Why a Booktrail?
1927: One day in the City of Light. One night in search of lost time.
The Paris Hours
What you need to know before your trail
Camille was the maid of Marcel Proust, and she has a secret: when she was asked to burn her employer’s notebooks, she saved one for herself. Now she is desperate to find it before her betrayal is revealed. Souren, an Armenian refugee, performs puppet shows for children that are nothing like the fairy tales they expect. Lovesick artist Guillaume is down on his luck and running from a debt he cannot repay–but when Gertrude Stein walks into his studio, he wonders if this is the day everything could change. And Jean-Paul is a journalist who tells other people’s stories, because his own is too painful to tell. When the quartet’s paths finally cross in an unforgettable climax, each discovers if they will find what they are looking for.
Locations
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Welcome to Paris, the city of lights and art
Paris between the wars teems with artists, writers, and musicians, a glittering crucible of genius. But amidst the dazzling creativity of the city’s most famous citizens, four regular people are each searching for something they’ve lost.
The author explains that she decided to set the novel in 1927 as the city then was in a postwar army of geniuses whose artistic legacies surive to thi day.
Passacaille
This is referenced several times in the novel and this is the third movement of Maurice Ravel’s Piano Trio.
Camille Clermont
This character is largely based on Marcel Proust’s real maid, Celeste Albaret, but the author points out that this novel is by no means meant to be an accurate description of her life. She was loyal to Marcel but the author imagined what would happen if she hadn’t done everything he asked…
BookTrail Boarding Pass:The Paris Hours
Destination/location: Paris Author/guide: Alex George Departure Time: 1927
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