RHYS BOWEN: I have spent the last few months talking about my stand alone novel, THE PARIS ASSIGNMENT. Now it's time for a new book to talk about and guess what? Today is the publication date for the paperback edition of PERIL IN PARIS, last year's Royal Spyness hardcover.
Why have I been so Paris obsessed recently, i wonder? I'm sure it started in the pandemic when we couldn't travel at all and Paris, Venice, Europe all seemed like a lovely dream. I'd remember the times I had spent there: my first introduction to Paris was not a happy one. I did an exchange with a French girl--I stayed with her family in Paris and she came to us in England. It did not go well. I was fifteen, product of an all girl's school and quite naive. Danielle was sixteen and tres wordly. She smoked. She picked up boys with ease and she clearly had no interest in entertaining me or showing me around Paris.
Her family was also very strange. They had an apartment right off the Bois de Boulogne... a prime district. The apartment consisted of a living room, dining room, library and one bedroom, plus a tiny kitchen. All the rooms were full of ornate furniture but... I'm sure you've worked this out... Danielle slept on a cot in the library. I slept on a cot in the dining room. Both were put away during the day. The mother was so obsessively house proud that the father had to stand inside the front door and have dusters tied around his feet before he could come in.
In spite of all this grandeur we always ate in the tiny kitchen. Monsieur would take off his shirt and sit at the table in his undershirt, showing his hairy chest and slurping up green bean salad so that olive oil ran down his chin. Not a pretty sight.
The good thing was that I had to learn to get around Paris on my own. They gave me a metro pass and each day I went off exploring. With no fixed destination in mind I came across wonderful little corners and really got to appreciate the real Paris.
I"ve been back many time since, last fall staying in the Marais (and meeting my friend Cara Black for coffee there). There are always things in Paris that astound me. On my street there was a shop that just sold ribbon, another that just sold Japanese prints, another hand made jewelry. Around the corner was a cheese shop, one that sold smoked salmon pinwheels and a few other delicacies. How did these people make a living, I wondered. Especially since they were closed half the time. If it wasn't lunch hour it was early closing or a saint's day. One of the great mysteries of Paris.
Every time I go I discover something new: the museum of the Resistance last time, and an island on the Seine that feels as if it's in the middle of the countryside.
I once stayed on Rue S. Jacques on the left bank, student quarter near the Sorbonne. That played a big part in the Paris Assignment. For Peril in Paris I'm in the area where I'd like to have an apartment: St. Germain des Pres. It's elegant enough without being stuffy. It has views of the Seine and delightful little bistros where you can get a set menu meal quite reasonably, knowing it will be good. You'd expect Lady Georgie to have a good time there with her friend Belinda, wouldn't you? I'm sure she would have done except her husband, Darcy, was behaving strangely and Belinda is in panic mode for the upcoming fashion show at Chanel. Things never go smoothly when Georgie is around and this time she finds herself in real danger.
Writing this I now have a longing to go back. Here's a picture of me last fall with my daughter Jane.
Who else is a fan of Paris? What is the most unusual thing you have discovered there?
This is fascinating, Rhys . . . I've never been to Paris, but your enchanting descriptions make me want to visit and explore . . . .
ReplyDeleteAgree! The idea of wandering around and finding your "own" Paris sounds wonderful!
DeleteI've been to Paris twice and loved it both times. My husband and I both love the Impressionist painters, but I also was doing research on one trip for a story set in the Jardin des Plantes. One thing we found strange on our last trip was a vegetarian restaurant on the exact street where a butcher shop butchered so many of the zoo animals that were eaten during the siege of Paris in the Franco-Prussian war.
ReplyDeleteI had to laugh when you mentioned small specialty shops that never seem to be open because of lunch hours or saint' days. The same is true in Galicia, a region in Spain we go to often. I can't compare to other countries, but I'm guessing it's part of the Catholic background in so many European countries.
What lovely memories, Rhys (except for le pere eating dinner). I haven't been to Paris in a very long time, but the last time I was with my son, then age 12, on our way to a year in West Africa. We wandered the Louvre and found a sidewalk bistro for dinner. Must go back!
ReplyDeleteAnd my first time included Bastille Day in the early 1980s - which was special, except the firecrackers being set off in the Metro station were terrifying. We surfaced and walked above ground the rest of our way.
DeleteRHYS: Great Paris memories! I remember my first time in Paris when I was 19. The hotel had such a tiny elevator. I could barely fit myself & my suitcase inside.
ReplyDeleteAnd I vividly remember when I took my mom to Paris for the first time in 1993. We stayed in le Marais & had so many wonderful meals at the cutest bistros. She was such an Renoir fan (and also loved other Impressionist art) so we both enjoyed our visit to Le Musee d'Orsay. My mom worked for a Japanese haute couturier in Toronto, so she was in heaven visiting all the posh fashion shops & department stores such as Galleries Lafayette. She bought me a pricey Hermes scarf which I still have but rarely wear. I would love to go back but definitely NOT when the 2024 Olympics are taking place!
that's a wonderful memory Grace. Me too on the Olympics!
DeleteFrom Celia: Grace, please wear your scarf. Hermes scarves shouldn’t just live in their boxes. I wear mine as an added layer of warmth not to mention a stunning decoration. Enjoy it. I even hand wash mine.
DeleteI know I should but frankly my everyday wardrobe is t-shirts & quick-dry active wear transitioning now to UNIQLO turtleneck & fleece.
DeleteWith such an accessory, all you need is a little black dress and a pair of shoes and you are set for any occasion! Your mother must have been tres chic, Grace.
DeleteKAREN: My days of wearing a LBD and heels (!) are long gone. And yes, my mom was very chic and elegant. She tried for many years to get me to dress fashionably at work, hence the custom-sewn business suits & blouses. But I have always been a tomboy at heart & it shows in my current attire.
DeleteParisian elevators are the stuff of nightmares, Grace! We ended up
DeleteWith a ground floor room out by the garbage cans in 2019 because my husband refused to get in the elevator!
My hotel in Paris did not have an elevator as I recall. I would not want to be there during the Olympics either.
DeleteDiana
Somehow I let Peril in Paris slip by and a treat for the end of a busy day! Last time in Paris I was 20 and flew to Amsterdam and trained their in a few days before a one trimester course on Shakespeare in London. No money and my plan was to sleep in a church. Two gentlemen bought me supper and assured me that churches were not unlocked in Paris. One invited me to his apartment where I pretended to sleep the sleep of the dead and perfected a quite repulsive snore ... I found a hostel in the morning.
ReplyDeleteI had a similar experience with a friend in Greece. I guess we were naive and lucky!
DeleteI loved both your Paris books Rhys, and love this story about your visit as a teenager. You were so brave and adventurous, just like Georgie!
ReplyDeleteWhat fascinating memories. I’ve never been to Paris. On my list! Your experience as a young girl is priceless. Just think of how life experiences lead to great storylines.
ReplyDeleteGo while you can, Judy. It’s a city everyone should visit once
DeleteI've been to Paris 4 times, and loved it every time. Mostly recently last July. We stayed in Montmartre, took the metro and RER everywhere. The only fly in the ointment was that we landed on the day that the riots erupted over the death of a teenager at a traffic stop, shot by a policeman in Nanterre. There were gendarmes everywhere, armed to the teeth. The great monuments and gorgeous architecture were inspiring, but better still to my mind is the way each neighborhood is so convenient, and public transport so efficient. Public radio recently had a story about 15 minute cities, and to me that what Paris is--everything you need you can reach in 15 minutes. The city was so much cleaner than when I had last visited, and although I speak French, there were so many people who speak English fluently. This was certainly not the case when I first visited in 1973. People were friendly and welcoming, which is extraordinary, considering how many dumb tourists they have to deal with. We found Paris to be the most expensive of all the cities we visited in France, but it still offered very good value. Our hotel room was neat as a pin, and although it was small, it was airconditioned (necessary in July) and still cheaper than a standard hotel room in the town I live in (Southern CT), and the food, whether purchased in shops or restaurants, was delicious, fresh and very reasonable.
ReplyDeleteWe find France to be cheap for most things, especially food. Lovely fresh fruit and veg for pennies and a baguette is under one Euro!
DeleteYes, but have you ever considered the exploitation that occurs so that their prices are cheaper?
DeleteFrom Celia; Lovely memories Rhys. There hasn’t been much Paris in my life but I did eat my first oyster there with my husband to be. Years later we returned. He on a business trip, me with the days free. I took the Metro and found the shop where Julia Child bought her copper pans. I could afford one large sauté.
ReplyDeleteHow did you bring it home? I always see things I’d love to buy but can’t carry!
DeleteWhat a strange family - and I'm not sure I could have eaten dinner with them. But kudos to you for going.
ReplyDeleteCan't wait for your Paris stand-alone!
Paris stand alone already available. THE Paris Assignment
DeleteYay! I'll be hitting up Mystery Lovers to order.
DeleteAt 15, that was a weird experience, but sleeping on a cot wouldn't be quite the hardship then as it would be now! Exchange situations can sure have varied outcomes.
ReplyDeleteI've been to Paris with a group of women, with my husband, and with my mom and two daughters. Unique experiences each time, for sure. My favorite place is the exquisite Ste. Chapelle, and the most fun experience was having a Seine dinner cruise with my mom, daughters, son-in-law, and toddler grandson. We were only in Paris for a weekend, and that was an easy and lovely way to see part of the city. Taking the Eurostar from the center of London to the center of Paris was such an eye-opener, too. What a brilliant idea.
That was my first trip to Europe, and I was struck by all the public musical performances. An opera singer sang to the accompaniment of a cello in the Places des Vosges, with her voice ringing through the entire courtyard. Unforgettable.
I know what you mean about the tiny shops, Rhys. On my first visit all the women I was with were sewing and fashion enthusiasts, and we found this perfect jewel box of a button store. It was just lovely, but there were fewer than two dozen buttons--albeit exquisitely beautiful ones--on display. We all wondered how the proprietress could possibly support herself.
Ooooh, my mom would have loved to have visited that button store! She was always on the hunt for unique buttons to accessorize the custom-made business suits she made for me.
DeleteGrace, the proprietress was an elegant Japanese woman.
DeleteI felt the same about the ribbon store. How can you survive selling ribbon?
DeleteWould be interesting to see how the economic system is set up in France.
DeleteDiana
You have had such marvelous adventures, Rhys! Fabulous. And I love this book so much. As for my memories, gosh, that concert with the three tenors on the Champ de Mars? That was life changingly amazing. And we were there when France… Won the World Cup? Got into the World Cup? People were pouring into the streets, waving flags and dancing, it was hilarious and wonderful.
ReplyDeleteOh, I had forgotten about this… We happened upon a memorial service for world war veterans at the Arc de Triomphe. Where they played La Marseillaise, and all the elderly veterans stood. In their uniforms and metals. You couldn’t keep the tears from your eyes.
I have tears in my eyes reading this as I picture them! There used to be so many crippled and wounded veterans in France. All gone now, of course. But it’s definitely a city of beautiful surprises
DeleteRhys, I loved reading your intro this morning. So descriptive - especially the dad eating his soup. Yikes!
ReplyDeleteI've been to Paris a few times. The first was with my youngest daughter who was turning 16 and we flew over to visit my eldest daughter who was spending her summer in Paris learning French at a university program. My youngest daughter insisted we climb the Eiffel Tower not once but several times.
Another time I traveled by myself for the first time and somehow managed to figure out how to get from the airport outside of Paris, board a train and arrive in Paris. Then get the subway to St. Germain and a taxi to the 11th arrondissement where my eldest daughter and her fiance were spending the summer. I was totally lost after the taxi dropped me off several blocks away (he was lost as well). I walked around and soon heard someone yelling, "Mom! Look up!" and there was my daughter on a balcony looking down!
Paris is the city of lights and especially at night it is dreamy and romantic.
I have climbed to the second level but took the elevator to the top. These days there is a horrible long line to do everything touristy
DeleteReading your account, I long to return too.
ReplyDeleteSounds marvelous! I'm glad you are in Paris mode, you are a perfect reporter of the City of Light.
ReplyDeleteI haven't spent much time in the city, but I do remember once, my then mother-in-law and I flew in for some Christmas shopping (it was her annual tradition) and we were "forced" to stay a few extra days due to a snow storm. Paris in snow is an unbelievable sight.
I’d love to do Christmas shopping there! And see snow too. I did s Christmas market cruise up the Danube. It was fabulous
DeleteYour post stirred so many memories, Rhys! In many ways, your first Paris encounter parallels mine as a young student, though I was nineteen, a junior in college, and living with a family that could trace its aristocratic lineage back to the 14th Century. I had my own bedroom, and while that may sound cushy, there was only one bathroom for the mother, father, three young adult children, and me. I was allowed one bath a week in the cast-iron bathtub (no shower) which was hardly ever cleaned, even though the cook washed pots in it, as the kitchen did not have hot water. The tub was so gross, I could not bring myself to sit in it. I bought a small plastic bucket and spent a year of weekly baths standing up, filling the bucket, pouring water over me, soaping up, and rinsing off that way. The family was completely lovely to me, however, and I returned to the States with gratitude for so many eye-opening and life-changing experiences.
ReplyDeleteGay, I am curious to know how the family survived the French Revolutions? Diana
DeleteI heard many stories around the dinner table, Diana, but none about the Revolution. the family was proud of their lineage, although, despite the noble name, they seemed to have come down in rank since the old days. While they maintained a modest old family "chateau" north of Paris, the father was a low-government bureaucrat.
DeleteThe Paris assignment is next on my reading list!
DeleteMoi aussi, j'adore Paris! I have stayed in little hotels and apartments no bigger than a thimble in various arrondisements, and every place has its memorable, character, landscape, design, history, and art treasures. And everything I bring home, from scarves and lingerie to trinkets and toothpaste carries with it a specific story.
ReplyDeleteSusan, I love that. Currently reading your French Village novel. Diana
DeleteRHYS: Your post reminded me of my visit to Paris. To my surprise, I loved Paris!
ReplyDeleteWhen I arrived in Paris on the Eurostar from London, I saw a group of protestors at the train station in Paris. Cannot recall what they were protesting about. I remember taking a train to Rue Cler where I was staying, Actually, it was a long walk from the train station to the hotel. Wonderful adventure. It was a meeting with my tour group. My hotel room had a very tiny bathroom where there was a bidet next to the toilet and a hand held shower. I remember walking across the street to a grocery store and using my Euros to buy food because it was lunch time. I was not meeting my group until dinnertime.
Walking around Paris, I noticed cheese shops that sold only cheese and I was happy to see lots of Goat Cheese (no problem with Goat Cheese at that time while I had problems with Cow cheese). They still allowed smoking in restaurants. Some of us sat outside. We went on a night boat ride on the Seine and could see the Eiffel Tower from a distance. My photos did not turn out well, though.
The next day we went to the Louvre and had lunch on our own. Some of the group opted for American style food while I went across the street for a genuine French experience. I had Chocolate Crepes. The waiter was nice. No rudeness. I wrote notes in the French language.
It was too brief of a visit. We were there for two? days. On the last day, we went to the Musee D'Orsay in the morning before taking the bus down to Beaune. I remember communicating in International Signs and they seemed to understand me better than some of us who did not speak French. It is always a good idea to know some French. Our tour guide had a Liverpool accent and she sounded like the Beatles. She taught us a few phrases in the French language. I remembered my French from my language classes at Uni.
Diana
Paris is magic. Just taking a walk is magical. Stopping (of course) at a charcuterie or bakery or pastry shop or ducking into a church or grand department store. If you love art or food or gorgeous vistas... It helps a lot of you speak some French because it's true that many French folks are impatient with those of us who are monolingual or who mangle French.
ReplyDeleteI don't speak French well at all and tend to freeze when pushed. But my experiences in Paris have shifted over time. In the 1970s, the Parisians who had to listen to me were annoyed, haughty, and unhelpful. But when I returned, first in 2001 and many times since, things were so much more relaxed snd Parisians were more gracious as I attempted to be polite in trying to speak their language.
DeleteWe ere there in November, and my husband still rhapsodizes about his hot chocolate, with the separate pots of warm chocolate and milk to mix together.
ReplyDeletePeople say the French are rude and hate Americans. But two experiences made me realize how wonderful the French can be.
ReplyDeleteThe first was we had to move from one hotel and find another which being the high tourist season was difficult. I made many calls and finally a receptionist at a hotel near the Pantheon said we have a room but it has construction going on next door so I will only charge you half.
WOW! Great location, Great Price! The room was huge. It had three large king size beds, a large and beautiful bathroom, and lots of room to play baseball if we had wanted to! And we never heard any construction noise.
The second and most endearing was when I made arrangements with a rental car agency in Paris. I specifically asked for their smallest cheapest rental car. Of course it was perfectly small! But we had three people and three suitcases and only one would fit. SO, the owner came out and said he had no other cars large or small period. BUT HE OFFER TO LOAN US HIS NEW AUDI!!
For the price of the small car. He was so kind and thoughtful. Best rental car ever!!
Viva la France!!
Rhys, I loved this book--and today's post! What an experience you had. It made me think about my experiences traveling, then living in the UK for the first time. Shared bathrooms, no showers, coin heaters, nylon sheets--all definitely a shock for a spoiled American. Oh, and my mother-in-law's two tub washing machine with mangle! You rolled it to the sink and attached the hoses. I'd never seen anything like it. Washing freezing on the line, overcooked cabbage, all a little charming now in memory, although not at the time!
ReplyDeleteI haven't been to Paris yet. I loved reading the above posts though! aprilbluetx at yahoo dot com
ReplyDeleteI also have loved Paris every time I've visited, but I have to admit - I almost love visiting in books more. All the scenery, meals and experiences, none of the costs, jet lag, and travel hassles!
ReplyDeleteOct. 10th
ReplyDeleteKathy Reel here (still can't get my sign-in to work). Congratulations on the paperback edition of Peril in Paris coming out today, Rhys. It's one of my favorite Lady Georgie books. I know I'll be reading The Paris Assignment when I'm able to start reading again.
I am shocked, but I will be going to Paris next spring (end of April and beginning of May). I've never been before, as it's England I'm trying to get to. And, of course, with our son Kevin's recent death the end of May, I haven't had any interest in going anywhere. But, a friend of my husband's called, and his wife is either an actual travel agent or arranges trips for people, and they wanted us to go on a river cruise from Paris to Normandy, with three extra days in Paris first. Before my world turned upside down, I had actually thought about a river cruise with this itinerary because I knew Philip would like to go to Normandy (and I would, too). And, this year is the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings at Normandy, June 6th. We will, however, be going before the anniversary and before the Olympics, so we will hopefully avoid the full brunt of the crowds.
So, here is what I have to do to publish here most days. I write out my comments, copy to word, go to my phone and copy from word, then post on my phone to the blog. Occasionally, my laptop will let me publish, but I still can't get anything but anonymous to come up. Any suggestions are welcome.
Paris just is. It always was, and always will be.
ReplyDeleteTo quote Rick from Casablanca - "We'll always have Paris."
ReplyDelete