Packing for Paris
I posted today on Access Romance about theme reading while traveling. Does anyone have any good, Paris-set books to recommend to enliven the long plane rides?
Update: Mission Bookstore complete! I returned triumphant with Almost French, The Elusive Pimpernel, El Dorado (yay for Orczy reprints!), and Bitter is the New Black (okay, not about France, but it was there– and I shouldn’t be allowed into bookstores without a keeper). The Alleyn mysteries weren’t there, but they’re on my list for next time. Now to figure out where I left my old copy of Abbey Noir….
Have you ever tried the Irene Adler mysteries by Carole Nelson Douglas? Most of the series is set in Paris after Irene moves to Paris after her encounter with Sherlock Holmes in A Scandal in Bohemia.
What about the Count of Monte Cristo? Granted it is not set in Paris all of the time, but it French through and through. Not to mention it will help to eat up the 8 hour flight time.
What about falling back on the classics? I personally love The Count of Monte Cristo? Granted it is not set in Paris most of the time, but it is French through and through. Not to mention it will help to eat up the 8 hour flight time.
What about falling back on the classics? I personally love The Count of Monte Cristo. And while it is not set in Paris through the entire storyline, it is French through and through. Not to mention it will help to eat up the 8 hour flight time.
I love the Susan Carroll books that are about Catherine de Medici. They are set in Paris.
Susanne Alleyn has some great mysteries set in Paris just before and after the Revolution.
Napoleon’s Pyramids by William Dietrich. Only the first few chapters are actually in Paris, but the timing is right for Richard’s adventure with N in Egypt. I haven’t yet read the sequels.
The Black Tower by Louis Bayard. It is set during the restoration, so a little after Pink episodes. I particularly loved how the main character was presented as so very gullible and how he seemed to fall into his adventure.
Then there are always the Scarlet Pimpernel sequels…
How about some travel books set there? I’ve just finished re-reading “Almost French,” by Sarah Turnbull. She’s an Australian who met, moved in with, and married a Frenchman. As a devoted Francophile American, I can totally relate.
“Almost French” sounds perfect! I have a guilty fascination with pop sociology.
J, what a great idea. I love the Irene Adler books. Now I just have to track down my copy of “Abbey Noir,” which seems to have mysteriously disappeared (although, of course, “Castle Rouge”, the one I don’t want, is still there. Always the way).
I recently had a craving for them and had to dig through my collection to find them, so they were on my mind. :). Hope you have a good flight and a great time in Paris.
Forget France. Bitter is the New Black is one of the best books I have read in the last 5 years. Alongside, all of yours of course!
Some more Paris-themed (or related)books to consider: Without Reservations: The Travels of an Independent Woman; And Only to Deceive; and The Eight (a must read!). Bon Voyage!