To start a new publishing house in 2020 needs guts and this is what Philippine Cruse is proving today. At 42, she already has had a rich life. After an MA in Art history completed in Portland, Oregon, she passed her doctorate in French literature at the Sorbonne and went on to work in a bookstore, Alice, in Paris. In parallel, she … Read More
Amiens celebrates its modernized museum
It took 10 years and three different curators to renovate Musée de Picardie in Amiens and the inauguration on February 29 th, in the midst of the coronavirus was somewhat doomed. But I was curious to visit the city where Emmanuel Macron was raised and where his love affair with Brigitte (born Trogneux), started. Amiens is famous for its huge … Read More
Liliane Tuck has a new book out and it is a masterpiece
French readers might not be as familiar with the character of Heathcliff as English educated children who all read Emily Brontë’s best seller “Wuthering Heights” at school. But they will still get the parallel between Lily Tuck‘s hero Cliff, in “Heathcliff Redux“, her latest novel, and the 19 th-century villain. The National Book Award winner, surprises us again in this … Read More
Hugo Vickers’love affair with Gladys Deacon
British Ambassador Lord Llewellyn was on school vacation with his three young children but this did not deter Parisian book lovers to attend Hugo Vickers‘ conference and book signing at the beautiful residence once inhabited by Pauline Borghese. Former Ambassadress Lady Holmes, back in Paris, was in attendance and the tragic life of Gladys Deacon, duchess of Marlborough, was the … Read More
Charlotte Perriand is also a photographer
In the large Charlotte Perriand exhibition at Fondation Louis Vuitton, I spotted a few powerful photographs and my curiosity was aroused. So as soon as I heard of the new show at Institut de France, I rushed and was happy to visit the very elegant place with the curator Lélia Wanick Salgado and the architect’s daughter, Pernette Perriand-Barsac who worked with … Read More
Bibliothèque Mazarine, a mythical place
Cosimo Marco Mazzoni, a law professor based in Fiesole, died four weeks ago in his sleep in Paris. He had such a passion for Bibliothèque Mazarine, at the heart of l’Institut, that he acquired an apartment a few blocs away, so he could be sure to walk there every day when he was in Paris. He taught at Università di … Read More
Perfect reads for Christmas
If you like to spend a cozy Christmas by the fireplace, here are a few books that you might want to be offered. A biography of Boni de Castellane and his rich American wife Anna Gould, “Pour le plaisir et pour le pire” by Laure Hillerin. Empress Joséphine’s herbarium finely studied by Catherine de Bourgoing with wonderful drawings by Redouté … Read More
Proustmania and Ruben Gallo at Maison de la Poésie, in Paris
There has been a rush in Proustmania since the spring to celebrate the 100 th anniversary on December 10, of Proust’s Goncourt Prize for “A l’Ombre des Jeunes Filles en Fleurs”. Editions de Fallois launched last month, a series of unpublished short stories “Le Mystérieux correspondant“, written by Marcel Proust when he was 22. They represent sketches of the characters … Read More