1870 was a cultural Golden Age, but it was also the background for the Dreyfus Affair and the violence of the Commune. This panorama is shown through the eyes of the age's personalities.
Recounts the author's quest for Adele Hugo, who followed the object of her (unrequited) love, a British soldier, to the Caribbean, and then returned to live out the rest of her days in a Fre... read more
The distinguished historian uses neglected sources to present CdeM as a much-traduced campaigner for the peaceful coexistence of Catholics and Protestants, and as a patroness of the arts.
Reminiscent of Süskind's Perfume or Andrew Miller's Ingenious Pain, this is set in C18th France and involves a physical prodigy. In this case, it is his ability to eat... By the author of T... read more
A day with Monet - and his wife, children and grand-children - from before dawn to sundown - in the house and garden at Giverny. Figes' achievement in this novella is her delicate layering o... read more
Gloriously funny memoir by a Minnesotan food writer about moving to an unpretentious village in the Languedoc with his wife and two aghast children. Hoffman has previously won the James Bear... read more