Ooh la la! Do you find yourself pining to be in Paris as you watch the Summer Olympics? Those shots of patisseries, the Eiffel Tower, Versailles, and café society just make our hearts go pitter patter for the City of Light! Second best are all the beautiful books set in Paris, France – we say oui! to reading yourself there…
“Stella decamps to the City of Light—and pungent goat cheese, chilled wine, garlicky snails—in this giddy, escapist confection from Ruth Reichl, food writer par excellence.”—Vanity Fair
Bestselling author Ruth Reichl takes readers on an adventure of food, art, and fashion in 1980s Paris in this dazzling, heartfelt novel.
Two women fall under the influence of a powerful doctor in Paris’s notorious women’s asylum in this gripping historical novel. Based on true events, The Madwomen of Paris shines new light on the treatment of women by some of the most iconic doctors of the 19th century.
From the award-winning French author Colombe Schneck, Swimming in Paris is a woman’s personal journey through abortion, sex, friendship, love, and swimming.
From the Roman Emperor Julian, who waxed rhapsodic about Parisian wine and figs, to Henry Miller, who relished its seductive bohemia, Paris has been a perennial source of fascination for 2,000 years. In this definitive and illuminating history, Colin Jones walks us through the city that was a plague-infested charnel house during the Middle Ages, the bloody epicenter of the French Revolution, the muse of nineteenth-century Impressionist painters, and much more. Jones’s masterful narrative is enhanced by numerous photographs and feature boxes—on the Bastille or Josephine Baker, for instance—that complete a colorful and comprehensive portrait of a place that has endured Vikings, Black Death, and the Nazis to emerge as the heart of a resurgent Europe. This is a thrilling companion for history buffs and backpack, or armchair, travelers alike.
From Pulitzer Prize-winner Jane Smiley comes a captivating, brilliantly imaginative story of three extraordinary animals—and a young boy—whose lives intersect in Paris in this “feel-good escape” (The New York Times).
A missing person, a grieving family, a curious clue: a half-finished manuscript set in Paris: When eccentric novelist Robert Eady abruptly vanishes, he leaves behind his wife, Leah, their daughters, and, hidden in an unexpected spot, plane tickets to Paris…Charming, haunting, and triumphant, Paris by the Book follows one woman’s journey as she writes her own story, exploring the power of family and the magic that hides within the pages of a book.
“I adored The Light of Paris. It’s so lovely and big-hearted—it made me long for Paris.”—Jojo Moyes
Monsieur Perdu can prescribe the perfect book for a broken heart. But can he fix his own? Internationally bestselling and filled with warmth and adventure, The Little Paris Bookshop is a love letter to books, meant for anyone who believes in the power of stories to shape people’s lives.
When Willie Pears arrives in Paris, she’s looking for adventure and to reconnect with her brother, Luke. Even so, when she takes a job teaching at a center for immigrant girls who are all hoping for French asylum, she does not expect to feel so connected to the ups and downs of their lives—or to find romance with their attractive and committed lawyer, Macon. But as Willie learns the girls’ histories, the lines between teaching and mothering quickly begin to blur, leading her to make a risky move that will threaten to upend the life and relationships she’s found.
Chicago, 1920: Hadley Richardson is a quiet twenty-eight-year-old who has all but given up on love and happiness—until she meets Ernest Hemingway. Following a whirlwind courtship and wedding, the pair set sail for Paris, where they become the golden couple in a lively and volatile group—the fabled “Lost Generation”—that includes Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound, and F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Though deeply in love, the Hemingways are ill prepared for the hard-drinking, fast-living, and free-loving life of Jazz Age Paris. As Ernest struggles to find the voice that will earn him a place in history and pours himself into the novel that will become The Sun Also Rises, Hadley strives to hold on to her sense of self as her roles as wife, friend, and muse become more challenging. Eventually they find themselves facing the ultimate crisis of their marriage—a deception that will lead to the unraveling of everything they’ve fought so hard for.
PULITZER PRIZE FINALIST
A brilliant look at turn-of-the-century Paris through the first in-depth study of the three women Proust used to create his supreme fictional character, the Duchesse de Guermantes. “Weber has done a remarkable job of bringing to life…a world of culture, glamour and privilege.” —The Wall Street Journal
Heiress to the nearly forty-billion-dollar L’Oréal fortune, Liliane Bettencourt was the world’s richest woman and the fourteenth wealthiest person. But her gilded life took a dark yet fascinating turn in the past decade. At ninety-four, she was embroiled in what has been called the Bettencourt Affair, a scandal that dominated the headlines in France. Why? It’s a tangled web of hidden secrets, divided loyalties, frayed relationships, and fractured families, set in the most romantic city—and involving the most glamorous industry—in the world.
