Trapped in Versailles? Monsieur Montespan by Jean Teule. Jean Teule’s factional novel Monsieur Montespan (2008) is set in Paris from 1663 to 1707. In January 1663 eight aristocratic men, in four pairs, are involved in simultaneous duels with swords ‘at the slightest provocation.’ One is killed, six are executed for his death, and one (the Marquis deContinue reading “Trapped in Versailles? Monsieur Montespan by Jean Teule”
Author Archives: MaNi
The Beauties and Furies by Christina Stead: Paris ‘the city of night’
The Beauties and Furies by Christina Stead: Paris ‘the city of night.’ The Beauties and Furies (1936) is set in Paris over the period of one year: 1934. But this is no lightweight romantic story. It is a challenging, complex novel in the vein of Virginia Woolf, reminding me of the magnificence of Stead’s writing.Continue reading “The Beauties and Furies by Christina Stead: Paris ‘the city of night’”
The Musée d’Orsay – the Orsay Museum, Paris
The Musée d’Orsay – the Orsay Museum, Paris. On the river Seine in Paris stands the Musée d’Orsay – the Orsay Museum. When James Joyce lived in Paris in the 1920s and 1930s, the building was not a museum. Instead, the building was the Gare d’Orsay – the Orsay railway station. The trains from GareContinue reading “The Musée d’Orsay – the Orsay Museum, Paris”
The People in the Photo by Helene Gestern: book review
The People in the Photo by Helene Gestern: book review. The People in the Photo (Eux sur la photo 2011, English edition 2014) is an epistolary fictional novel set in England, France, and Switzerland, from March 2007 to April 2008. The entire narrative is seen through the correspondence (letters and email) between two people. TheContinue reading “The People in the Photo by Helene Gestern: book review”
Metropolitain to Metro to M – signs at Paris Metro stations
Metropolitain to Metro to M – signs at Paris Metro stations. I don’t know when it happened, but somewhere along the time continuum, the Paris Métro station signs gradually evolved and changed. And not for the better, in my opinion. The Paris Métro railway began operations in 1900 to take people to the Paris WorldContinue reading “Metropolitain to Metro to M – signs at Paris Metro stations”
Gladiators and lions in the Arene de Lutece—the Lutece Arena, Paris
Gladiators and lions in the Arene de Lutece—the Lutece Arena, Paris. Today I am looking for the gladiator. I know I will not find the Roman gladiator, but I will find the place where he fought so long ago in the city of Paris. The ruins of the Arene de Lutece—the Lutece Arena—are still thereContinue reading “Gladiators and lions in the Arene de Lutece—the Lutece Arena, Paris”
The Notre-Dame Cathedral and the Madeleine Church in Paris
The Notre-Dame Cathedral and the Madeleine Church in Paris. Today I am comparing the architectural features of the Notre-Dame Cathedral with the Church of the Saint Mary Magdalene, generally known as the Madeline Church, in Paris. This is what James Joyce was doing when he was in Paris. His Irish friend Arthur Power visited JoyceContinue reading “The Notre-Dame Cathedral and the Madeleine Church in Paris”
The Black Foliated Church with Flying Buttresses
The Black Foliated Church with Flying Buttresses. Today I am looking for a black foliated church with flying buttresses. What is a black foliated church? It’s a church made of stone that has thin layers of metamorphic rocks. It also means that it could be decorated with leaf-shaped curves. Flying buttresses are external arches thatContinue reading “The Black Foliated Church with Flying Buttresses”
Boulevard Saint-Michel and the Cluny Museum
Boulevard Saint-Michel and the Cluny Museum. Today I am looking for the distinctive spirit of the Middle Ages right in Paris. In Paris, James Joyce could conjure up medieval times, and their links to Dublin, as a conversation with his friend Arthur Power shows: “To my mind the Boulevard St Michel is one of theContinue reading “Boulevard Saint-Michel and the Cluny Museum”
The alibi: When I was in Paris, Boul’Mich
The alibi: When I was in Paris, Boul’Mich. Do you need an alibi if you are arrested for murder somewhere? Well, you could always say you were in Paris. On Boulevard Saint-Michel, specifically, and in 1904 to be even more precise. It has to be said in the most natural tone, of course. Nothing pretentious. Continue reading “The alibi: When I was in Paris, Boul’Mich”