With watercolors, brushes, ink pens, and paper in hand, Dominique Mathez walked the boulevards of her home town, documenting the architectural details that make the…
View More Parisian FlourishesTag: Paris
There is something magical about Paris where literary adventuring is concerned, the number of writers who’ve called the city home abundant.
I always have a full itinerary of addresses and cafes to hunt down before I land so my visits to the French capital are chock full of discoveries. There is an organic shift that happens without my knowing it—one time my explorations may be focused upon the Lost Generation while another it will be Edith Wharton and her lover Morton Fullerton. I record anecdotes to take with me so I can locate addresses where my literary heroes held court.
An example is this exchange between Oscar Wilde and Fullerton: “When Wilde was released from Reading Gaol, he went to France as ‘Sebastian Melmoth,’” Marion Mainwaring wrote in her book Mysteries of Paris: The Quest for Morton Fullerton. “His Paris base was the Grand Café at 14 Boulevard des Capucines. The Times was at number 35. He had his publishers send Fullerton a copy of The Importance of Being Earnest, then wrote asking his dear Fullerton to lend him a hundred francs…” It seems that there are more episodes like this in Paris than anywhere else in the world, which makes me happy because it means I will always have new adventures in store!
The Hotel de la Marine Restored
In his foreword to The French Royal Wardrobe: The Hotel de la Marine Restored, Philippe Bélaval, the President of the Centre des Monuments Nationaux, illustrates how painstaking…
View More The Hotel de la Marine RestoredBookstores
I’ve had a long and passionate love affair with bookstores since I can remember. Some of my finest hours have been spent perusing shelves to…
View More BookstoresThe Paris of a Pagan
This essay examining the military career of the last pagan emperor while he resided in Paris is included in my most recent book The Modern…
View More The Paris of a PaganJim Morrison Irreverent Scribe
This essay exploring Arthur Rimbaud’s influence on Jim Morrison is included in my most recent book The Modern Salonnière. The 34 other essays in the book…
View More Jim Morrison Irreverent ScribeDjango Reinhardt Hot-Jazz Genius
This essay delving into the gypsy ways of Django Reinhardt is included in my most recent book The Modern Salonnière. The 34 other essays in the…
View More Django Reinhardt Hot-Jazz GeniusThe Fashionable Grecian Supper
This essay about a fashionable Grecian supper held by Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun is included in my book The Modern Salonnière. The 34 other essays in…
View More The Fashionable Grecian SupperBalzac as a Human Comedy
This essay channeling Balzac in Paris is included in my new book The Modern Salonnière. The 34 other essays in the book feature similar literary adventures…
View More Balzac as a Human ComedyHenry Miller the Paris Years
This essay about Henry Miller in Paris is included in my new book The Modern Salonnière. The 34 other essays in the book feature similar literary…
View More Henry Miller the Paris YearsMedieval Calamities in Paris
This essay about the calamities of Héloïse and Abélard is included in my book The Modern Salonnière. The 34 other essays in the book feature…
View More Medieval Calamities in Paris