Gallic Books

Renee is the concierge of a grand Parisian apartment building, home to members of the great and the good. Over the years she has maintained her carefully constructed persona as someone reliable but totally uncultivated, in keeping, she feels, with society s expectations of what a concierge should be. But beneath this façade lies the real Renée: passionate about culture and the arts, and more knowledgeable in many ways than her employers with their outwardly successful but emotionally void lives. Down in her lodge, apart from weekly visits by her one friend Manuela, Renée lives resigned to her lonely lot with only her cat for company. Meanwhile, several floors up, twelve-year-old Paloma Josse is determined to avoid the pampered and vacuous future laid out for her, and decides to end her life on her thirteenth birthday. But unknown to them both, the sudden death of one of their privileged neighbours will dramatically alter their lives forever.

This novel opens at the beginning of the year 1774, the last year of Louis XV's reign. Over fifteen years have passed since the first novel in the series, THE CHATELET APPRENTICE, and Nicolas is by now well established in his police career, and in his position as a trustee of King Louis XV. The only fly in the ointment is his fraught relationship with a wealthy widow, Julie de Lasterieux. When Julie is found dead in suspicious circumstances following an argument with Nicolas, he quickly becomes the prime suspect. Although the King and his police boss, Sartine, believe in his innocence, Nicolas has many enemies keen to strengthen the case against him. To deflect attention, Nicolas is sent on a secret Royal mission to London to negotiate the silence of the publisher of a number of scurrilous pamphlets about the King's mistresses. When an attempt is made on his life en route to London, Nicolas starts to wonder whether the attempt to frame him for murder is part of a wider political conspiracy. On his return to Paris, Nicolas has to continue the fight to clear his name and unmask the culprit, as well as helping attend the ailing King. This novel is an intelligent and well-researched historical thriller, crammed with details about the food, politics and social conditions of the time. Parot doesn't stint on showing us the mud, muck and degrading living conditions of the poor in pre-revolutionary France, in contrast to the luxurious life enjoyed by the Royal family and their courtiers at Versailles. In the character of the more working class detective Bourdeau, Nicolas' assistant, Parot neatly depicts the growing tension between the people and the privileged aristocracy. At times though, the plot can seem a little slowed by discussions of food and recipes by the characters, and by the political gossip, which can be a touch confusing notwithstanding the useful provision of a dramatis personae at the beginning of the book. Overall, THE NICOLAS LE FLOCH AFFAIR maintains the high standards of the series, but would not be the obvious starting point for a reader new to the series.

Their eyes met... and they soon knew that their hearts were made for each other. Triumphant on the field of battle, Clisson turns his back on worldly success. He falls in love and marries and Eugénie, but how long will their love survive? The tragic story of Clisson and Eugénie reveals one of history s great leaders to also be an accomplished writer of fiction. Written in an eloquently Romantic style true to its period, the story offers the reader a fascinating insight into how the young Napoleon viewed love, women and military life.

France s greatest food critic is dying, after a lifetime in single-minded pursuit of sensual delights. But as Pierre Arthens lies on his death bed, he is tormented by an inability to recall the most delicious food to ever pass his lips, which he ate long before becoming a critic. Desperate to taste it one more time, he looks back over the years to see if he can pin down the elusive dish. Revealing far more than his love of great food, the narration by this larger-than-life individual alternates with the voices of those closest to him and their own experiences of the man. Muriel Barbery s gifts as an evocative storyteller are put to mouth-watering use in this voluptuous and poignant meditation on food and its deeper significance in our lives. A delectable treat to savour.

Can we learn how to be happy? Hector is a successful young psychiatrist. He's very good at treating patients in real need of his help. But many people he sees have no health problems: they're just deeply dissatisfied with their lives. Hector can't do much for them, and it's beginning to depress him. So when a patient tells him he looks in need of a holiday, Hector decides to set off round the world to find out what makes people everywhere happy (and sad), and whether there is such a thing as the secret of true happiness.

The villagers had never seen anything like it: dense white curtains of snow that instantly transformed the landscape. Not in autumn, not here in Burgundy. And on the same night a baby was discovered, dark-eyed little Maria, who would transform all their lives.Hundreds of miles away in the mountains of Abruzzo, another foundling, Clara, astonishes everyone with her extraordinary talent for piano-playing. But her gifts go far beyond simple musicianship.As a time of great danger looms, though the girls know nothing of each other, it is the bond that unites them and others like them, which will ultimately offer the only chance for good to prevail in the world.