Tuesday, September 27, 2022

Ann Mah's Jacqueline in Paris

LUCY BURDETTE: You may or may not remember that I'm a huge fan of Ann Mah's books. I've read them more than once--Mastering the Art of French Eating, Kitchen Chinese, and my favorite, The Lost Vintage. You can imagine how excited I am that her newest, Jacqueline in Paris, is out today! She could not be here to celebrate with us, but her friend Lisa Brackmann is visiting to introduce the new book. Welcome Lisa!



LISA BRACKMANN: Dear Reds and Readers, thank you so much for this opportunity to introduce you to my friend Ann Mah’s new novel, Jacqueline in Paris, the story of Jacqueline Bouvier’s junior year abroad, before the world knew her as Jackie Kennedy. 


Jacqueline Bouvier arrived in France in September 1949, to a country still recovered from the devastation of World War 2, a time of deprivation and ration tickets and coming to grips with dangerous post-war politics. The year that followed Jackie would later say she loved most of any year of her life—and Paris itself would become one of her greatest influences. What she learned about Parisian politics and her remarkable fluency in French language and culture would serve her well as First Lady, in more ways than one. 


The novel’s genesis was a 2019 travel piece that Ann wrote for the New York Times (that’s a gift link so you can read it), retracing the First Lady’s footsteps in the City of Light, of her time spent in places like the Latin Quarter and Montparnasse. After the piece was published, Ann’s agent asked her to write a pitch for a novel based on this premise. She did, and the book sold almost immediately. 


While selling on a pitch and selling that quickly is not an everyday occurrence for your average working author, it’s not surprising to me that a publisher would want this book from Ann Mah, because Jackie Kennedy in post-war Paris? Who doesn’t want to read that? And I can’t think of a better person to write it than Ann. If you are unfamiliar with Ann’s work—well, I’m here to rectify that, because you will want to get to know it. 



Ann Mah has published five books, both fiction and non-fiction. She’s a travel and food writer whose work has appeared in everything from the Washington Post to Bon Appétit. Several of her books deal specifically with France: her novel, The Lost Vintage (a historical with a mystery at its heart, highly recommended!) and not one but two works about French cuisine, Mastering the Art of French Eating (a memoir about food, life and love), and Instantly French! (how to make classic French cuisine in your Instant Pot). And she lives in Paris and knows the city intimately: the perfect guide to Jacqueline’s time in the City of Light. 


Jackie Kennedy’s life was one filled with superlatives: impossibly dramatic, glamorous, tragic, history-making. But the Jacqueline Bouvier in Ann’s novel is a young woman on a journey of discovery that I think many of us can relate to. She was raised to be demure, to please others, to hide her wit and intellect. Paris allowed her a way to be. Away from her problematic parents and in an unfamiliar landscape, surrounded by people who did not know who she was supposed to be, she could discover who she really was, who she wanted to become. She could explore love on her own terms and experience pleasure, intimacy and heartbreak. Jacqueline learned about the complexities of global politics, challenged herself intellectually and even edited a novel for the first time, and she made life-long friends. Ann Mah shows us how Bouvier’s year in Paris was foundational to the American icon that she would become—and best of all provides a believable and sympathetic portrait of the person behind that mask of celebrity. 


REDS AND READERS: Did you ever find yourself navigating an unfamiliar environment at a pivotal time in your life? How did it change you? How did it help you change? 


ANN MAH is an American food and travel writer and the bestselling author of the novels Jacqueline in Paris, The Lost Vintage and other books. A frequent contributor to the New York Times Travel section, she lives in Paris and Washington, DC.



Lisa Brackmann is the NYT best-selling author of the Ellie McEnroe trilogy (Rock Paper Tiger, Hour of the Rat, Dragon Day), and suspense novels Getaway, Go-Between and Black Swan Rising.



KIRKUS, starred review: "A delightful and surprisingly insightful novel follows the junior year abroad of Jacqueline Bouvier, a few years before she became Jackie Kennedy… Mah, who clearly loves Paris and all the details of French living, affectionately and precisely captures life in the post–World War II city, with many deprivations but a spirit of hope. Her Jacqueline—bright, observant, and a little naïve—is an engaging and believable character, and it's easy to imagine how her experiences during this year shaped her future life…Staying within the consciousness of Jacqueline as she is at this point, Mah smoothly walks the line between biography and fiction. Fans of the former first lady and Paris should be beguiled.”


BOOKLIST: “Mah’s exemplary mix of literary and journalistic skills pays off in this extensively researched novel about the woman who became America’s most iconic and enigmatic first lady."


“In Jacqueline in Paris, Ann Mah brilliantly imagines what life was like in 1949 for a college student named Jacqueline Bouvier as she embarked on her junior year abroad. The alluring descriptions of postwar Paris (the food, the scenery) will make you want to hop on a plane, and the compelling storyline, set amid the rise of the Communist movement in France, is made even more thrilling by the fact that we know where this particular woman is headed.” ~Real Simple 


Buy link for Jacqueline in Paris

51 comments:

  1. Lisa, Ann’s novel focusing on Jacqueline Bouvier sounds absolutely delightful. Thank you for introducing it . . . I’m adding the book to my [teetering] to-be-read pile . . . .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joan, it's a wonderful book—I think you'll really enjoy it!

      Delete
  2. I know a lot of you are early risers on the east coast...well, I'm a night owl on the west coast! 'll get here as soon as I can tomorrow. I'm very interested in hearing about some foundational experiences in unfamiliar environments. I have a few of those of my own. :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks for presenting this book, Lisa. It's going on my list, and I'm glad to have discovered Mah through you.

    I navigated several unfamiliar environments when I was young, starting with hieing off to be an an exchange student in southern Brazil for a year when I was barely seventeen (I did not speak Portuguese). Working as a car mechanic at twenty-one with my ink-not-dry college degree in an era when men assumed it was because my father owned the gas station. Heading off to live (in sin!) with an American boyfriend in Japan and teaching English conversation to Japanese businessmen. Working up the nerve to apply for a doctoral program in southern Indiana - and finishing it.

    Each of those experiences changed my life for the better in a big way, but they weren't always easy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I meant to add - my father was a high school teacher an hour away, not the owner of Ken's Mobil.

      Delete
    2. Wow, Edith: Brazil! Did you learn Portuguese? Or Japanese? And have you written about how you came to be a car mechanic? I'd love to read it.

      Delete
    3. I learned both languages, Amanda. I had no choice with Portuguese (it was total immersion), and I was still young enough to get near-native fluency. I studied Japanese while there and got along pretty well.

      Delete
    4. Oh, and I have not written about my pump jock days in any organized way. Hmm, I feel an essay coming on - or maybe a short story.

      Delete
    5. My hat is off to you for your language learning, Edith. And, yes please, write that essay!

      Delete
    6. An essay, a short story or...a mystery!

      Delete
    7. Lisa, if I try to fit one more book into my schedule, I'm apt to run into the street (clothed or not) screaming! But a mystery short story, sure!

      Delete
  4. Ann Mah is a writer new to me; thanks for the introduction to her work, Lisa. I'll definitely check her out.

    As for transformative experiences, I'll name two: My year in France between high school and university -- several months in Paris, followed by several in Grenoble -- during which I was only me, not "sister of" or "daughter of", just Amanda. Mind-blowing...and life-changing. Also, being let go from my corporate comms job at age 44 and returning to uni to earn an MA, while doing contract writing work and eventually finding my way to college teaching. Maybe not quite so mind blowing, but equally life changing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Those years between schooling can really have an impact.

      Delete
    2. Amanda, isn't it a revelation to be "just Amanda," not "daughter of" or "sister of"...?

      Delete
  5. At the age of 26, I quit my suburban teaching position where I had tenure and moved to Israel. I attended an Ulpan, a spoken language program, and got a job as a special education teacher in Tel Aviv. It was really different, challenging in more ways than I had imagined. After 2 years, I left for home. I learned more about myself than I might have if I had not done it, but most of all, that happiness is something you must discover inside yourself. "You can travel the world over to find happiness, but you must bring it with you or you will find it not." (I don't know whose quote that is but it was in my fortune cookie. Really.)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wow, you are so brave! xxx and that is quite the realization…

      Delete
    2. What a good quote, Judy. So true. (And what an amazing fortune cookie -- more high-end than any I have ever received!)

      Delete
    3. Happiness is a good book from a wonderful author! XXOO

      Delete
  6. Ann' book about Jacqueline sounds like something I want to read. Although I've never been that fascinated with her, reading about her life in Paris before she became the woman we all think we know, is fascinating. Looking forward to it!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Ann Mah is a new-to-me author, so thanks for the introduction. Jackie Kennedy is one of the most elegant, iconic women in American history. The look into her life as a young woman must be fascinating.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I'm really looking forward to this book. I always thought Jackie Kennedy had such class--and that the foundation of that class was a real interest in the world and in others--and a deep sense of compassion.

    A moment of change for me was the summer before graduate school at Ohio State. I'd gotten my undergrad degree there (and that was an eye-opening experience for a small-town girl), but my field school took me to UMass Amherst and a brand-new and highly respected faculty. It introduced me to the nascent field of cultural resource management--and I went on to have a career in that field, with an inquiring mind and open to possibilities.

    ReplyDelete
  9. This sounds absolutely marvelous! Thank you so much for telling us about it! I’ve had many adventures, but appropriate to this essay, I worked on Capitol Hill as a legislative aid for the “administrative practice and procedure”?subcommittee of the senate judiciary committee, which was shared by Senator Edward Kennedy. One day I answered the private phone: “Ad Prac” which was what we said… And the soft breathy voice that came from the other end of the line said: “this is Mrs. Onassis, she said, may I speak to the senator? “ I almost dropped the phone.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hank, wow! Your phone encounter! I worked on Capitol Hill for Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa.

      Diana

      Delete
    2. Diana, I met Senator Harkin in the elevator when my women's organization was visiting the Capitol. He said to us, "Why aren't any of you visiting me? What am I? Chopped liver?" Alas, we did not have any members from Iowa in our delegation.

      Delete
  10. Aide not aid!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Chaired not shared! Yeesh. I will fix this all when I get to my computer… My phone won’t let me…

    ReplyDelete
  12. Jackie was an icon for our lives, wasn't she? And yes, all the superlatives! An amazing woman, and a perfect choice for the center of historical fiction.

    A major pivot point in my own life, the one that showed me I could do almost anything, was when my boss at the retail store plucked me out of the back room where I was the inventory control clerk and gave me the incredible responsibility for buying nearly half the company's inventory for nine stores. It was a family company, parents and son, and they showed great faith by elevating my position, to one they'd never had before. The only other employees with such responsibility were the managers.

    I'd been a small town kid, with thwarted dreams, a horrible marriage, and a bitter divorce, so this gift of faith gave me the most incredible boost in confidence, and helped me choose a far different path than the one I'd been on before. Just traveling to NYC every few weeks, sometimes alone, was new to me, and forced me to go way, way outside my comfort zone. I'll always be grateful to Mr. Saul, and I am so glad I was able to tell him so several years ago before he died.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. PS I read the article in the NYT when it came out, and enjoyed it very much, that tantalizing glimpse into Jackie's life before she became Mrs. John F. Kennedy.

      Delete
    2. What a great 'major pivot' story, Karen!

      Delete
    3. Love that story, Karen. We all have someone who have faith in us. Though we may not always know that.

      Diana

      Delete
  13. There are some books you can describe in one sentence, and have potential readers say, "Yes, I want this!" JACQUELINE IN PARIS is definitely one of those - and that gorgeous, evocative cover just sucks you in.

    I feel that for many of those privileged enough to study or work or live abroad in their youths, it does become a pivotal time, helping to shape the adults we will become. There's a little extra historical sting when you consider the bright young women of the post-war era - my mother was one of them - for whom all that shining potential was destined to be poured into marriage and motherhood instead of into fully realizing their own lives.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. So true, Julia. My mother never traveled outside the US except for brief trips into Baja California - but she and my father heartily encouraged their daughters to apply for exchange student programs. I think they traveled vicariously through my sister and me.

      Delete
    2. Yes, to all of this, Julia. I was on that path before my boss saw more potential in me than I saw in myself. Motherhood was already on my plate, and a better marriage coming, but I didn't know that.

      Delete
    3. Karen, perhaps that family's belief in you was your spark for a better future!

      Delete
  14. Lisa, welcome to Jungle Reds! I remember you from the Left Coast conference in San Diego and it is wonderful to learn about Ann Mah and her new novel!

    Surprised by how young Ann Mah is! Thinking of Jacqueline in Paris reminded me of two things:

    1) A family friend, deaf since ?birth ?, accompanied her father to Paris after the war. Her father had some kind of involvement with the US Government. She told me about learning how to drive in Paris! Quite hair raising! And she told me about meeting deaf farmers who Did Not know that they were entitled to pensions. I told her that she reminded me of Jacqueline. They did not look alike, though they both had similar mannerisms. Perhaps the French influence?

    2). A family member's daughter looked like Jacqueline when the family visited Paris years ago. I just realized that my in-law has some French heritage and may be related to Jacqueline's French ancestors. I was looking at a photo of her and I thought it was Jacqueline. No, it was Madeleine. And she looked like me when we were 3 years old (25 years apart!)

    ****HAPPY BOOK LAUNCH DAY to Ann Mah!!! I am going to get a copy of this novel and it sounds like a wonderful book. I probably will not have time to read the book until Christmas vacation.

    QUESTION was if there was a transformative experience in my life? I will name two:

    First, I suddenly immersed myself into Regular classes at my public school after years of being in "special education due to my deafness" classes. I learned that I quite had a lot to catch up on my reading materials. While my classmates already had algebra and geometry before they started high school, I only had basic math before I started high school. I was strong in the English subject because my Mom taught English at my high school. Blessed that I took to foreign languages so well because it was one of the few areas where I excelled. I spent 3x more time studying and doing my homework for my Regular classes while my classmates took less time than I did. I really wanted to mainstream in regular classes for many reasons.

    Second, I managed to get into a study abroad program at Oxford University in England and it was a wonderful experience. At University in California, I learned to be more independent. At Oxford, before mobile phones, I had to send fax to my family. I also wrote postcards. The verdict is that the postcards arrived Before the fax did! I always knew that I COULD do things on my own and here was the living proof that I could do it. Travelled to Scotland on the train by myself to meet friends in Scotland. I am pretty good at figuring out ways to communicate with strangers.

    Sorry this is so long!

    Diana

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Diana! The conference that mostly never was. Sigh...Hopefully we will meet again! I'm hoping to go to some conferences next year. Fingers crossed!

      Delete
  15. Thank you Lisa for introducing us to Ann’s work. After checking her books, they are all appealing to me and I downloaded Jacqueline in Paris.

    I’ve always been curious. As a thirteen years old French Canadian from Quebec, I applied to a provincial student exchange, going two weeks in the family of an English Ontario girl and then bringing her back two weeks at home. I never before had gone farther than 100 miles from home and never alone.
    I first went to improve my English but I also discovered a different culture, I went horse riding and sailing for the first time. They brought me to Niagara and at their cabin on a lake. I was all ears and all eyes, observing, listening.
    It increased my thirst to get to know other people, other countries, other ways of life.
    Books helped me in this quest because I couldn’t go everywhere but I can share other people’s life for the time of a book.
    Danielle

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What a great program, Danielle. Even though here below the border we all ostensibly speak the same language, I think a regional exchange could bring great benefit to young people.

      Delete
    2. School exchange programs are so great. In middle school in England, my class exchanged with one in Paris: those students came to our family for three weeks, while we went to theirs. That, too, was a life-changing experience: I encountered food I did not know how to eat! Shrimp still in the shell, for example.

      Delete
    3. Wonderful discussion, and I sure want Mah's book. Travel has opened up my world so many times. Going to India (my husband is from there); Paris (we both love the Impressionists); England, to visit my brother and a nephew; Galicia, Spain; and last year we moved to Portugal, which we love. In every case my world has expanded. "Over there" isn't over there anymore, but is part of my "here", if that makes sense. And it confirmed for me that you're never too old to take a leap. We are 82 and 83.

      Delete
  16. Lisa, thanks so much for introducing everyone to Ann's book today. I've been looking forward to it ever since I first saw a mention in Ann's newsletter. I adore her books, both the fiction and the non-fiction.

    I suppose my formative experience was moving to Scotland, then England, in my twenties. It certainly opened my eyes to many things about living in the UK!

    ReplyDelete
  17. So great to see you all here! You might also want to check out Ann's The Lost Vintage—it is a two timeline book and there really is a mystery at its center.

    For me, well, it would have to be almost accidentally ending up in China in 1979. I had just finished my sophomore year of college. China had been almost completely isolated from the West for 30 years and before that it was WW2, so it was the first place I'd ever been where there was barely any American cultural influence. Sound of Music made its way around educated Beijingers via VHS tapes. The Carpenters were also popular. I was 20 years old and at a very confused place in my life and ended up teaching a term of English conversation to college students who were older than I was, many recently returned from the countryside where they'd been "sent down" to encourage their revolutionary spirit (and keep them from causing trouble in the cities). The Cultural Revolution had ended in 1976, and the gaokao, the college entrance exam, had only been reinstituted in 1977, meaning 1979 was just the second year of college classes since those years of chaos.

    Needless to say, it was a trip, in more ways than one. And for a period of time, from 1999 through 2018, I went back to China at least once a year, in a way still trying to puzzle out what it all meant and also finding that China was oddly comfortable for me. With the political situation there now, I don't know if or when I'll return. Hoping to visit Taiwan for the first time next year!

    ReplyDelete
  18. My question, this is historical fiction? Unless you had access to Jackie’s personal papers from her year abroad, no one knows what she actually experienced personally. One can speculate and create a story based on the postwar time period in Paris, but this is not her personal story.
    I am uncomfortable with books using prominent figures in a context where they have no say on how their legacy is portrayed. If this is a sanctioned biography, my apologies on the above comments.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, Jacqueline in Paris is historical fiction. It is extensively researched—Ann's afterword that lists sources is more than six pages long. As she notes, Jackie Kennedy became notoriously private later in life, so it is difficult to know what she thought and experienced during certain periods of her life. But it is, I think, both a highly sympathetic and believable portrait drawn from many of her real-life friends and acquaintances, including some of the people portrayed in the book.

      Delete
    2. Thank you for your thorough response. I look forward to reading the book!

      Delete
  19. This is so great! I love this book and I love reading your take on it!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Allie! It was a pleasure to write—but much more a pleasure to read the book!

      Delete
  20. Very excited to add this book to my TBR!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's a wonderful book, Jenn—I think you'll really enjoy it!

      Delete