Madame and Monsieur LeBrun are in very good health for their age. Indeed, the nice young lady doctor at their local clinic would probably be surprised if she knew just how old they were. Still, old age comes with certain discomforts, and one of these is the loss of old… Read more »
Once upon a time, there was a sculptor who made a deal with the devil. He had not meant to do so. Indeed, he had no idea that the devil was anything other than an ordinary customer, come to his workshop to admire his work and his models, and haggle… Read more »
Deep in the woods, in a castle surrounded by a hedge of briars, a beautiful princess lies sleeping. The woods are her first defense. I am her last. Once upon a time, there was a King who loved his Queen dearly, and she him, and yet they were not happy. … Read more »
Paris is all apartments, really. Very nice apartments, in some cases – positively luxurious, if you live in the wealthier arondissements, the 16th, say, or the 8th. And there are some lovely places in the Latin Quarter or the Marais, or the up near the Canal Saint Martin in… Read more »
It was Christmas Eve, and Elaine was not having fun. First, her favourite toyshop down in the Rue de Turenne had sold out of the puzzle she had wanted to get her niece for Christmas, and she had been forced to buy the doll instead. Her niece was ten,… Read more »
May, 1871 San Sebastián, Spain For Léon Gambetta, San Sebastián is less a place of exile than one of convalescence. He is exhausted in body and sick in soul, but San Sebastián, with its horsehoe-shaped bay and golden beaches is pleasing to the eye, almost idyllic. Too, the news… Read more »
Anyone can summon the Père Lachaise. All you have to do is go to the oldest grave in the cemetery, and place a rock there, and a sprig of a herb – a wild herb, or a weed plucked from the side of the road is enough, it doesn’t have… Read more »
Marya could not get out of the habit of talking to Pierre. Their conversation had spanned more than eleven years, after all – eleven years of sharing everything, their work and their passions so entwined with their domestic life that they could hardly be disentangled. In their bed at night,… Read more »
It was a sunny Friday in late summer, and Elaine had taken the day off work so that she could spend the afternoon at the zoo with her nephew while her sister rested. Nadine was in the late stages of pregnancy, and was finding it increasingly difficult to keep up… 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 »