Paris in July 2019

Tamara at Thyme for Tea is hosting another Paris in July event this year. One of my favourite events, so can't really stay out of it.

Paris in July is a French themed blogging experience running from the 1st – 31st July this year.

The aim of the month is to celebrate our French experiences through actual visits, or through reading, watching, listening, observing, cooking and eating all things French!  Here's a link to some of my previous reviews.

There will be no rules or targets in terms of how much you need to do or complete in order to be a part of this experience – just blog about anything French and you can join in! Some ideas might include;

reading a French themed book – fiction or non-fiction,
watching a French movie,
listening to French music,
cooking French food,
experiencing French, art, architecture and travel

I have not really decided what to do yet. Watching a French film and/or TV-series is one option. Listening to some French music should be good. Maybe cooking some French food. Looking at my TBR shelves I have two books of French authors (not read).

That is Histoire amoureuse des Gaules by Bussy-Rabutin. It is in French so not sure I will be able to finish it in one month. It will take me a long time to read. Maybe a few chapters at least.

The other one is Stendahl's The Red and the Black. A huge book, at least in English, but might be too much for one month.

The aim will be to read something from these two books at least. There might turn up a few other French books as well. But, not Zola ...!

The name of Philippe de Commines has popped up two times recently. Never heard of him before, but that is serendipity.

"He was a writer and diplomat in the courts of Burgundy and France. He has been called "the first truly modern writer" (Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve) and "the first critical and philosophical historian since classical times" (Oxford Companion to English Literature). Neither a chronicler nor a historian in the usual sense of the word, his analyses of the contemporary political scene are what made him virtually unique in his own time." (Wikipedia)

He turned up in a TV-series about Maximilian I which I saw recently. Had to look him up, because these kind of historical fiction series do not always stick totally to real events. To my surprise his name also turned up while reading John Ashdown-Hill's non fiction on Eleanor, The Secret Queen (The Woman who put Richard III on the Throne - review will follow). I found his Memoirs on-line on Richard III Society - American Branch. Would certainly be interested to read part of his memoirs.