Author Archives: Parisian Fields

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About Parisian Fields

Parisian Fields is the blog of two Toronto writers who love Paris. When we can't be there, we can write about it. We're interested in everything from its history and architecture to its graffiti and street furniture. We welcome comments, suggestions, corrections, and musings from all readers.

Helping Lazarus rise again

In 2022, our friend Patrice, a restoration architect who has contributed several ideas and themes to this blog, contacted us to ask for help in rescuing and restoring a painting in the parish church of Island in Burgundy. We told … Continue reading

Posted in Burgundy | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments

Cold cases: The snake-oil salesman and the thief

Let it never be said that archival research is dull. My recent forays into the archives at the Institut national des Jeunes Aveugles uncovered a crime nearly 200 years old, and a con man who exploited a legal loophole to … Continue reading

Posted in History of the blind, Paris crime, Paris history | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

The music master

I have recently returned from a 10-day research trip to Paris for a book on Charles Barbier. Over the years, I have pegged away at this project, taking a day here, a day there for research during our visits, but … Continue reading

Posted in History of the blind, Paris history, Paris music | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Hidden rivers, white queens, and squaring the triangle

On a blustery January day, two friends and I set out to walk the route of the Bièvre river across the Left Bank. Jill, who lives in Paris, had done most of the walk before and suggested the route. Elizabeth, … Continue reading

Posted in Paris history, Paris quartiers, Paris streets | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Look up

It’s January 19. Do you know where your New Year’s resolutions are? This year, I decided to go minimalist and easy: look up. You can interpret those words any way you want. Chin up, perhaps, if you’re feeling blue. Or, … Continue reading

Posted in Paris architecture, Paris streets | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

The private life of a public man

When our friend Mireille in Paris asked me to research the descendants of Valentin Haüy, the man who pioneered education for blind children, my first reaction was, “Wait – he had children?” I knew about Haüy’s work with blind students. … Continue reading

Posted in History of the blind, Paris cemeteries, Paris history | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Double vision

The other night I couldn’t sleep, and to pass the time I got out Norman’s collection of Paris stereocards and looked at the images. After a while, I realized that one thing was missing from nearly every image: the Eiffel … Continue reading

Posted in Paris history, Paris photography, Paris streets | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 17 Comments

What to read in the bath

Beating the August heat is a challenge in Paris and in Toronto. Sometimes the only solution is to divert oneself with a good book. Preferably in a cool bath. The windows of our neighbourhood bookshop almost always feature a book … Continue reading

Posted in Paris books, Paris food | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 26 Comments

The Emperor, the cabaret of women, an ill-advised gift, and the porcelain painter

Opinion is divided as to whether Napoleon Bonaparte was a tyrant or a genius, or both. But perhaps we can all agree that he left something to be desired as a husband. His divorce from his beloved Josephine de Beauharnais … Continue reading

Posted in Paris art, Paris history | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

When bombs fell on Paris

The church of Sainte Jeanne de Chantal at the Porte de Saint-Cloud in the 16th arrondissement is a striking example of mid 20th-century architecture. With its dome and tower, it almost looks like a mosque with a minaret. You enter … Continue reading

Posted in Paris history, Paris metro, World War II | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments