Historical Fiction: The Dark Tower, by Louis Bayard

Tour de force
It has generally been accepted that the son of Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI was murdered shortly after the executions of his parents. Now, more than 200 years later, Louis Bayard has taken another look at the fate of the dauphin. Could he have been saved? Could he have lived to become [...]

Mirepoix in Pictures – a French Bastide

Situated in the heart of Southern France’s Cathar Country in the Ariege region, Mirepoix is a late 13th century Bastide, or fortress town, stunningly preserved. In the center, half timbered houses painted in pastels surround the central square, with their upper stories forming an arcade (Les Couverts) over the shops and walkway.

Mirepoix and its environs [...]

Watch This: Julie and Julia

Delightfully delicious
In 1949, Julia and Paul Child moved to Paris. For a while, newly unemployed, Julia flounders about for something to do, and finally hits upon cooking. It’s France, after all. In 2004, Julie and Eric Powell moved to Queens, NY. Julie thought she’d become a writer, but has become stalled in a [...]

Historical Fiction: Pictures at an Exhibition, by Sarah Houghteling

1939. Max Berenzon is the son of one of the premier art dealers in Paris, and when his father tells him he doesn’t have what it takes to inherit the business, Max doesn’t know what to think or do. Max settles on med school, where he does only enough to get by. When his father [...]

Medieval Art: The Exeter Puzzle Jug

Made in the Saintonge, western France, c. 1300, this is among the most celebrated examples of medieval pottery found in Britain. It was discovered in fragments in South Street, Exeter, in 1899. The jug shows a tower in [...]

Historical Fiction: The Last Van Gogh, by Alyson Richmond

Giving and taking
Marguerite is 21 when Vincent Van Gogh arrives at her father’s door for medical/psychological treatment. Dr. Gachet practices from his home, so Marguerite has ample opportunity to interact with the artist. She is drawn to Vincent, who is enormously talented but emotionally fragile, and in a very short time, they fall [...]

Medieval Art: June in Les Tres Riches Heures

The onset of June has been cause for celebration for millennia. But with the start of summer comes the start of the season of harvest. Hay must be cut and put up for the animals before the rain comes to spoil it. (Make hay while the sun shines!)
That is exactly what the peasants are doing [...]

Cats in Art – Renoir

Medieval Art: May (Day) in Les Tres Riches Heures

“It’s May, it’s May, the lusty month of May…” So sings Queen Guinevere in musical Camelot. Those lyrics are based upon a medieval French song, the middle ages being the heyday of May Day. (sorry). . The first of May is a quarter-day, meaning that it falls midway between the spring equinox and the summer [...]

Watch This: Paris, Je T’aime

What happens in Paris…

Paris, Je T’aime is a series of seemingly unrelated vignettes, each about 5 minutes long. As the film progresses, connections begin to build. This is a movie about Paris and the way this enigmatic, iconic city effects those who live there or visit, and each of the short segments has [...]