Category Archives: Paris crime

Beer and sandwiches from the Brasserie Dauphine

If the title of this blog rings a bell for you, you must be a fan of the mystery novels of Georges Simenon. When Inspector Maigret holds an interrogation at the Quai des Orfèvres, more often than not he orders … Continue reading

Posted in Paris books, Paris crime, Paris nostalgia | Tagged , , , , , | 32 Comments

Don’t go there

On a recent trip to Paris, we arranged to meet up with a friend, a Canadian architecture-school librarian. As the three of us wandered about Montmartre, she asked us an intriguing question: “What are those spiked things for?” I replied, … Continue reading

Posted in Paris crime, Paris streets | Tagged , , , , , , | 7 Comments

“A vile business clumsily done”

In 1847, the year that Charlotte Brontë published Jane Eyre, Paris society was riveted by a similar triangle –a wealthy and prominent man, his unbalanced wife, and a young governess. Their story, however, had a very different ending. In August … Continue reading

Posted in Paris crime, Paris history | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 54 Comments