“It’s beautiful.”

He pointed at the Eiffel Tower.

“It never looks the same, the tower. Changes in the light. Like those Impressionists. You know. They’d paint the same thing in different lights. Different every time.”

“This is true,” said Claire.

“It’s made of iron, yet it looks so delicate. It’s masculine, but feminine.” He shrugged.

“That is very observant, monsieur. I agree with you.”

“Oui,” said Gascon, feeling quite pleased with himself. “It’s indestructible, that tower,” he continued with satisfaction. “Like a ship, weathers every storm.” He paused. “My grandfather built that tower,” he couldn’t resist adding.

“Really? That’s a fine thing. You must be very proud, monsieur.”

“Oui, madame. Have a good evening.”

Claire watched him go, then gazed at the view.

Now she knew. She’d better telephone Phil. She’d enjoy teaching him French.

Acknowledgments

Paris is first and foremost a novel. Other than the historical figures—from monarchs and ministers to Claude Monet and Ernest Hemingway—all the characters who make their appearances in its pages are entirely fictional. The names of these fictional families include some of the most common names in France, with two exceptions.

The name of Ney is chosen for reasons that the story will make clear; though Monsieur Ney and his daughter, Hortense, are, of course, entirely fictitious.

And the invented name de Cygne needs a word of technical explanation. The use of the particle “de,” which simply means “of,” is often a sign of a noble family. A man with this sort of name is addressed as “Monsieur de Cygne,” or spoken of as “Jean de Cygne.” But when using the family name or title by itself, we do not need the particle. Just as in English we may refer to the Duke of Wellington as “Wellington,” we should properly say “Cygne,” rather than “de Cygne.” In the case of French names, however—except when speaking of the most famous historical figures—it has become common nowadays to add the particle even where it’s not needed. And so in this novel I have referred to “de Cygne” and to the “de Cygne family,” rather than the more technically correct “Cygne” and “Cygne family.” I hope that purists will forgive me for this.

A few times in the tale, I have made some tiny adjustments to historical detail where absolute precision would have been confusing to the reader. For instance, the great minister of King Henry IV is called Sully, the name by which he is best known to history, although this was actually a title he gained two years after his appearance in the narrative. Insofar as possible, I have sought to avoid the use of more than one historical name for each given place or street. All named places are real with the sole exception of the little Chapel of Saint-Gilles. The saint is real, but his chapel is invented.