Paris in Love

I read a short story once about a lonely pioneer wife whose husband went to greet a wagon he heard traveling in the distance of their homestead. The couple had been living alone in the wilderness for years with the exception of a small camp of workmen on their property. The pioneer wife had not seen another woman for a very long time. After the woman’s husband alerted her that there was a female on board the wagon, she immediately took down from the cupboard the one remaining unbroken china tea cup she had from her own hard journey west. She could not wait to sit before the fire and have a chat with another woman about all manner of things dear to the feminine heart. And of course, the new friend would drink from the unblemished tea cup and keep it as a remembrance of the visit. I tell you this story because I just read a book that left me feeling that I just had a long chat with a new woman friend, a kindred spirit passing through.

“Paris in Love”, by Shakespearean professor and romance novelist, Eloisa James, is a wonderful little gem of a book. Using short vignettes or Facebook-like posts, it tells the story of Eloisa’s family’s sojourn to Paris for a year. There are a few longer “posts” and a recipe or two as well.

The book is easy to read as it meanders through the year of living Parisian, describing all the lovely little things one imagines about actually living and setting up residence in the City of Light. I also love it when authors try to crack the famous Why are French Women so Attractive Code and Eloisa James gives us some interesting insights. The post about her Italian husband’s gift to her of a French bra with a sewn in locket made my heart sing with joy. Parisian women love lingerie!

But I also enjoyed the stories about her children’s adaptation to Parisian schools, their visits to museums and the French shops, and their kindly acquaintance with a nearby homeless man. The stories are like little pearls, smoothly gliding down a silken thread until sadly, the last one passes through. I simply did not want the book to end!

I enjoyed visiting with Eloisa James and I almost want to send her my own tea cup in gratitude for the satisfying visit. My gift would be the solitary unbroken one, from one woman to another.