrounded by Prussian troops, and all train and communication lines had been cut. The Parisians were truly isolated from the world.
Well, the wider world, that is. Parisians could go…
Maybe the antique pocket watch that lives on one of our bookshelves could help me.…
We’d gotten the pocket watch years ago, at an antiques fair or market or maybe even a garage sale. That’s one of the things about living in Paris: centuries-old objects turn up in the most…
One of the most important elements of a Beauty and the Beast story is the rose that sets off the whole tale. And then of course there are the enchanted gardens.
So what do you do when your Beauty and the Beast retelling takes place in a typical 19th -century…
Imagine air so cold it takes the feeling from your fingertips. This is the kind of weather that always comes to mind when I think of Paris’s history museum, le musée Carnavalet.
When I was a student here in Paris, a friend and I often used to…
Here in France, the 1870–1871 Siege of Paris by the Prussians is largely forgotten — except for one thing: On a mangé du rat — “We ate rat.”
The Siege is notorious for the culinary boundaries it led starving Parisians to cross. But when you look into it a little…
This morning, two unusual things happened:
1. My son woke up for school on his own, meaning I didn’t have to play the bad guy (I hate waking people up — sleep is a good thing!).
2. I received a message from Amazon that informed me that my novel Hearts…
Montmartre is the same, but it’s harder to climb the stairs with a mask. I stop to catch my breath.
The whole city is holding its breath since yesterday.
What will they make us do tonight? What will end, shut down? What will be salvaged?
The owner of a fabric…
Some surprising lessons from three old friends.
A few months ago, I posted about a book-induced existential crisis I was experiencing. After having read a few of my favorite book blogger, Sally Allen’s, recent posts, as well as having turned to a page of a delightful free downloadable fill-in journal…
Reading a book is supposed to transport you. But can reading about reading books do the same? I would have said yes before, but now I’m proof: Three book-related things I’ve read recently have made me embark on a journey.
“I’ve got some bad news. Your mother’s being held hostage.”
Hearing something like that, most people might gasp or react in an alarmed manner. But knowing my mother like I did, I wasn’t overly surprised.
I hadn’t talked to my parents in weeks, because of the snails, mostly.
Whenever my…
