The Mistress of Paris: The 19th-Century Courtesan Who Built an Empire on a Secret

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Photos: by Tai Shoot in Paris, May 2021 (if you like this image, you can see more by following him below) Since Varian Fry is a bona fide hero who did remarkable things I urge readers to read “Surrender on Demand” by Varian Fry. Preface by Warren Christopher. Her bravery helped many people escape but it put her in danger. Will she be able to get out of France when the Gestapo is looking for her? My reason for reading this book: According to the author the story is “Inspired by the real life Chicago heiress Mary Jayne Gold, who worked with American journalist Varian Fry to smuggle artists and intellectuals out of France…”

The trauma of her first, brutal sexual encounter as a teenager lifted a veil to reveal an even darker side to the sparkling city and its pleasure-seeking residents. The experience steered Louise’s life into an inevitable vortex of alcohol and prostitution. When she finally fell in love with a man who seemed kind and good, only to have her heart broken and be left with two daughters, Louise made a radical decision. Henceforth, she would no longer be sweet little Louise. She wanted to be worshipped. She wanted riches. She would become a courtesan. She was born Emilie Delabigne in Paris in 1848 (although she was generally called Louise). Her mother had moved to the capital from Normandy lured by the growth of the city, and the poverty at home. She found more poverty. Although she found work, life was hard, and fairly soon she was pregnant. Louise's father is not named on her birth certificate, but he was around at least some of the time, as over the next few years she was joined by six brothers and sisters. Her childhood was typical of poor single parent families of her time, living in appalling conditions, spending much of her time on the street, avoiding her mother's male visitors. In her early teens she found work in a dress shop, where she saw something of the life of those with money. Then shortly afterwards she was raped, and it was to prove a life changing experience. The Postmistress of Paris is officially out a week from today!!!! Here's some of the lovely stuff happening so far, with still a wonderful surprise behind curtain #8 not to be opened until December 1:Naneé was an American heiress who loved Paris and had spent so much time there that she felt she was a Parisian. She's a social butterfly and very interested in the arts - painting, writing, etc. She meets Edouard at a party. He has escaped Germany and is trying to keep he and his daughter, Luki, safe in France even though the Vichy government is rounding up Jewish people and sending them to camps. She starts working with the Resistance to help artists and painters get out of the country. One part of the book that was filled with tension happened when Luki was sent to Paris with friends and her father was supposed to follow her the next day but the police took him to jail for a month. After he was released, he was unable to find his beloved daughter and he didn't know if she was safe. Naneé started working with the Resistance to send messages to people who were in hiding and to get the proper paperwork so they could get out Paris to safety in America. First, the title is misleading. Almost none of the book takes place in Paris and there are only two scenes in which we see Naneé, the title character, performing the role. She’s also referred to as a female pilot, but there’s only one scene where she flies her plane and then never goes up again. So much more could have been done with these two plot points. As I say good-bye to Madame, I am cued by Beverly, and drop to my knees before her and offer my thanks for her time and indulgence with my endless questions. She looks down at me sweetly, her delicate hands loosely interlaced before her like an expectant child. As I rise to leave she lands a swift, almost imperceptible, tug on my hair.

Now, here's the really neat part - Naneé is based on the life of Mary Jayne Gold, a Chicago heiress, who helped American journalist Varian Fry smuggle well-known artists and intellectuals out of France. That said I did find myself losing interest a few times, realizing I was reading without absorbing the content, thus why I settled on the 4 stars of "really liked it" to reward the stunning effort, yet to take into account my personal feelings of enjoyment which fell more at a 3-star "I liked it". Fans of narrative non-fiction aka creative non-fiction are sure to enjoy this incredible true tale.The book's opening chapters introduce us to the two main players, the sparks that fly between them, as well as the artistic setting/element of the book. I must admit, I did find this went on a bit too long for me. I wanted to dive right into the 'action' of the book. The hiding, the subterfuge and the danger. That does come, but Waite Clayton also stops along the way to explore other themes such as the love between a parent and child, the loss of loved ones and the sacrifices made. Different views are provided with Luki having her own chapters, as does Edouard. There are many supporting players, all just as determined with the same goal. I did find one character to be quite detestable as he plays 'games' at the house that the group shares. I thought there would be a reason he was included, but never found a meaning for his inclusion and ugliness. But he is tempered with the addition of a dog to the tale - named Dagobert. The New York Times bestselling author of The Last Train to London revisits the dark early days of the German occupation in France in this haunting novel—a love story and a tale of high-stakes danger and incomparable courage—about a young American heiress who helps artists hunted by the Nazis escape from war-torn Europe. Añadir que muchos de los personajes que salen en esta novela, son personajes reales, cosa que hace más interesante la historia… todos van a encantarte… The book is loosely based on the life of Mary Jayne Gold, Miriam Davenport, and the group run by Varian Fry that worked to help intellectuals escape. I'm not sure why I waited so long to read this. I've been a long time fan of the whole Belle Époque Paris scene - Natalie Clifford Barney, Liane de Pougy...so of course I knew of Valtesse from multiple biographies of Natalie, and the one biography of Liane I found which is only available in the original French and the Japanese translation (I read the latter since my French is nowhere near as good). But Valtesse had always just shown up as a somewhat shadowy figure, the older mentor of Liane who had once been famous in her own right. So it was amazing to read just HOW famous she had been, that she had been the top courtesan of Paris and had such a long and illustrious career. Overall I really enjoyed this book, the only caveats being that possibly because I knew so much of it from the other side, the chapters on Liane and Natalie didn't seem to quite fit the rest of the book. However, I really felt