There are very few wardrobes to be found in the Paris Métro. This did not stop the wardrobe door from appearing in front of Elaine as she descended the stairs into the station, arms laden with bags from a day spent shopping in the boutiques of the Palais des… Read more »
The roads should blossom, the roads should bloom, So fair a bride shall leave her home! Should blossom and bloom with garlands gay, So fair a bride shall pass to-day! It is Baptiste, and his affianced maiden, With garlands for the bridal laden! The sky was blue; without one cloud… Read more »
There is another city under Paris. No, I’m not speaking of the Metro, with its trains, slow and fast, ferrying thousands of people across the city to work or play. (The residents of this city rarely take the Metro.) Nor am I speaking of the famous city of the… Read more »
Paris in winter is not an auspicious time to make ice cream, but when one is poor, and ambitious, and haunted by the spirit of Antonin Carème, one does what one must. Mélanie let go of the handle of the sorbetière for a moment, stretching out stiffened fingers. Her… Read more »
1328 Applications are invited for the position of King of France. This is a senior management role, with direct responsibility for the Kingdom of France, including the Île de France, Reims, Bourges and Orléans. Direct reports include the Duchies of Normandy, Burgundy and Bourbon, and the Counties of Tourain, Anjou,… Read more »
Please don’t be afraid. I’m not actually a monster. Well, perhaps I am a monster. I know that princesses are not supposed to look like this. But you’re quite safe. Do I look like I have eaten any children today? Exactly. You’d know if I had. Listen, you applied for… Read more »
It was a croque monsieur sort of day. Really good bread, sliced thickly enough to still be a bit soft in the middle when toasted, with melty cheese and a slice or two of ham… Elaine could almost taste it. Especially the cheese. Emmenthal cheese. Mmm. She’d been thinking about… Read more »
I. Every body persists in its state of being at rest or of moving uniformly straight forward, except insofar as it is compelled to change its state by force impressed. – Isaac Newton “I still don’t understand how it is that these ‘physical sciences’ you study are so important.”… Read more »
It was Rusticus who wanted to convert the heathen Parisii, not Denis. (And certainly not Eleutherius.) Denis had been quietly content ministering to the small community of believers that met in his house church in a small village not far from Athens. They were a close-knit and surprisingly harmonious group,… Read more »
Attenuated ‘In the evening, she would write down what he dictated and ask him to explain it, for she was really interested in hemihedral facets… Not only an incomparable mate for Pasteur, Mme Pasteur was also his best collaborator’ – Emile Roux It was ironic, thought Marie, that… Read more »