The recent release of two films starring Vincent Cassel about the notorious French killer, kidnapper, and bank robber Jacques Mesrine plunged me into an obsession for French criminals. So the timing was perfect (for me, at least) for Ravencrest Books to release Die in Paris: The True Story of France’s Most Notorious Serial Killer. (Full [...]

More tourists visit Paris than any other city on Earth. So, seemingly more guide books about the City of Light exist than a visitor could ever need. And yet one has just appeared that is unique and necessary: Quiet Paris by Siobhan Wall. “I wonder whether we are now less familiar with losing our way [...]

Rosemary Flannery is the author of Angels of Paris: An Architectural Tour through the History of Paris. Over the years, Rosemary and I have talked about our writing and research, and I am thrilled to learn that her book is coming out on November 6th! Rosemary studied French at Columbia and studied Méthodologie de l’Architecture with Professor [...]

I started reading Nana by Emile Zola with low expectations. But it’s so good! I am reading it in the métro and can’t put it down. The differences between French literature and English literature are somewhat staggering for the naive, like me. I see why it was considered shocking for young girls to read “French [...]

Paris expat Stephen Clarke is the author of the best-selling series of “Merde” novels such as A Year in the Merde and books about France and its people such as Talk to the Snail and — one of my favorite history books – 1000 Years of Annoying the French. I met up with Stephen at Café Le Nemours on [...]

When I first heard the title Paris, I Love You But You’re Bringing Me Down, I felt an instant connection. Heck, that could be an alternate name for this blog. (If I weren’t so fond of my cute parentheses, that is). After being offered the opportunity to work for an advertising agency in the City of [...]

Looking for an engrossing read for your summer break? Check out the new novel “Chasing Sylvia Beach” by Cynthia Morris (that’s her in the pic). It’s about an American woman smitten with 1920s Paris who suddenly wakes up in the middle of Sylvia Beach’s legendary bookshop, the original Shakespeare & Company, in 1937 Paris. While [...]

After reading her fascinating blog and interviewing her at the American Library, I wanted to learn more about Denyse Beaulieu, Parisian author of The Perfume Lover: A Personal History of Scent (Harper Collins UK). She inspired perfumer Bertrand Duchaufour to create a new scent based on her memories of a summer night in Seville. Denyse has [...]

Here on The Paris Blog, we have featured articles on Janet Skeslien Charles, an expat writer whose debut novel Moonlight in Odessa has garnered great acclaim since its 2010 publication. Now we are honored to feature Janet’s interviews with fellow writers cross-posted here from her own blog. The latest tete-a-tete is with Anne Korkeakivi, author [...]

Now that the weather is right for spending quality time in Paris parks, there are lots of new books to accompany your baguette snack for an afternoon’s respite. Jessica Howard, from Bookmans Entertainment Exchange, posted this review of Ina Caro’s Paris to the Past: Traveling Through French History by Train on the site Shelf Awareness. [...]