Eighteen months after the US publication of his major biography of the Boulloche family, “The Cost of Courage“, Charles Kaiser was in Paris for the book signing of the French translation, “Le Prix du Courage” published by Le Seuil. And it was incredibly moving to see the descendants of heroic resistants celebrate an American writer who helped them remember.
Texas architect Frank Welch has left us
The Dean of Texas architecture, Frank Welch, has died at 90 last Friday, June 23. He was the author of two books, « On becoming an architect » that he published two years ago, and another on « Philip Johnson in Texas » in 2000, whom he admired. I will remember him as a true Gentleman who loved Paris and France, good life and … Read More
Le Lude, a modern days fairy tale castle and now a book!
When I was a little girl, my mother used to drive me to the « Sons et lumière » of Château du Lude, a fairy tale castle in the Sarthe, between le Mans and Tours. We always stopped at Malicorne, a faïence manufacture where we watched artists paint tea cups and plates by hand. At the time, Pia d’Orléans Bragance, Comtesse de … Read More
Lorient Celtic festival at the British Embassy
Lord Llewellyn, British ambassador to France, seemed very happy during the reception he gave at his residence of Faubourg Saint Honoré, to celebrate Scotland as the official guest of Festival Interceltique de Lorient, the largest Celt celebration in the world, which takes place every year at the beginnning of August, in Brittany.
Germaine de Staël at full steam
Thanks to my friend Christian de Pange who is a direct descendant of Madame de Staël through her daughter Albertine de Broglie, I could virtually visit the Fondation Martin Bodmer’s exhibition in Geneva. If you are not familiar with this beautiful museum set in Cologny on the lake, just imagine the greatest collection of 160 000 manuscripts, letters and old books … Read More
“Etiquette at Versailles” by Daria Galateria
A specialist of Marcel Proust and 17 th century French litterature, Daria Galateria has always followed the French scene for Italian newspapers and her Sapienza university students. She shares her life between Saint German des Près in Paris, the Pantheon in central Rome and the city of Trappani where she writes and swims on the islands of Southern Sicily. Her … Read More
The Pulitzer Prize for biography goes to Hisham Matar
When I first heard Hisham Matar speak at the American library in Paris last December, it was obvious that he was not just a writer telling a tragic story. His intensity, his severity for mediocre questions, his pause before answering, were all impressive. I immediately sensed a very special mind. He had come to talk about his latest book, « The Return » … Read More
High Life in Miami
Little did I know two years ago, when I met the extravagant Mitchell Wolfson Jr, (Micky to his friends) in Paris, that I would end up being so impressed by his museum, the Wolfsonian, in Miami Beach. I was there last week to visit the current show, « Modern Dutch design » curated by Silvia Barisione and could not leave the place, … Read More