Paris Beyond the Rom-Com: A Guest Post by Lilianne Milgrom
I’m on maternity leave! During this time, a few of my favorite authors offered to step up and write guest posts so that this blog would remain active while I adjust to my new role as a mother. I may also be a bit slower to respond. Thanks for understanding and for being so supportive of me, my family, and my blog. Want to donate a few dollars to keep this blog running or perhaps contribute to my diaper fund? You can do so on Venmo or Paypal.
Paris Beyond the Rom-Com: A Guest Post by Lilianne Milgrom
Is it any wonder that Paris is the backdrop to countless novels? Being Paris-born I am biased but you would be hard-pressed to find a more beautiful, romantic city where the past intermingles seamlessly with the present. I read a lot of books set in Paris, and my own award-winning novel L’Origine: The secret life of the world’s most erotic masterpiece opens and closes in the City of Lights – at the Orsay Museum, to be exact.
My motivation for writing L’Origine was to write an entertaining and enlightening novel about a titillating chapter in art history that the majority of English-speaking readers may not have been exposed to. L’Origine is a historical fiction that traces the remarkable odyssey of L’Origine du monde (The Origin of the World), a 19th century painting so scandalous it was kept hidden for a century and a half, passing clandestinely from hand to hand across centuries and continents. It is a story of survival, replete with Turkish pashas, French revolutionaries, and nefarious Nazi captains. Today, Gustave Courbet’s notorious painting hangs in the world-renowned Orsay Museum in Paris.
As the first artist authorized by the Orsay Museum to re-create Courbet's L'Origine du monde, I was thrust into the painting's intimate orbit. The experience inspired me to share my story and the painting's riveting adventures with readers beyond the confines of the art world. If you’re looking for more titles to scratch that Paris itch, I’d like to recommend five titles that go beyond the rom-com format. Scattering the words arrondissement, quartier, croissant and chéri throughout a manuscript is not enough to hold my interest. There has to be more to it–something intriguing and original. Each of the following titles offers a unique insight into my favorite city and France’s long and colorful history. Bonne lecture! Happy reading!
The Vanished Collection
By Pauline Baer de Perignon, Natasha Lehrer
Pauline Baer de Perignon doesn’t hold anything back – she puts her ego aside as she shares her secret ambitions, doubts and insecurities, triumphs and frustrations on her mission to uncover a distressing chapter in her family’s history. The rhythm and pace are indicative of a book originally written in French - a slow-moving train rather than a speeding locomotive, but that just enhanced the feeling of accompanying the author on her passionate yet painful quest in the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles.
The Paris Library
By Janet Skeslien Charles
I loved this book as much for its story as its turn of phrase. The Paris Library is set during the Nazi occupation of Paris. Although the book does not avoid addressing the privations and terror experienced by those living through that devastating period, it is the role the library played in people’s lives that is central to the story – it provided a precarious haven and a refuge of sanity. The novel is an important reminder that books are far more than words on paper – they have the power to sustain us through the darkest times.
Loving Modigliani: The Afterlife of Jeanne Hébuterne
By Linda Lappin
Loving Modigliani is no ordinary historical fiction novel. I was initially hesitant to read a book that required me to take a leap of faith and accept that the main narrator was a ghost, but I’m glad I did! So much has been written about Modigliani, but very few books give us insight into his surprisingly gifted and tragic young paramour, Jeanne Hébuterne. Despite the twists and turns and fantastical premise, I found myself totally engrossed in Lappin’s masterful storytelling.
A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War II
By Sonia Purnell
How is it that I never heard of Virginia Hall! Do heroines like her even exist anymore? That’s what kept going through my mind as I read this creative nonfiction novel about a courageous American spy who operated in France during the Nazi occupation. What a woman! With barely any training and almost no command of French, she succeeded in building a resistance network despite her debilitating physical disability – not to mention having to prove her worth to men unused to taking orders from a woman!
The Hare with the Amber Eyes
By Edmund de Waal
Edmund de Waal is not only a world-renowned ceramicist, he is also a master storyteller. Like Pauline Baer de Perignon, de Waal falls down a rabbit hole when he starts digging into the secrets of a most unique art collection that once belonged to a cousin of his great-grandfather. The story begins on the plush rue de Monceau and from there, De Waal takes us on an eye-opening journey to faraway lands, told in prose so rich and beautiful that you are unaware of just how much you are learning along the way.
Love Among the Recipes
Carol M. Cram
Just in case you think I have something against romance, I am including this book under ‘books set in France that go beyond the rom com’ because it was so refreshing to read about a woman of a ‘certain age’ who comes into her own during a stay in Paris. The protagonist struggles with real-life issues, not the usual Emily-in-Paris dilemmas. Cram knows Paris like the back of her hand and deftly titillates all the senses with her food-inspired passages.
I hope you enjoy the eclectic range of books on my recommended list!
About Lilianne Milgrom
I am a Paris-born, award-winning artist and author. Although I have lived on four continents, France is in my blood and draws me back time and again. My debut historical fiction L’Origine: The secret life of the world’s most erotic masterpiece marries my three passions – History, Art, and Literature. I am the recipient of six literary honors and my freelance articles and blog posts can be found on platforms such as HuffPost, France Magazine, DailyArt Magazine, Bonjour Paris, The Book Commentary, and BookBrunch. You can read more about my writing on liliannemilgromauthor.com and see my art on www.liliannemilgrom.com
Paris Beyond the Rom-Com: A Guest Post by Lilianne Milgrom
