Historical Fictionistas discussion

Hi. I'm looking for fiction (or non-fiction, for that matter) about life in Belle Epoque Paris, say, between 1880 and 1914. Anything dealing with WWI is too late for this particular reading project.

Open to books that go outside of Paris, to France as a whole or even to some other countries (England, Belgium, Austria, even Russia), but my primary interest is Paris. If there are artists or writers messing about in the story, all the better.

I've already read Marcel Proust's Swann's Way.

Thanks!

Try I Always Loved You by Robin Oliveira. Set in Paris and about a love affair between Degas and Mary Cassat. Many artists are mentioned and a lot of detail about the art world.

by Mary McAuliffe

by Mary McAuliffe

The Paris Winter is EXCELLENT - gorgeously written and splendidly atmospheric.

Thank you, all! So wonderful to wake up to these great suggestions.

The Painted Girls.

Thank you, Portia. This looks promising too.

Naomi wrote: "Hi. I'm looking for fiction (or non-fiction, for that matter) about life in Belle Epoque Paris, say, between 1880 and 1914. Anything dealing with WWI is too late for this particular reading project..."

There's my own "The Devil in Montmartre," a murder mystery set in 1889 Paris.

Thanks, Gary, and congratulations on the book!

Naomi wrote: "Thanks, Gary, and congratulations on the book!"

Thanks, Naomi! Toulouse-Lautrec is an important character, so the artistic milieu is definitely present in the novel.

I'll add my congrats on "Landfalls!"

Thanks, Gary. After spending 10 years researching & writing about the 18th century, I thought I'd do a little stint in a period slightly closer to our own. :-)

A fascinating book set in Belle Epoque Paris is "I Am Madame X" about the women who posed for the Woman in Black painting by John Singer Sargent. Virginie Gautreau, who posed for the portrait, was a Creole from Louisiana with a socially ambitious mother trying to get ahead in Paris culture on her daughter's looks. Full of captivating characters and descriptions of that time period.

Leonide wrote: "A fascinating book set in Belle Epoque Paris is "I Am Madame X" about the women who posed for the Woman in Black painting by John Singer Sargent. Virginie Gautreau, who posed for the portrait, was ..."

This sounds perfect! I've got quite a stack of books to get through now. Thanks!

I love books set in France so I'm interested to see everyone's recommendations. :)

Many of Tasha Alexander's Lady Emily novels take place in 1880s/1890s Paris, at least in part, beginning with And Only to Deceive.

If you like "The Painted Girls," there is also Dancing for Degas, which I liked better.

C.P. wrote: "If you like "The Painted Girls," there is also Dancing for Degas, which I liked better."

Great, thanks.

The Paris Winter is perfect for this period, I think. And it deals with plenty of dark corners )

Rodin's Lover is an absolute stunner.

Another is Stephanie Cowell's Claude & Camille, which I thought was gorgeously written.

Also, The Marriage of Opposites by Alice Hoffman, which I did not like as well but which definitely picks up with the maturing of Camille Pisarro—the second part is set in France.

Short and wrenching: .

Destiny by Design- Leah's Journey is set in the belle époque of Buenos Aires, Argentina~ the Paris of South America!

This may be pushing your dates a bit, but I loved A Bakery in Paris by Aimie K. Runyan.